Lake Drummond Wildlife Drive at Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Vivid portrayal of amusing scenes. He surveyed the area in 1763. Boat Ramp available to the Dismal Swamp Canal and water access to Lake Drummond. Restoring the swamp will provide many benefits, such as protecting wildlife habitat, supporting recreational activities and providing buffers to protect surrounding communities from storms and floods. Phipps, D.L Ireley, C.P. Cracks in the sandstone have formed a depression allowing water to seep underground, etching a lake basin in the bedrock. Donald R. Whitehead, "Developmental and Environmental History of the Dismal Swamp," Ecological Monographs, Vol. There's no obvious reason for one big lake to exist in the middle of the Great Dismal Swamp, which extended all the way to Back Bay/Albemarle Sound in the colonial era. Source: City of Chesapeake, Water Management at Great Dismal Swamp (by Frederic C. Wurster, July 27, 2017). Kayak Excursion of the Great Dismal Swamp's Lake Drummond People have hunted, fished, and gathered food within the swamp since the Paleo-Indians arrived around 18,000 years ago. Slower-moving streams allowed even more material to accumulate, ultimately building a layer of "peat" as much as 12' thick in places. The Dismal Swamp Canal is an alternate route along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW), connecting the Chesapeake Bay with the Albemarle Sound. These ditches worked together to move logs out of the Swamp while also draining it. Source: US Geological Survey, Lake Drummond 7.5x7.x topographic map (2011), Another possibility: Lake Drummond resembles may other elliptical "bays" or small lakes on the Coastal Plain of the Eastern United States, from Florida to New Jersey, with a southeast-northwest orientation. The ground surrounding Lake Drummond includes dry land as well as what early colonists called "dismal" or swampland. southeast Virginia, showing Lake Drummond and Union Camp holding ponds to west (at City of Franklin, near Blackwater River) Local geology reveals:6. The dry land is typically peat (dead vegetation that has not decomposed yet, or been compressed into lignite/coal) with sand underneath. Forest regeneration was altered where land was timbered, then ditched and drained for planting crops. Source: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Environmental Data Mapper, Lake Drummond is completely within Virginia, but the Great Dismal Swamp is in both Virginia and North Carolina Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Hydrologic Conditions and Simulation of Groundwater and Surface Water in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina (Figure 11). Until 9,000 years ago, the area was drained by a dendritic pattern of streams. After the rebellion collapsed, the last words of Governor Berkeley to William Drummond supposedly were:1. Image 23 of The Dismal Swamp and Lake Drummond. Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online. the Dismal Swamp did not drain naturally toward the Chesapeake Bay, but ditches crossed the very low watershed divide (purple line) But first, use caution while traveling the route. Fun to Be Had Washington went to the swamp six times before the American Revolution to oversee the effort. In 1714 the governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, called the swamp a "No-man's-land" and complained that "Loose and disorderly people daily flock" to them. But first, use caution while traveling the route. Timber operations became profitable about the time that George Washington's estate reacquired the shares in 1809, since "Light Horse Harry" Lee failed to pay. Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), A Surficial Hydrogeologic Framework for the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain (Plate 1), At normal water levels, the lake is 6-7 feet deep and the surface is 18 feet above sea level. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The Younger Dryas period of global cooling, 12,800 years ago, could have been triggered by a comet's impact. The origin of the lake is still a mystery. Lake Drummond | Virginia DWR A wet Dismal Swamp provides excellent habitat for breeding mosquitoes in the summer; visitors to the 113,000-acre wildlife refuge get to experience annoying as well as attractive critters. Source: NASA, Stennis Space Center. PDF Feb 1, 2022 Dismal Swamp Canal | Things to Do in Chesapeake, VA Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge | Virginia DWR Based in part on their lobbying, President Biden signed the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Act on January 6, 2023. Fred K. Parrish, Edward J. Rykiel, Jr., "Okefenokee Swamp Origin: Review and Reconsideration," Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society, Volume 95, Number 1 (Spring 1979), https://www.jstor.org/stable/24333260; "The Geological and Ecological History of the Okefenokee Swamp (Part One)," Georgia Before People, November 19, 2010, https://markgelbart.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/the-geological-and-ecological-history-of-the-okenfenokee-swamp-part-one/; "Lake Okeechobee Geology," AccessGenealogy, September 21, 2016, https://www.accessgenealogy.com/florida/lake-okeechobee-geology.htm (last checked January 23, 2019) The lake was "Not Supporting" for aquatic life due to high pH levels noted in 100% of observations. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), The National Map - Hydrography. Source: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Bulletin 82, Post-Miocene Stratigraphy and Morphology, Southeastern Virginia (Figure 23). Great Dismal Swamp - Wikipedia 3 (Summer, 1972), p.301, p.305, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1942212 (last checked January 21, 2019) Nowhere else on earth is there evidence of a cascade of meteorites which would create craters capable of surviving natural erosion for 6,000 years. The water control structures are managed to keep the Dismal Swamp Canal navigable, minimize flooding in the area north and east of the swamp, and mitigate the effects of the historic ditches and logging roads that have created drier-than-natural and wetter-than-natural areas. Elevation drops at one foot per mile near the lake. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge - Recreation.gov Archeology completed after 2003 suggests they planted grains such as corn on dry island land, and the Great Dismal Swamp became the largest community of maroons in North America. The residents finally dispersed after the Civil War brought an end to legal slavery. Jericho Ditch, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge The scenery is the same all the way to the lake, so I would go by bike next time. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The Railroad Ditch entrance allows visitors to reach Lake Drummond by car. There is no equivalent to Lake Drummond in the Georgia swamp. The Dismal Swamp Company's economic opportunity increased when construction of the Dismal Swamp Canal started in 1793. It separates terraces of essentially flat sediments to the east and west. The computer model included the 150 miles of ditches and numerous barriers created by elevated roads. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". 11. Print/PDF map. the last surge of timber removal after World War II included extensive ditch and road construction Robert E. Carvera, George A. Brook, "Late pleistocene paleowind directions, Atlantic Coastal Plain, U.S.A," Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Volume 74, Issues 3-4 (30 November 1989), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(89)90061-8 (last checked September 9, 2012) Living away from the rivers limited mobility and access to food, which is why there were no Native American towns in the swamp when the colonists arrived. Profits were projected from the sale of timber products, especially shingles split from the bald cypress trees (Taxodium distichum). A segment of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the Dismal Swamp Canal, which is fed by Lake Drummond, flows for 22 miles between Virginia and North Carolina. Historically, the swamp was a carbon sink. The swampland was too wet to farm, except in scattered isolated hummocks. This way you can really get up close to bald cypress trees. In 1785, after the American Revolution, Washington and others planned to import 300 Dutch laborers and invest more capital in the draining of the swamp. At the 4.5-mile mark, you will arrive at a wooden fishing pier at the north end of Lake Drummond. A portion of the swamp was prepared for a new military airfield in World War II, but after clearing the land the runways were never paved.8, the shadow of a planned-but-uncompleted World War II military airfield is still evident They might have formed naturally in the Pleistocene as the climate changed, perhaps comparable to the formation of modern lakes on the Arctic Coastal Plain. Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service, Water Management at Great Dismal Swamp (by Frederic C. Wurster, July 27, 2017). Ditches intended to remove the water were excavated by 60 enslaved men, and those ditches also provided a way to float timber products to market at Suffolk. The first ditch excavated is still known as Washington Ditch. It cuts through the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge . At 3:45 (mind you, sunset was at 5:45), I set off for the lake. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. She has completed more than 300 hikes in Virginia. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. It may have started as a Carolina Bay, a "thermokarst lake." Steps from the parking lot, there is also a .9-mile boardwalk trail that leads into the swamp for views of bald cypress trees and ferns from two overlooks. That storm dropped another 11-12 inches of rain, creating highest water levels ever recorded on the canal. There are four vehicle entrances to the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge: Railroad Ditch, Jericho Lane, Washington Ditch and Portsmouth Ditch. I think Lake Drummond is definitely worth seeing, especially in spring once the trees have greened up, but its a long walk to this large natural lake. Highlights: Historic site, Lake Drummond, Great Dismal Swamp. I would definitely go back to see Lake Drummond by way of the Railroad Ditch entrance, which allows you to drive all the way to the wooden fishing pier. The scarp is used today as a dividing line to separate the Outer Coastal Plain (including Lake Drummond) vs. the Middle Coastal Plain west of the scarp. During dry periods, the Corps of Engineers opens gates at the western end of the Feeder Ditch to release water into Dismal Swamp Canal in order to maintain the 6' deep shipping channel (Route #2 on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Marine Highway M-95). A cart road was built along this 4.5-mile stretch. Lake Drummond, a 3,100-acre (13 km 2) natural lake, is located in the heart of the swamp. The Great Dismal Swamp has long been considered a place of natural beauty, mystery, and legend. Lake Drummond and Dismal Swamp Canal in 1859 In 2013, Federal land managers installed new weirs to raise water levels in the ditches, hoping to re-saturate the peat and restore the natural ecosystem over time. There is also a .2-mile boardwalk trail that leads to the Underground Railroad Pavilion, a small outdoor classroom with benches and educational placards. Native Americans and escaped enslaved people created permanent "maroon" communities on the islands of dry land, living out of sight of the settlers except when trading was desired. Some of the first peat was deposited when the water was brackish:4. Placards all along this easy-going walk educate on the swamps history, forest communities and wildlife you may see in each season. Difficulty level: Easy/Moderate. Great Dismal Swamp, Lake Drummond | U.S. Geological Survey - USGS.gov Source: National Park Service, Network to Freedom Map. Source: ESRI, ArcGIS Online, The initial focus was to manage the water flowing into Portsmouth Ditch, in the northeastern corner of the swamp. The other natural lake, Mountain Lake in Giles County, disappears at times. From here, its a four-mile paddle to reach Lake Drummond. Research revealed that 92% of the refuge's water arrived via rain. This unusual naturally occurring lake is just over the border in VA and was named after a former NC Governor. Intermittently, the cracks are opened (allowing Mountain Lake to drain and be replaced by a meadow) or blocked (causing the lake to reform). Great easy trail for family bicycling. Sea level was 400' lower and the coastline was 40 miles to the east. There is a $5/car fee to enter the wildlife refuge at this entrance, which leads visitors along a six-mile gravel road to Lake Drummond. The Wildlife Drive is a popular way to see Lake Drummond and there are plenty of other sights along the way. Uncle Alek and his mule 23 Monthly. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Dismal Swamp Canal Trail: 346 Reviews, Map - Virginia | AllTrails From the parking area, its a 4.5-mile (one-way) hike to the lake. On the periphery of the swamp, sweet gum, oaks, and hickories are particularly common. Those sites attracted the outliers of society, not the traditional farmers. PDF Drainage Pattern and Its Influence on Landforms in the Sumedang - IJCRT Lake Drummond, originally about 15' deep, is now 6' deep. I think these would be best by bike, too. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. It is not an "old growth" species that replaces itself, perpetuating cedar forests indefinitely. Ditches - including some dug during the time when Virginia was a colony, such as "Washington Ditch" initiated in the 1760's - are supplied naturally with water that drains by gravity out of the lake. Washington oversaw the mapping and excavation of Washington Ditch, which runs from the western tip of the Swamp to Lake Drummond, and Riddick Ditch was finished in the late 1700s. Boat Ramp available to the Dismal Swamp Canal and water access to Lake Drummond. Private owners stripped the forest for the next 150 years.7, in 1953, the new City of Chesapeake had replaced Norfolk County on the eastern edge of Lake Drummond, but the City of Suffolk had not yet replaced Nansemond County on the west The US Fish and Wildlife Service proclaimed that re-watering 9,500 acres, by controlling flow in South Martha Washington Ditch and Kim Saunders Ditch, was the largest restoration project for forested wetlands east of the Mississippi River. Boats (max 25 hp) are permitted on Lake Drummond only, as the ditches are not maintained for passage. The effect of that prohibition extends beyond the refuge boundaries. Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), Hydrologic Conditions and Simulation of Groundwater and Surface Water in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina (Figure 10), A map of the most inhabited part of Virginia containing the whole province of Maryland with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey and North Carolina, Post-Miocene Stratigraphy and Morphology, Southeastern Virginia, Hydrologic Conditions and Simulation of Groundwater and Surface Water in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina, A Surficial Hydrogeologic Framework for the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, Chesapeake Bay Geology and Sea Level Rise, Geology Of The Upland Gravels Near Midlothian, Virginia, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, The Carolina bays: Explaining a cosmic mystery, A Compleat map of North-Carolina from an actual survey, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/extreme-ice/, https://books.google.com/books?id=myk0DwAAQBAJ, http://library.fws.gov/CCPs/GDS/greatdismalswamp06.pdf, https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2018/5056/sir20185056.pdf, https://pubs.usgs.gov/wri/1978/0136/report.pdf, https://www.dmme.virginia.gov/commercedocs/BUL_82.pdf, https://files.nc.gov/ncparks/481/DISW%20GMP%20FINAL%2006282017.pdf, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/geography-environment/natural-history-okefenokee-swamp, https://markgelbart.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/the-geological-and-ecological-history-of-the-okenfenokee-swamp-part-one/, https://www.accessgenealogy.com/florida/lake-okeechobee-geology.htm, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/dp-nws-great-dismal-swamp-20120804,0,6818233,full.story, http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/2011/10/05/gIQALlJYRL_story.html, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(89)90061-8, https://phys.org/news/2021-07-taught-drone-meteorites-autonomously.html, http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1301760110, http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/cbayint.html, http://cintos.org/SaginawManifold/introduction/index.html. An official website of the United States government. Swamp National Wildlife Refuge brochure, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Marshes developed along the coastline, behind the barrier islands. The Dismal Swamp Canal was built in 1793-1805, with the Feeder Ditch connecting Lake Drummond to it in 1812. In addition to encouraging regrowth of the Atlantic white cedar, the enhanced water management would allow Federal officials to retain water to reduce fire risk and to extinguish fires that do start. Every .5-mile you will see a mile marker so you know how far youve hiked (and, of course, how far you still have to go). It took over a year for the Corps to dredge the sand and remove the trees blocking the canal before it reopened. Bing Maps - Directions, trip planning, traffic cameras & more Great easy trail for family bicycling. The roads served as dams, causing the swamp to be unnaturally wet on one side and unnaturally dry on the other. Ditches allowed faster and deeper drainage, which facilitated the drying out of land and establishment of farms east of the canal. When the US Fish and Wildlife completed the Comprehensive Conservation Plan in 2006 for managing the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, it considered designating six areas as "wilderness." Geologically, Lake Drummond is an unusually large (3,108 acre) open body of water on the Coastal Plain, east of the Suffolk Scarp. - See 16 traveler reviews, 28 candid photos, and great deals for Norfolk, VA, at Tripadvisor. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. However, you can rent a kayak or SUP, or sign up for a guided paddle, with Adventure Kayak & SUP Tours, which set off from the Great Dismal Canal. Trailhead Parking: Washington Ditch entrance - 3076 White Marsh Road, Suffolk, VA. Lake Drummond Paddle Route via Dismal Swamp Canal. Photograph of Lake Drummond, which is located within the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia. One goal of the US Fish and Wildlife Service is to re-plumb the swamp in order to restore the natural flow of water. Great Dismal Swamp - Review of Lake Drummond, Norfolk, VA - Tripadvisor The entrance gate was already closed, but thankfully it lifted as I approached. "Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and Nansemond National Wildlife Refuge Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan," p.60; Donald R. Whitehead, "Developmental and Environmental History of the Dismal Swamp," Ecological Monographs, Vol. The USGS is working with the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge on this effort. The last tree species to dominate the area were cypress, cedar, and gum, species willing to tolerate high water levels. The Great Dismal Swamp was located is a subtropical milieu which consisted of many birds and other interesting trees. The Corps opened all spillway gates on the Dismal Swamp Canal to reduce the water level in the shipping channel, then opened the Lake Drummond spillway gates. Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service, Water Management at Great Dismal Swamp (by Frederic C. Wurster, July 27, 2017), Though wilderness designation is unlikely for any part of the refuge, it was designated as a National Heritage Area by the US Congress in 2022 due to the unique history and cultural landscape.20. The swamp did not experience the settlement pattern for the rest of colonial Virginia. The ditch was dug by slave labor to drain the swamp for logging and farming. The expected resistance may have deterred the militia, though the logistics of getting large groups through the swamp must have also been a consideration. Current topography reveals cycles of sea level dropping, after which another line of dunes and barrier islands formed to the east. Donald R. Whitehead, "Developmental and Environmental History of the Dismal Swamp," Ecological Monographs, Vol. Lake Okeechobee in Florida, like Lake Drummond, formed after the Ice Age as sea level rose. In Virginia, its part of the 113,000-acre Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The Dismal Swamp Canal Trail is a former section of Virginia State Rt. It's a beautiful ride. 12. Other common species were black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica), and red maple (Acer rubrum). The Great Dismal Swamp is the largest site on the entirety of the coastal region of the VBWT system. The Okefenokee Swamp is the source of the St. Marys River flowing east to the Atlantic Ocean and the Suwannee River flowing south to the Gulf of Mexico. AllTrails | Washington Ditch Road: 124 Reviews, Map - Virginia At the end of Wildlife Drive (technically, Railroad Ditch, West Ditch and Interior Ditch) you will reach a fishing pier as well as a boat launch. Follow the gravel road past the entry gate for one mile to the parking area. Note that the sign at the trailhead says the hike is .75-mile, but that is one-way. Baker, "Tree Rings As Indicators Of Hydrologic Change In The Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia And North Carolina," U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations 78-136, 1979, p.2, p.24, https://pubs.usgs.gov/wri/1978/0136/report.pdf; Donald R. Whitehead, "Developmental and Environmental History of the Dismal Swamp," Ecological Monographs, Vol. Most sediments were deposited when the water was brackish, rather than fresh, and accumulated long before any peat was formed in the current swamp. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge - U.S. Fish and Wildlife This tannin-stained, cypress-lined, isolated lake may be visited from the east by small paddled craft, or from the west by road and hiking/ biking trails. When asked why he was lobbying, one descendant said:23, people who escaped slavery successfully avoided capture by living in the Great Dismal Swamp From here, you can take the Dismal Swamp Canal to Lake Drummond. Little Atlantic White Cedar remains today, and the iconic trees next to the Lake Drummond boat landing ate bald cypress. Washington Ditch is the only entrance with a hiking trail to 3,142-acre Lake Drummond. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Source: US Army Corps of Engineers, Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (July 27, 2017), despite Corps of Engineers water management efforts, Hurricane Mathew flooding the spillway and boathouse at Lake Drummond Since I tacked on the boardwalk trail, my hike was closer to 9.7-miles. Lake Drummond Paddle Route via Dismal Swamp Canal. The river currents slowed, and sediments they had carried from as far away as the Blue Ridge settled to the bottom of lagoons. Lake Drummond is one of only two natural lakes in Virginia and has an average depth of only 6 feet. Plants grew in inland marshes, west of the beach, and organic material was formed by photosynthesis faster than it decayed. Lake Drummond is one of just two natural lakes in Virginia. Fragmentation of an extra-terrestrial comet in the atmosphere might explain the regular pattern of the ellipses, their large number (roughly 500,000), and the absence of meteorite fragments. Watch out for snakes and turtles sunning themselvesin the road. After Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, the Native Americans moved away and the maroon communities were composed predominantly of African-Americans. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". A former resident of a maroon community described why people chose to live there until the Civil War led to the end of slavery:2, the Dismal Swamp was a destination on the Underground Railroad, prior to the Civil War Some people claim to still see the Lady of the Lake, " paddling her ghostly white canoe across the waters of Lake Drummond ."5 Her supernatural vessel is believed to be lit by a fire-fly lamp.
lake drummond dismal swamp
