JOURNAL 
OF 
The New York Botanical Garden 
Vot. XIlIl April, 1912. No. 148 
SOME FEATURES OF THE DISMAL SWAMP 
OF VIRGINIA.* 
The Dismal Swamp, usually called the Dismal Swamp of 
Virginia, lies partly in Virginia and partly in North Carolina; 
but it is more accessible from the former, and as most of those 
who have explored or visited it have entered from the Virginia 
side, the name of that state is commonly linked with it. Its 
topographic, geologic, biologic and economic features may be 
found described in numerous governmental reports; many his- 
torical events are connected with it; it figured more or less 
prominently in certain events of the Civil War, and it has been 
made the subject of numerous articles, stories and traditions 
published in works of fiction and in magazine and newspaper 
literature. 
e area of the swamp is about 1,500 square miles. The 
surface is almost level, sloping gradually from the southwest 
toward the northeast, with an elevation above mean tide level 
of from 23~12 feet, and in consequence, the drainage is so im- 
perfect that, throughout most of its extent, it remains constantly 
inundated. ertain portions, however, become more or less 
dry in periods of drought, and quite a large portion of its former 
area—some 700 square miles along the eastern border—has been 
permanently reclaimed in recent years, by means of drainage, 
ditches and canals. 
Near the center lies Lake Drummond, an almost circular body 
* From a lecture delivered at the New York Botanical Garden, September 23, 
1911 
53 
