Okefenokee, << OH kuh fuh NOH kee, >> Swamp lies mostly in southeastern Georgia. A small part of it extends into northeastern Florida. Okefenokee Swamp is a marshy, subtropical wilderness. The United States government has owned most of it since 1937. The government has set aside about 630 square miles (1,630 square kilometers) of the region as the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
The name Okefenokee comes from the Indian word Owaquaphenoga, which means trembling earth. It refers to the trembling of the small bushes and water weeds that float on the lakes of Okefenokee.
The swamp covers 700 square miles (1,800 square kilometers). Fine timberlands and freshwater lakes lie next to the marshy stretches. The St. Marys and the Suwannee rivers drain the region. Other bodies of water wind through the swamp. There are dozens of islands there.
Okefenokee Swamp was once a favorite hunting ground of the Creek and Seminole Indians. Today, as a government preserve, the swamp is the home of many animals, including alligators, bears, bobcats, deer, opossums, and otters. The swamp is also the winter refuge of hundreds of bird species. There are dozens of kinds of fish in its waters. Plants that grow there include baldcypress trees, white and golden lilies, and Spanish moss.
