Altamaha River - Natural History

Natural History

Although used in the 19th century as a route for commerce between central Georgia and the coast, the river is nearly entirely still in its natural state, and was designated a bioreserve by The Nature Conservancy in 1991. Over one hundred rare or endangered species may be found in the river basin, and the delta is a major stopover for many species of migratory birds.

The Altamaha River flows through a flood plain up to five miles (8 km) wide and consisting of some of the last remaining hardwood bottomlands and cypress swamps in the American South. As the river approaches the Atlantic Ocean it becomes a broad estuary. At least 120 species of rare or endangered plants and animals live in the Altamaha River watershed, including eleven species of pearly mussels, seven of which are endemic to the Altamaha. The river basin also supports the only known example of old growth Longleaf Pine and Black oak forest in the United States. Other notable species include Shortnose sturgeon, Atlantic sturgeon, West Indian manatee, Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi), Greenfly orchid, and Georgia plume. The unusual Franklin tree (Franklinia alatamaha), now extinct in the wild, was found by John Bartram along the Altamaha River in 1765. Bartram sent seeds from the trees to England and planted some in his garden in Philadelphia, where some presumably still live.