Peat that burns underground for months
Dry peat fires burn below the surface and are extinguished by raising the water table rather than by fighting them from above.
The Swamp
The Great Dismal is neither dismal nor empty
Peat, bear, and a drainage history.
Two centuries of ditches drained the peat. Management now is largely a matter of putting the water back.
Photo: Photo of the Week - Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (VA) · Wikimedia CommonsStart here
3 pieces
The Swamp
A drained swamp that is being deliberately re-wetted
The Great Dismal was ditched and drained for centuries; current management is largely about putting the water back to protect the peat.
A large black bear population in a place people forget
The swamp holds a substantial black bear population, close to a densely settled coastal region.
Where this section is
1 placeGreat Dismal Swamp — lit against the other places named across this site.
Numbered pins are clickableEverything in The Swamp
All sections- A drained swamp that is being deliberately re-wettedThe Great Dismal was ditched and drained for centuries; current management is largely about putting the water back to protect the peat.
- Peat that burns underground for monthsDry peat fires burn below the surface and are extinguished by raising the water table rather than by fighting them from above.
- A large black bear population in a place people forgetThe swamp holds a substantial black bear population, close to a densely settled coastal region.