Murphy's Pond (sometimes referred to as Murphy Pond) is a

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

complex located in Hickman County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. While only about in size, the pond is notable for being one of the largest

bald cypress ''Taxodium distichum'' (baldcypress, bald-cypress, bald cypress, swamp cypress; ; ''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a w ...

swamps A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

remaining in Kentucky and for its high cottonmouth snake (''Agkistrodon piscivorus'') population density. To protect the pond from the effects of surrounding commercial development, the pond and its immediate surroundings were added to the Obion Creek Wildlife Management Area by the

Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves is an agency of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the United States dedicated to the protection of Kentucky's natural heritage. The agency's primary focus is protecting rare and endangered species habitats. It ...

in 2005, forming the Obion Creek and Murphy's Pond State Nature Preserve, which further grew to in 2007. The pond itself is owned and managed by

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

, located 30 miles east in

Murray, Kentucky Murray is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. It is the County seat, seat of Calloway County and the 19th-largest list of Ky cities, city in Kentucky. The city's population was 17,3 ...

. Murray State acquired the property in 1975 with a grant from

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

. Access to the pond is restricted for scientific research purposes only and requires written permission from the university. Students seeking a degree in fisheries or aquatic biology at Murray State use the pond for field investigations. Murphy's Pond is mostly swampland, with only small sections of open water. The pond and the surrounding lowlands, formed by Obion Creek and its tributaries, support one of the highest concentrations of cottonmouths in the United States. The pond is near the northernmost point of the snake's range.

References

{{coord, 36.741, -88.856, type:landmark_region:US-KY, display=title Swamps of Kentucky Bodies of water of Hickman County, Kentucky Murray State University