28 HARPER 



prevail. 1 Some of the rivers traversing the Altamaha Grit, 

 such as the Ohoopee and Canoochee, are bordered in places 

 by sand banks evidently of recent alluvial origin, but these 

 do not necessarily indicate that there is much erosion going 

 on at present. 



The streams of the Altamaha Grit region may be divided into 

 three classes according to origin, as follows: 



i. The rivers which rise north of the fall-line, among the red 

 hills of Middle Georgia, and are consequently always more or less 

 muddy. To this class belong the Ogeechee (which originates 

 such a short distance above the fall-line that it approaches the 

 next class) and the Oconee and Ocmulgee, which unite near the 

 center of the region to form the Altamaha. The Ogeechee is not 

 navigable, but the others are. 



2. The rivers and creeks which rise in the Eocene and Lower 

 Oligocene regions of the coastal plain, and are sometimes, but not 

 usually, muddy. To this class belong only the Ohoopee and 

 Little Ocmulgee rivers and some of their tributaries, all finally 

 flowing into the Altamaha. That this class is not more numerous 

 is due to the fact that the Altamaha Grit escarpment is usually so 

 high that not man}^ streams have cut through it, and some of 

 those which do are turned aside until they find a convenient gap. 

 (Note the course of the Ogeechee and Flint rivers in the Lower 

 Oligocene region for instance.) 



3. The rivers, creeks, and branches which originate within the 

 Altamaha Grit region, and are rarely if ever muddy. To this 

 class belong the Canoochee, Satilla, Allapaha, Withlacoochee, 

 Little and Ochlocknee rivers, nearly all the creeks, and the 

 innumerable branches. 



The significance of this classification of streams will be brought 

 out in discussing the vegetation of the swamps of each. Different 

 streams differ also in the depths to which they have eroded their 

 channels. The Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers have everywhere 

 cut through the Lafayette and Columbia formations and deep 



1 Many persons who have traveled through several degrees of latitude 

 in the Eastern United States hold the erroneous belief that all southern 

 rivers are muddy. But those of Southeast Georgia are just like those of 

 New England, as far as the color of the water is concerned 



