Alapaha River

The Alapaha River at Statenville, Georgia, during a period of drought in 2000

The Alapaha River /əˈlæpəhɑː/ is a 202-mile-long (325 km)^[1] river in southern Georgia and northern Florida in the United States. It is a tributary of the Suwannee River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico.

History

The Hernando de Soto expedition narrative records mention a "Yupaha" village they encountered after they left Apalachee, "the sound of which is suggestive of the Alapaha, a tributary of the Suwanee."^[2] Another reference to a village of "Atapaha" "so closely resembles Alapaha that it is reasonable to suppose they are the same, and that the town was on the river of that name."^[3] John Reed Swanton's landmark Indian Tribes of North America places the Indian village of Alapaha near where the Alapaha River met the Suwanee, and also noted that an Indian village of "Arapaja" was 70 leagues from St. Augustine, Florida, probably on the Alapaha River.^[4]

In the 1840s a German travel writer, Friedrich Gerstäcker wrote a dime novel called Alapaha, or the Renegades of the Border, giving the name to a noble Cherokee "squaw." A translation of this novel was published in the 1870s as #67 in a series of American narratives published by Beadle.^[5]

During the American Civil War, the swamps along the Alapaha River in Berrien, Irwin, and Echols counties became a refuge for a number of gangs of Confederate deserters.^[6]

Course

The Alapaha River rises in southeastern Dooly County, Georgia, and flows generally southeastwardly through or along the boundaries of Crisp, Wilcox, Turner, Ben Hill, Irwin, Tift, Berrien, Atkinson, Lanier, Lowndes and Echols Counties in Georgia, and Hamilton County in Florida, where it flows into the Suwannee River 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Jasper. Along its course it passes the Georgia towns of Rebecca, Alapaha, Willacoochee, Lakeland, and Statenville.

Near Willacoochee, Georgia, the Alapaha collects the Willacoochee River. In Florida, it collects the Alapahoochee River and the short Little Alapaha River, which rises in Echols County, Georgia, and flows southwestward.

Intermittent river

The Alapaha River is an intermittent river for part of its course. During periods of low volume, the river disappears underground and becomes a subterranean river. At approximately 2.3 miles (3.7 km) downstream from Jennings, Florida is a river sinkhole variously known as the Alapaha River Sink, Suck Hole, or the Devil's Den on the western bank of the river. It is located at 30°35′08″N 83°03′10″W / 30.5855009°N 83.0528016°W. A short distance away from the Devil's Den's, the Dead River enters into the Alapaha River. It is a usually dry river bed with a number of sinkholes, including the Dead River Sink.

A few more miles downstream is a second sinkhole known as the Dead River Sink or the Siphon. At the latter point during the periods of low water flow, the Alapaha River disappears underground leaving a dry bank for much of the remainder of its course. The Alapaha River later reappears at the Alapaha River Rise, which is about a half mile upstream from the confluence of the Alapaha River and the Suwanee River (30°26′46″N 83°05′51″W / 30.446044°N 83.097483°W). During a period of low rainfall over 11 miles (18 km) of the riverbed can be dry as the river goes underground.

Image of the entire surface water flow of the Alapaha River near Jennings, Florida going into a sinkhole leading to the Floridan Aquifer groundwater.

Variant names

The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on "Alapaha River" as the stream's name in 1891. According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known as:

Alabaha River Alapa Haw River Alapa Hawchu River Alla-pa-ha River Allallehaw River Allapacoochee River Allapaha River

Allapauhau River Allaphaw River Allappaha River Allopohaw River Alloppehaw River Alopaha River Elapaha River

Lappahaw River Lop Haw River Lopaha River Lopahatchy River Loppahaw River Low Haw River Popaha River

Crossings

Crossing	Carries	Image	Location	ID number	Coordinates
	Griffin Road				32°01′27″N 83°36′37″W / 32.0243°N 83.6103°W
Buzzard Bridge	Willford Crossing Road				32°01′27″N 83°36′37″W / 32.0243°N 83.6103°W
	County Line Road				32°01′11″N 83°36′37″W / 32.0198°N 83.6103°W
	Seville Road				32°00′32″N 83°36′06″W / 32.0089°N 83.6016°W
	Seville Road				32°00′32″N 83°36′06″W / 32.0089°N 83.6016°W
	Seville-Pleasantview Road				31°59′50″N 83°35′27″W / 31.9973°N 83.5908°W
	Old Cordele Road				31°59′07″N 83°34′40″W / 31.9853°N 83.5778°W
	Flowers Road				31°58′39″N 83°34′34″W / 31.9775°N 83.5761°W
	Watson Road				31°58′01″N 83°34′38″W / 31.9670°N 83.5771°W
	Dowley Road				31°56′52″N 83°33′37″W / 31.9478°N 83.5604°W
Rail bridge	CSX Transportation Line formerly known as Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railway				31°56′52″N 83°33′37″W / 31.9478°N 83.5604°W
	US 280 SR 30		Pitts, Georgia to Seville, Georgia		31°55′52″N 83°33′10″W / 31.9312°N 83.5527°W
	Highway later replaced by SR 159				31°55′52″N 83°33′10″W / 31.9312°N 83.5527°W
	SR 159				31°55′49″N 83°33′07″W / 31.9303°N 83.5519°W
	Hawkinsville and Florida Southern Railway (Abandoned 1920s)				31°55′24″N 83°32′43″W / 31.9234°N 83.5453°W
	SR 112				31°51′31″N 83°28′47″W / 31.8587°N 83.4797°W
	Jay Calhoun Road				31°51′31″N 83°28′47″W / 31.8587°N 83.4797°W
	SR 90		Rebecca, Georgia		31°46′17″N 83°27′17″W / 31.7714°N 83.4547°W
Rail bridge	CSX Transportation Line formerly known as Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railway				31°46′17″N 83°27′17″W / 31.7714°N 83.4547°W
	Hawkinsville and Florida Southern Railway (Abandoned since before the 1920s)				31°46′17″N 83°27′17″W / 31.7714°N 83.4547°W
	SR 107				31°41′24″N 83°27′41″W / 31.6899°N 83.4615°W
Walker Ford					31°41′24″N 83°27′41″W / 31.6899°N 83.4615°W
Flat Ford					31°40′53″N 83°27′44″W / 31.6814°N 83.4621°W
	Crystal Lake Road				31°40′38″N 83°27′37″W / 31.6772°N 83.4602°W
	SR 125 SR 132				31°31′58″N 83°23′56″W / 31.5327°N 83.3989°W
	Tifton and Northeastern Railroad (Line abandoned in the 1960s, defunct)				31°32′59″N 83°24′54″W / 31.5497°N 83.4151°W
	US 319 SR 35				31°31′58″N 83°23′56″W / 31.5327°N 83.3989°W
	5 Bridge Road				31°28′45″N 83°20′41″W / 31.4791°N 83.3447°W
	US 129 SR 11				31°25′49″N 83°14′44″W / 31.4303°N 83.2456°W
Sgt. James E. Jones Memorial Bridge	US 82 SR 50				31°22′17″N 83°10′17″W / 31.3714°N 83.1713°W
Rail bridge	CSX Transportation Line formally known as the Brunswick and Albany Railroad				31°22′17″N 83°10′17″W / 31.3714°N 83.1713°W
PVT. George W. Lee Memorial Bridge	SR 135				31°18′11″N 83°03′12″W / 31.302988°N 83.053354°W
	Norfolk Southern Railway Line formerly known as Ocilla, Pinebloom and Valdosta Railroad				31°03′14″N 83°02′23″W / 31.053811°N 83.039627°W
	SR 168 SR 64				31°09′25″N 83°02′22″W / 31.156844°N 83.039514°W
	Waycross and Western Railroad (Closed 1925, defunct)				31°03′14″N 83°02′23″W / 31.053811°N 83.039627°W
Captain Henry Will Jones Bridge	US 129 SR 11		Lakeland, Georgia to Homerville, Georgia		31°02′46″N 83°02′36″W / 31.046217°N 83.043361°W
Carters Ferry/Bridge	(Defunct)		Lakeland, Georgia to Magnolia, Georgia.
Hotchkiss Bridge	Old State Road/Old River/Hotchiss Road (Built 1895, defunct)				30°56′11″N 83°02′26″W / 30.936513°N 83.040614°W
	US 84 SR 38		Naylor, Georgia to Stockton, Georgia		30°55′28″N 83°02′14″W / 30.924563°N 83.037216°W
Rail bridge	CSX Transportation Line formerly known as the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad				30°55′27″N 83°02′13″W / 30.924074°N 83.036841°W
Lee Bridge	(Defunct)				30°51′30″N 83°01′25″W / 30.858398°N 83.023588°W
Howells Ferry/Bridge	Howell Road (Old route, defunct)		Mayday, Georgia		30°49′43″N 83°01′07″W / 30.828749°N 83.018640°W
	Howell Road		Mayday, Georgia		30°49′41″N 83°01′07″W / 30.828193°N 83.018549°W
Rail bridge	Norfolk Southern Railway Line formerly known as the Atlantic, Valdosta and Western Railway		Mayday, Georgia		30°49′37″N 83°01′06″W / 30.826888°N 83.018458°W
Formally the location of Troublesome Ford	SR 94		Statenville, Georgia		30°42′14″N 83°01′58″W / 30.703908°N 83.032683°W
	SR 150		Jennings, Florida to Jasper, Florida		30°35′54″N 83°04′24″W / 30.598471°N 83.073230°W
Rail bridge	Norfolk Southern Railway Line formerly known as Georgia Southern and Florida Railway				30°35′53″N 83°04′24″W / 30.598135°N 83.073226°W
	NW 14th Terrace (Defunct)				30°35′37″N 83°03′55″W / 30.593586°N 83.065301°W
	US 41		Jennings, Florida to Jasper, Florida		30°31′44″N 83°02′18″W / 30.528814°N 83.038319°W
	Interstate 75				30°29′57″N 83°02′27″W / 30.499170°N 83.040930°W
	(Defunct)				30°27′12″N 83°05′22″W / 30.453340°N 83.089351°W
	SW County Road 751		Alapaha River Rise		30°26′55″N 83°05′49″W / 30.448605°N 83.096923°W

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 18, 2011
2. George Ransford Fairbanks, History of Florida from its discovery by Ponce de Leon, in 1512 to the close of the Florida War in 1842. Philadelphia: J.P. Lippincott & Co., 1871, p. 60.
3. Fairbanks, p. 76.
4. John Reed Swanton, Indian Tribes of North America, p. 147.
5. Alapaha, the squaw or, The renegades of the border [WorldCat.org]
6. "Disgraceful". Albany Patriot. Albany, Georgia. 23 February 1865. Retrieved 2 September 2016.

External links

• Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry
• DeLorme (2003). Georgia Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-253-6.
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Alapaha River
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Little Alapaha River
• Underground: The Alapaha River as an Intermittent River

Coordinates: 30°26′12″N 83°05′47″W / 30.4366062°N 83.0965262°W