A swamp is a wetland that features temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water, generally with a substantial number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, and covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. A wetland is an area of Land consisting of Soil that is Saturated with Moisture, such as a Swamp, Marsh, or Bog Hammocks are dense stands of Hardwood trees that grow on natural rises of only a few inches higher than surrounding marshland that is otherwise too wet to support them [1] The water of a swamp may be fresh water or salt water. Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as Ponds lakes rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved Salts and other Total dissolved A swamp is also generally defined as having no substantial peat deposits. Peat is an accumulation of partially Decayed Vegetation matter. [2]
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. Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region it refers to the Ground cover provided by plants Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/ (Rhymes -aɪrəs)is a thick paper-like material produced from the Pith of the papyrus plant Cyperus 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. In Geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of Wetland which is subject A mire (or quagmire) is a low-lying wetland of deep, soft soil or mud that sinks underfoot.
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Geology
Swamps are generally characterised by very slow-moving waters. They are usually associated with adjacent rivers or lakes. "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the 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. Topography ( topo-, "place" and graphia, "writing" is the study of Earth 's Surface features or those of Planets
Ecology
Swamps are characterised by rich biodiversity and specialised organisms such as frogs. [3] 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. Taxodium distichum ( Baldcypress, Bald Cypress, or Swamp Cypress) is a species of conifer native to the southeastern United The American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, (known colloquially as simply gator) is one of the two living Species of Alligator, a genus A common species name in biological nomenclature is the Latin palustris, meaning "of the swamp". In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Examples of this are Quercus palustris (pin oak) and Thelypteris palustris (marsh fern). There is also the community of Pin Oak West Virginia, USA The Pin oak or Swamp Spanish oak ( Quercus palustris) is an A fern is any one of a group of about 20000 Species of Plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta
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. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture 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. The Tigris-Euphrates river system is part of the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh Ecoregion of the Middle East, and is characterized by two large For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. The Marsh Arabs (عرب الأهوار ˤArab al-Ahwār "Arabs of the Marshlands" also known as the Maˤdān (معدان are inhabitants of the It was partly drained by Saddam Hussein in the 1990s in retaliation against the Shiite tribes' revolt against his dictatorship. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti ( Arabic: ar صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي --> April 28 1937 &ndash December 30
In the United States
The most famous swamps in the United States are the Everglades, Okefenokee Swamp and the Great Dismal Swamp. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Everglades is also the name of a city in Collier County Florida The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow 438000 Acre (1770 km² Peat -filled wetland straddling the Georgia - Florida border in the United States The Great Dismal Swamp is a marshy area on the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina between Norfolk Virginia, and The Okefenokee is located in extreme southeastern Georgia and extends slightly into northeastern Florida. The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The Great Dismal Swamp lies in extreme southeastern Virginia and extreme northeastern North Carolina. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States Both are National Wildlife Refuges. National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain Protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Another swamp area, Reelfoot Lake of extreme western Tennessee, was created by the New Madrid earthquake of 1812. Reelfoot Lake is a shallow natural Lake located in the northwest portion of Tennessee and extending into Fulton County Kentucky, United States of Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. This article is about the seismic zone in southeastern Missouri Caddo Lake, the Great Dismal and Reelfoot are swamps that are centered at large lakes. Caddo Lake (Lac Caddo is a 25400 acre (103 km² Lake and wetland located on the border between Texas and Louisiana, in northern Harrison County Swamps are often called bayous in the southeastern United States, especially in the Gulf Coast region. A bayou (pronounced oʊ or uː is a small slow-moving Stream or creek or a lake or pool ( bayou lake) that lies in an abandoned channel of a stream The US Southeast is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, but the Census Bureau does not provide a standard definition of a "Southeast" region The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world
Heraldry
A swamp appears in the coat of arms of Gesturi, Italy. A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people Gesturi is a Comune (municipality in the Province of Medio Campidano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 60 km north Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest
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, United States
- Great Cypress Swamp, Maryland, United States, also known as Great Pocomoke Swamp
- Great Dismal Swamp, 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, United States
- Everglades, Florida, United States
South America
See also
References
- ^ Swamp (from glossary webpage of the United States Geological Survey)
- ^ Swamp (from the glossary of the Environmental Health Center, National Safety Council)
- ^ Frogs & toads
Dictionary
swamp
-noun
- A type of wetland that stretches for vast distances, and is home to many creatures who have adapted specifically to that environment.
-verb
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