The Edisto River is one of the longest free-flowing

blackwater river A blackwater river is a type of River#Classification, river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. Most major blackwater rivers are in the Amazon Basin and the Southern United States. The term is used in fluvial ...

s in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, flowing over 250 meandering miles from its sources in Saluda and Edgefield counties, to its

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

mouth at Edisto Beach, South Carolina. It rises in two main tributaries (North Fork & South Fork) from springs under the Sandhills region of West Central

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, just to the south of the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

Fall Line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...

. It is the longest and largest river system completely contained within the borders of South Carolina. Its name comes from the Edisto subtribe of the

Cusabo The Cusabo were a group of American Indian tribes who lived along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in what is now South Carolina, approximately between present-day Charleston and south to the Savannah River, at the time of European colonization. ...

Indians. Near the coast, part of the river was once known as the Ponpon River. The Dawhoo River (sometimes Dawho, or Dawhoe) connects the Edisto to the North Edisto River, also the confluence of the Wadmalaw and the Toogoodoo rivers, where they meet the Atlantic Ocean. Between the coast and the Dawhoo River, the river is known as the South Edisto River. The Edisto system flows through only one major town or city, Orangeburg, the location of Edisto Gardens (on the North Fork). The river system, being blackwater throughout its entire length, flows through highly intermittent bottom swampland. During an excessively rainy season, the river will leave its main channel, with its flow basin increasing to over a mile or more of total width. The lower Edisto basin forms a crucial part of the ACE Basin, an area that encompasses its bottomlands confluence with the Ashepoo and Combahee river basins. A major tributary is Four Holes Swamp, which is unique in that it has no single defined channel, but rather a network of braided channels.

Conservation

Wildlife

Common fish by biomass in the freshwater portions of the Edisto include spotted sucker ('' Minytrema melanops''), bowfin (''

Amia calva The ruddy bowfin (''Amia calva'') is a ray-finned fish native to North America. Common names include mudfish, mud pike, dogfish, grindle, grinnel, swamp trout, and choupique. It is regarded as a relict species, relict, being one of only two sur ...

''), flat bullhead ('' Ameiurus platycephalus''), largemouth bass ('' Micropterus salmoides''), common carp (''

Cyprinus carpio The common carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), also known as European carp, Eurasian carp, or simply carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Ark ...

''), longnose gar (''

Lepisosteus osseus The longnose gar (''Lepisosteus osseus''), also known as longnose garpike or billy gar, is a ray-finned fish in the family Lepisosteidae. The genus may have been present in North America for about 100 million years. References are made to gar ...

''), and American eel (''

Anguilla rostrata The American eel (''Anguilla rostrata'') is a facultative catadromous eel found on the eastern coast of North America. Freshwater eels are fish belonging to the elopomorph superorder, a group of phylogenetically ancient teleosts. The American ...

''). Redbreast sunfish ('' Lepomis auritus'') is the species most prized by anglers.

Edisto Riverkeeper

The Edisto Riverkeeper is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization working to ensure equal access to drinkable, fishable, and swimmable water in the Edisto River basin and its surrounding aquifers and tributaries. As one of over 330 members of the Waterkeeper Alliance, Edisto Riverkeeper seeks to encourage balanced usage of the basin's water resources for residents, industry, and municipalities to utilize and enjoy through education, advocacy, and accountability.

Friends of the Edisto

Friends of the Edisto, Inc. FRED, a non-profit organization, was established in 1998 to facilitate conservation of natural resources and to encourage and support sustainable economic development within the Edisto River Basin in South Carolina

Edisto River Canoe and Kayak Trail

Edisto River Canoe and Kayak Trail "ERCK" is a group of volunteers committed to the preservation of the Edisto River, educating people on safe paddling, and emphasizing the enjoyment of paddling. All instructors are American Canoe Association certified.

History

In late August and early September 1718 pirate captains

Charles Yeats Charles Yeats (floruit, fl. 1718, last name occasionally Yeates, first name rarely John) was a pirate active in the Caribbean. He is best known for sailing alongside and then abandoning Charles Vane. History Woodes Rogers and his fleet arrived ...

and

Charles Vane Charles Vane (c. 1680 – 29 March 1721) was an English pirate who operated in the Bahamas during the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. Vane was likely born in the Kingdom of England around 1680. One of his first pirate ventures was under the l ...

were anchored off Sullivan's Island, capturing ships as they left Charles Town harbor. After a number of disagreements Yeats fled from Vane, sailing up the Edisto River for shelter; Vane tried to pursue him but broke off. Yeats was ultimately pardoned: :''...for Yeats having often attempted to quit this Course of Life, took an Opportunity in the Night, to leave Vane and to run into North-Edisto River, to the Southward of Charles-Town, and surrendered to his Majesty’s Pardon.''

References

{{authority control Rivers of South Carolina Rivers of Charleston County, South Carolina Rivers of Colleton County, South Carolina Rivers of Dorchester County, South Carolina Rivers of Bamberg County, South Carolina Rivers of Orangeburg County, South Carolina