Cow Hell Swamp (also called Cow Hell) is a swamp in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. The swamp is located along the eastern bank of the

Oconee river The Oconee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map Accessed April 21, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it join ...

near the mouth of Buckeye creek in northern Laurens County, with a small portion of the swamp extending north into the southern portion of Johnson County. Cow Hell Swamp is on the opposite side of the Oconee river from Beaverdam Swamp, which is located on the western bank of the Oconee river. Cow Hell Swamp has a surface area of approximately and a surface

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

of above sea level. The nearest town is

Dublin, Georgia Dublin is a city in Laurens County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,074. It is the county seat of Laurens County. History The original settlement was named after Dublin, Ireland. Dublin, accordi ...

, the northernmost city limits of which is south of the swamp. The swamp was named Cow Hell by nearby residents due to the fact that cattle that ventured into the swamp from nearby farms would frequently get stuck in the

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s. Cow Hell Swamp is a dense bottomland hardwood forest swamp filled with a large number of

bald cypress ''Taxodium distichum'' (bald cypress, swamp cypress; french: cyprès chauve; ''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide r ...

trees. The nests of birds such as Eastern phoebes are often found in the swamp and its surrounding areas. The swamp is often visited via

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits facin ...

, which is done through the swamp via the Oconee river. The

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

(USGS) mapping quadrangle that the swamp is contained in is also named Cow Hell Swamp, and includes parts of nearby Wilkinson and Johnson counties. In the early 20th century, badly decomposed human remains were found in the swamp after a nearby farmer went missing while herding cows. The remains were unable to be identified and were buried in a nearby grave.

References

{{Reflist Swamps of Georgia (U.S. state) Bodies of water of Johnson County, Georgia Bodies of water of Laurens County, Georgia Bodies of water of Wilkinson County, Georgia