Suwannee, << suh WAHN ee, >> River winds for about 190 miles (306 kilometers) through southern Georgia and northern Florida and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Stephen Foster, who called the river Swanee, made it famous with his song, “Old Folks at Home.”
The river rises south of Waycross, Georgia. It helps drain the Okefenokee Swamp, and flows in a winding course past many small communities. Only very small boats can navigate the Suwannee. In northern Florida, the river forms parts of the borders of eight counties. It reaches the Gulf of Mexico at Suwannee Sound, where Hog Island divides the river into two distributaries.
