A swamp is a wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land, by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a substantial number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The water of a swamp may be fresh water or salt water. A swamp is also generally defined as having no substantial peat deposits.
In North America, swamps are usually regarded as including a large amount of woody vegetation, but elsewhere this may not necessarily apply, such as in African swamps dominated by papyrus. By contrast a marsh in North America is a wetland without woody vegetation, or elsewhere, a wetland without woody vegetation which is shallower and has less open water surface than a swamp. A mire (or quagmire) is a low-lying wetland of deep, soft soil or mud that sinks underfoot.
Geology
Swamps are generally characterised by very slow-moving waters. They are usually associated with adjacent rivers or lakes. In some cases, rivers become swamps for a distance. Swamps are features of areas with very low topographic relief, although they may be surrounded by mountains.
Ecology
Swamps are characterised by rich biodiversity and specialized organisms such as frogs. For instance, southeastern U.S. swamps, such as those mentioned above, feature trees such as the
Bald cypress and
Water tupelo, which are adapted to growing in standing water, and
animals such as the
American alligator. A common
species name in biological
nomenclature is the
Latin palustris, meaning "of the swamp". Examples of this are
Quercus palustris (
pin oak) and
Thelypteris palustris (marsh
fern).
Draining
Swamps were historically often drained to provide additional land for agriculture, and to reduce the threat of diseases born by swamp insects and similar animals. Swamps were generally seen as useless and even dangerous. This practice of swamp draining is nowadays seen as a destruction of a very valuable ecological habitat type of which large tracts have already disappeared in many countries.
Famous examples
In Iraq
The
Tigris-Euphrates river system is a large swamp and river system in southern
Iraq, inhabited in part by the
Marsh Arabs. It was partly drained by
Saddam Hussein in the 1990s in retaliation against the
Shiite tribes' revolt against his dictatorship.
In the United States
The most famous swamps in the
United States are the
Everglades,
Okefenokee Swamp and the
Great Dismal Swamp. The Okefenokee is located in extreme southeastern
Georgia and extends slightly into northeastern
Florida. The Great Dismal Swamp lies in extreme southeastern
Virginia and extreme northeastern
North Carolina. Both are
National Wildlife Refuges. Another swamp area,
Reelfoot Lake of extreme western
Tennessee, was created by the
New Madrid earthquake of 1812.
Caddo Lake, the Great Dismal and Reelfoot are swamps that are centered at large lakes. Swamps are often called
bayous in the
southeastern United States, especially in the
Gulf Coast region.
Heraldry
A swamp appears in the
coat of arms of
Gesturi,
Italy.
List of major swamps
Africa
Asia
North America
- Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana, United States
- Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida, United States
- Great Black Swamp, Indiana/Ohio, United States
- Great Cypress Swamp, Maryland, United States, also known as Great Pocomoke Swamp
- Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina/Virginia, United States
- Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey, United States
- Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana, United States
- Limberlost, Indiana, United States
- Louisiana swamplands, Louisiana, United States
- Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia/Florida, United States
- Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee, United States
- Everglades, Florida, United States
South America
See also
References
