Talk:Okefenokee Swamp

private entrance
The article mentions a private entrance in Waycross. While it is owned by the Okefenokee Association, I'm not sure if private is the best word to use. To me, private sounds like it's on someones personal property or something like Six Flags - ie overly commercial. The association was founded by the county chamber of commerce and tourist board. Comments? Ideas for improvement?

Map request
A map showing the extent of the swamp and the relationship to the wildlife refuge would be useful. -- Beland 17:23, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Image
Is there any way to upload a picture on here that's more representative of the swamp?

My reversion of the edits of March 18
I reverted the changes an anon and Showdown345 made on March 18th (diff of their changes). Those edits removed a great deal of valuable information with no justification, and the added text reads like an essay someone wrote for school (and is also blatantly POV, e.g.: "...the swamp had most of the cypress trees cut down and was now scarred for life. These acts of injustice to the environment..."). --Miskwito 00:24, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

2007 fires
I think this article is a little misleading with regards to the 2007 wildfires by calling them an economic and ecological disaster. I doubt it really qualifies as either, as most coastal forest and swamp in the southeast is fire adapted and requires a burn every few years. The fires might have hurt the local economy, I don't know all the details, but wildfires are a natural process and should be expected. According to : "Fire is an important part of the Okefenokee ecosystem. Disruption of the naturally occurring fire regime has resulted in major changes in upland and wetland habitats in the Okefenokee ecosystem."
 * You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. I live in the Okefenokee, and this is stated correctly. There is a big difference in a prescribed burn, and lightning that causes fire in the middle of the swamp. Than this fire. This fire burned around the outer edge of the swamp damaging houses, farmland, timberland, business'. It basically shutdown the Ware County with a population of 35,000. It also completely shutdown other cities too. The fire was so big that fire departments from all over the United States came in with their equipment to help control the fire. It shutdown Interstate 75 which is almost 60 miles away. The fire burned for over a month. It is 3 years later and you can still see the devastation in alot of areas.Swampfire (talk) 18:28, 27 October 2010 (UTC)


 * What reports exist evaluating the long-term impact of the 2007 fires? Some areas of the Swamp were extremely dry other areas would have still been wet. 173.218.199.183 (talk) 21:32, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

Swamp Thing?
Why isn't there a reference to Swamp Thing in the pop culture section? he lives there last i checked .. (Curefreak (talk) 05:12, 1 June 2008 (UTC))

Swamp Thing was not from the OkefenokeeSwampfire (talk) 21:41, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

size matters
I am curious as to how 600,000 acres of a 438,000 acre swamp can burn in 2007. Perhaps you can tell me:) Mrathel (talk) 16:41, 16 September 2009 (UTC)
 * If you read correctly it states, "More than 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) of the Okefenokee region" The fire burned throughout the Okefenokee and on the outer borders of the swamp burning both area designated as the Okefenokee and regular land outside the swamp that totaled more than 600,000 acres. It is also the reason the statement said "Okefenokee REGION" Swampfire (talk) 18:23, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Updated image
I have updated the image under the reference map for the swamp. Previously, it was of the Canal Digger's Trail. Although this is apart of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, it's not representative of Okefenokee Swamp habitat and thus did not convey the nature of the swamp environment as it was a image of upland pine forest habitat. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Windowseats87 (talk • contribs) 01:56, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Unlikely claim
I have removed the following material from the article to here: "Longtime residents of the Okefenokee Swamp are referred to as 'Swampers' are of overwhelmingly English ancestry. Due to relative isolation, the inhabitants of the Okefenokee used Elizabethan phrases and syntax preserved since the early colonial period when such speech was still common in England, well into the twentieth century." The old claims that residents of various backwaters in America spoke "Elizabethan English" have been discredited. Such a survival of "Elizabethan English" in the Okefenokee would be particularly unlikely, as Georgia was not settled by English-speakers until the 18th century, and the southern part of the state not until very late in the 18th century. -- Donald Albury 03:49, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

The above material was re-inserted in the article without any discussion here, so I have removed it again. Please, before proceeding with this, please read Appalachian English, Language Myths - Myth 9 In The Appalachians They Speak Like Shakespeare and Tangier Island: place, people, and talk By David L. Shores, page 171. -- Donald Albury 12:15, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

Well actually it's recorded that people in Okefenokee did still use some Elizabethan English well into the 20th century. For example, the word "mizzle" meaning muddled or confused, as well as "blowzy" which means a ruddy, fat-faced woman. These, among many others, are words that died out in the United Kingdom in the 18th century but were still common when Oglethorpe's men first colonized Georgia and that's why the words and the syntax in general were preserved. The implication is not that they were saying "Where art thou mine Romeo" in Georgia but rather instead of saying "Are you coming up here?" they would have said "Coming up here are you?" or "Be you coming up here?" and so on and so forth. But the source is reliable, and not a fringe-source. And the information is accurate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Thesouthernhistorian45 (talk • contribs) 23:14, 21 January 2011 (UTC)


 * The use of a few words that have disappeared in other dialects does not make a dialect "Elizabethan". The use of the term "Elizabethan" for such dialects was patronizing; in effect, those authors were saying "look at these people, they are so backward that they still speak like Elizabethans." As the sources I listed say, the dialects in isolated communities in the Southern U.S. are just varieties of Southern dialect. I don't believe that the people who came over with Ogelthorpe settled as far south as the Okefenokee. In the early 19th century southern Georgia was still Creek territory. The WP article on Waycross says it was settled around 1820, and it is unlikely the Okefenokee was settled before then. My own ancestors, who lived in the area around Statesboro, all moved into that area from the Carolinas and Virginia after the Revolutionary War. -- Donald Albury 13:27, 22 January 2011 (UTC)

I agree that it should remain. No where does it say they spoke 100% Elizabethan dialect. It states they used Elizabethan phrases. Also it wasn't patronizing. Because It spoke of the isolastion of the "Swampers". Also as I can clearly read, you were basing your judgement off of assumptions that you have. Also for you information saying that you have relatives that lives hundreds of miles from the swamp has no bearing on the swamp, the people of the swamp, or the way of life of the swamp. I have traced my family line back 12 generations, and have records of my family being in the area in the 1700's before this country was even the United States, oh by the way they came over from England. The Okefenokee is only 40 miles from the coastal area of Brunswick. The ones that first settled in the Okefenokee made their way over from there (yes) around the time of Oglethorpe. I also have some that were in the Carolinas in the 1600's and had moved down close to the swamp before Oglethorpe colonized Georgia.Swampfire (talk) 16:40, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

AP addition, and apologies.
I added the usage of passages about Okefenokee Swamp to the History stuff. Also, I had never added a citation before, as I had previously only concerned myself with grammatical corrections. Therefore, there are many edits under my name in the history, all but two of which hold any significance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wade550 (talk • contribs) 00:38, 15 May 2011 (UTC)

Source of the name
Maybe I missed it, but having grown up in the area, I seem to recall that the origin of the name was either a Creek or Seminole word meaning "Land of the trembling earth". Perhaps someone can investigate? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sparc77 (talk • contribs) 19:39, 13 July 2012 (UTC)

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Popular Culture
It is stated underneath "In popular culture" that Scooby-Doo featured "Oke-Fu-noke Swamp" but I can't find any sources to back up that spelling. I've actually found evidence (besides personal knowledge) that it is actually spelled "Hokeyfenokee Swamp" in certain Scooby-Doo episodes. Wikidumbo in the haus. (talk) 01:33, 23 April 2016 (UTC)

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