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On the southeast coastal flatlands of Georgia, myriads of tidal rivers and creeks conjoined and then sometimes would separate to form islands, creating the immense Altamaha Delta. Named by the indigenous people, the Altamaha memorializes this vanquished group, forever honoring their historical presence and place in this watery region.
As the southernmost of the original 13 colonies, Georgia rapidly acquired its distinction by virtue not only of its strategic location - a military barrier protecting the English settlers from Spanish Florida, but also because of its highly valued agricultural crop - rice - produced in great abundance in the tidal marsh lands of the Altamaha.
For centuries, land owners tailored and then maintained a system of dikes, dams and ditches in the marshes solely for the purpose of cultivating rice - the crop that produced cash for the community.
The rice culture, as we all know, has vanished. However, the marshes have remained. Slowly - ever so slowly - the once productive rice fields have been redeemed by nature. No longer diked or damned and ditched. Instead, the marshes are now the exclusive domain of wildlife, offering a natural protective habitat for a huge array of fish, crab, birds, beaver, fox, raccoon, mink, manatee, deer and wild flowers.
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