Okefenokee Peat Islands - Trembling Earth

Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message

Methane gas under decomposed organic peat causes peat blowups, forming mud peat batteries where herbs and grasses grow. Peat batteries form hammocks of trees, or houses, shown on the horizon in this photograph. Neverwet, maidencane and other plants and wildflowers grow on peat islands. Indian name Okefenokee means trembling earth, because of these peat islands. Canoe paddling trail through the National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia, USA.

Although fiction, this excerpt from the 1895 adventure novel, In the Okefenokee: A Story of War Time and the Great Georgia Swamp, is a perfect illustration of why the Okefenokee is named The Land of Trembling Earth:

While they were accomplishing this task, Charley made his first acquaintance with the great curiosity of the Okefenokee, which may be seen along the shores of almost all the islands within or bordering the prairies. Stepping off from the island shore, the little boy walked forward upon a seeming continuation of the land, - a mass of floating vegetable forms, intermingled with moss drift and slime, forming a compact floor capable of sustaining his weight, whiclı, although it did not at once break through beneath him, could be seen to sink and rise at every step for twenty feet around. “Why, this ground moves!” cried Charley, astonished. “You'd better look out!” cried Joe. "It won't hold you up much longer. It's not ground at all; it's floating moss and stuff. The speaker paused suddenly, as Charley now broke through, and stood in mud and water nearly up to his waist. “The deserters call that moss and stuff 'floating batteries,'” continued Joe. “I don't know where they got such a funny name. Father knew about these places, and he said the Indians called them 'trembling earth.' That's what the name of the swamp means, 'Okefenokee,' or ' trembling earth.' ”

Pendleton, Louis. In the Okefenokee: A Story of War Time and the Great Georgia Swamp. United States, Roberts Brothers, 1895.

Okefenokee Swamp Hooded Pitcher Plants on Chesser Prairie. Sarracenia minor okefenokeensis is a carnivorous plant native to North America in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina. Green and red tubes with domed lids. Canoe paddling trail through the National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia, USA.