Four Hole Swamp is a small

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 is a tributary to the

Edisto River The Edisto River is one of the longest free-flowing blackwater rivers in North America, flowing over 250 meandering miles from its sources in Saluda and Edgefield counties, to its Atlantic Ocean mouth at Edisto Beach, South Carolina. It rises in ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. The swamp rises in

Calhoun County Calhoun County is the name of several counties in the United States of America named after U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun: * Calhoun County, Alabama * Calhoun County, Arkansas * Calhoun County, Florida * Calhoun County, Georgia * Calhoun Cou ...

and flows to the confluence. The river is noteworthy for its unusual braided pattern; it has no well-defined channel but instead has multiple channels that start and disappear, maintaining a flow. The swamp is the home of the

Francis Beidler Forest The Francis Beidler Forest is an Audubon wildlife sanctuary in Four Holes Swamp, a blackwater creek system in South Carolina, United States. It consists of over 18,000 acres (73 km²) of mainly bald cypress and tupelo gum hardwood fores ...

, a nature preserve containing over 1,800 acres of virgin

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

and

tupelo Tupelo , genus ''Nyssa'' , is a small genus of deciduous trees with alternate, simple leaves. It is sometimes included in the subfamily Nyssoideae of the dogwood family, Cornaceae, but is placed by other authorities in the family Nyssaceae. In ...

forest owned and operated by the

National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...

. Some of the trees are over 1500 years in age, and the forest is the home of a number of rare or

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

References

Rivers of South Carolina Landforms of Dorchester County, South Carolina Landforms of Colleton County, South Carolina Landforms of Berkeley County, South Carolina Landforms of Orangeburg County, South Carolina Landforms of Calhoun County, South Carolina Swamps of South Carolina {{SouthCarolina-river-stub