The Big Satilla River is a river in South

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. It rises in

Ben Hill Benjamin, Ben or Benny Hill may refer to: People * Benjamin Harvey Hill (1823–1882), U.S. politician for the state of Georgia * Benjamin J. Hill (1825–1880), Confederate States Army brigadier general during the American Civil War, merchant a ...

and

Coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

counties and flows southeast for . It is one of Georgia's 14 major watersheds. It empties into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

through St. Andrew Sound, north of

Cumberland Island Cumberland Island, in the southeastern United States, is the largest of the Sea Islands of Georgia. The long-staple Sea Island cotton was first grown here by a local family, the Millers, who helped Eli Whitney develop the cotton gin. With its ...

. Cumberland Island is one of the Sea Islands of the southeastern United States and is the largest in terms of continuously exposed land. The Satilla is a

blackwater river A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black te ...

that rises to an elevation of about . In its upper reaches, the river is bordered by swamps and bluffs, while the lower reaches have a maximum width of about and are bordered by a salt marsh. With a width of at river mile 7, the Satilla gradually widens, becoming approximately across at the mouth. French explorer

Jean Ribault Jean Ribault (also spelled ''Ribaut'') (1520 – October 12, 1565) was a French naval officer, navigator, and a colonizer of what would become the southeastern United States. He was a major figure in the French attempts to colonize Florida. A H ...

named it Riviere Somme, but a Spanish explorer, St. Illa, gave the river his own name, which was converted from St. Illa to Satilla by English usage.

Amenities

The Satilla River or its tributaries can be accessed from these locations:

Crooked River State Park Crooked River State Park is a Georgia state park located near St. Mary's on the south bank of the Crooked River, providing an excellent coastal setting. The park is dedicated to the preservation of its natural resources and public education. T ...

: Located at the south bank of the Crooked River, it offers a boat ramp that is popular with anglers. The ruins of the Tabby McIntosh Sugar Works mill are nearby. Built around

1825 Events January–March * January 4 – King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies dies in Naples and is succeeded by his son, Francis. * February 3 – Vendsyssel-Thy, once part of the Jutland peninsula forming westernmost Denmark, becomes a ...

, the mill was used as a starch factory during the Civil War. The ferry to Cumberland Island is nearby. It is a tidal creek that extends a short distance west of Interstate 95 and US Highway 17. It lies between the Satilla River to the north and the St. Mary's River to the south, and is part of the

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

system of rivers, tidal creeks, marshes and barrier islands that make up the Georgia coast.

General Coffee State Park General Coffee State Park is a Georgia state park located near Douglas. The park is named after politician, farmer, and military leader General John E. Coffee. The park is host to many rare and endangered species, especially in the cypress sw ...

: Its Heritage Farm demonstrates this history with log cabins, a corn crib, tobacco barn, cane mill, barnyard animals and other exhibits. Seventeen Mile River winds through a cypress swamp with rare and endangered plants. The threatened indigo snake and gopher tortoise make their homes in this sawgrass community. Overnight accommodations include a 19th-century cabin. The park was donated to the state by a group of Coffee County citizens in 1970, and is named after General John Coffee, planter, U.S. congressman and military leader. It is on Seventeen Mile River, which flows into the Satilla River north of Waycross.

Laura S. Walker State Park Laura S. Walker State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located near Hoboken and the Okefenokee Swamp, the park is named after Laura S. Walker, a Georgia writer, teacher, civic leader, and naturalist (she is most famous as ...

: Located near the northern edge of the mysterious

Okefenokee Swamp The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee ...

, this park is home to alligators, the shy gopher tortoise, yellow-bellied flickers, warblers, owls and great blue herons, carnivorous pitcher plants, oak varieties and saw palmettos. The park’s lake offers swimming, boating and fishing. Walker was a Georgia writer, teacher, civic leader and naturalist who worked for tree preservation. Big Creek, the stream that carries the outflow of the park’s 120-acre lake, illustrates how a slight difference in elevation in the mostly flat terrain of this part of Georgia can determine the direction of a creek or river. Big Creek flows north into the Satilla River.

References

External links

*USGS Hydrologic Unit Map - State of Georgia (1974)
Satilla River SystemGeorgia River Fishing InformationOn Google Map

{{authority control Rivers of Georgia (U.S. state) Rivers of Ben Hill County, Georgia Rivers of Coffee County, Georgia

Amenities

See also

References

External links