| Congaree National Park | |
|---|---|
 Boardwalk passes through old growth forest of bald cypress and water tupelo | |
  Location in South Carolina Show map of South Carolina Congaree National Park (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | Richland County, South Carolina, United States |
| Nearest city | Eastover, South Carolina (town) |
| Coordinates | 33°47′0″N80°47′0″W / 33.78333°N 80.78333°W /33.78333; -80.78333 |
| Area | 26,692.6 acres (108.021 km2)[2] |
| Max. elevation | 140 feet (43 m)[3] |
| Min. elevation | 80 feet (24 m) |
| Established | November 10, 2003 |
| Visitors | 145,929 (in 2018)[4] |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | nps |
| Designated | 2 February 2012 |
| Reference no. | 2030[5] |
| Designated | May 1974 |
Congaree National Park is a 26,692.6-acre (41.7 sq mi; 108.0 km2)national park of the United States in centralSouth Carolina, 18 miles southeast of the state capital,Columbia. The park preserves the largest tract ofold growthbottomland hardwood forest left in the United States. The lush trees growing in its floodplain forest are some of the tallest in the eastern United States, forming one of the highesttemperate deciduous forest canopies remaining in the world. TheCongaree River flows through the park. About 15,000 acres (23.4 sq mi; 60.7 km2) are designated as awilderness area.
The park received its official designation in 2003 as the culmination of a grassroots campaign that began in 1969. With 145,929 visitors in 2018, it ranks as the United States' 10th-least visited national park, just behindNevada'sGreat Basin National Park.[6]
Resource extraction on the Congaree River centered oncypress logging from 1898 when theSantee River Cypress Logging Company began to operate in the area of what is now the park. Owned byFrancis Beidler andBenjamin F. Ferguson of Chicago, the company operated until 1914; subsequently, Beidler and his heirs retained ownership of the area. In the 1950sHarry R. E. Hampton was a member of the Cedar Creek Hunt Club and co-editor ofThe State.[7] Hampton joined with Peter Manigault at the CharlestonThe Post and Courier to advocate preservation of the Congaree floodplain. Hampton formed the Beidler Forest Preservation Association in 1961. As a result of this advocacy a 1963 study by theNational Park Service reported favorably on the establishment of a national monument.[8]
No progress was made in the 1960s. Renewed logging by the Beidlers in 1969 prompted the 1972 formation of the Congaree Swamp National Preserve Association (CSNPA). The CSNPA joined forces with theSierra Club and other conservation organizations to promote federal legislation to preserve the tract. South Carolina SenatorsStrom Thurmond andErnest F. Hollings introduced legislation in 1975 for the establishment of anational preserve. On October 18, 1976, legislation was passed to create Congaree Swamp National Monument.[9] An expansion plan was introduced by Hollings and Thurmond in 1988, expanding the monument to 22,200 acres (34.7 sq mi; 89.8 km2).[8]
Over two-thirds of the national monument was designated awilderness area on October 24, 1988, and it became anImportant Bird Area on July 26, 2001. Congress redesignated the monument Congaree National Park on November 10, 2003, dropping the misleading "swamp" from the name, and simultaneously expanded its authorized boundary by approximately 4,576 acres (7.2 sq mi; 18.5 km2). As of December 31, 2011, approximately 26,021 acres (40.7 sq mi; 105.3 km2) of the park are in federal ownership.[2][8]
_on_Congaree_National_Park_Low_Boardwalk_trail.jpg)
The park preserves a significant part of theMiddle Atlantic coastal forestsecoregion.[10] Although it is frequently referred to as a swamp, it is largely bottomland subject to periodic inundation by floodwaters.[2]
It has been designated anold growth forest and part of theOld Growth Forest Network. The park also has one of the largest concentrations ofchampion trees in the world, with the tallest known examples of 15 species. Champion trees include a 167-foot (51 m) 361-pointloblolly pine, a 157-foot (48 m) 384-pointsweetgum, a 154-foot (47 m) 465-pointcherrybark oak, a 135-foot (41 m) 354-pointAmerican elm, a 133-foot (41 m) 356-pointswamp chestnut oak, a 131-foot (40 m) 371-pointovercup oak, and a 127-foot (39 m) 219-pointcommon persimmon.[11][12]
Large animals possibly seen in the park include bobcats, deer, feral pigs, feral dogs, coyotes, armadillos, turkeys, and otters. Its waters contain interesting creatures like amphibians, turtles, snakes, and many types of fish, including bowfin, alligator gar, and catfish.[13]
In addition to being a designated wilderness area, aUNESCObiosphere reserve, an important bird area and anational natural landmark, Congaree National Park features primitive campsites and offershiking,canoeing, kayaking, andbird watching. The park is also a popular spot for watchingfirefly displays on summer evenings. Primitive and backcountry camping are available. Some of the hiking trails include the Bluff Trail (0.7 mi), Weston Lake Loop Trail (4.6 mi), Oakridge Trail (7.5 mi), and King Snake Trail (11.1 mi) where hikers may spotdeer,raccoon,opossum, and evenbobcat tracks. The National Park Service rangers have current trail conditions which can be found in the Harry Hampton Visitor Center. Along with hiking trails, the park also has a 20-mile (32 km) marked canoe trail on Cedar Creek.
Most visitors to the park walk along the Boardwalk Loop, an elevated 2.4-mile (3.9 km) walkway through the swampy environment that protects delicate fungi and plant life at ground level. Congaree boasts both the tallest (169 ft; 52 m) and largest (42 cubic meters) loblolly pines (Pinus taeda) alive today as well as severalcypress trees well over 500 years old.The Harry Hampton Visitor Center features exhibits about the natural history of the park, and the efforts to protect the swamp.
Monthly volunteer-led hikes are offered on some of the longer trails to give visitors an opportunity to get off the boardwalk and up close to nature.
According to theKöppen climate classification system, Congaree National Park has aHumid subtropical climate (Cfa).
| Climate data for Harry Hampton Visitor Center, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2021 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 81.2 (27.3) | 84.1 (28.9) | 89.1 (31.7) | 91.6 (33.1) | 99.6 (37.6) | 105.3 (40.7) | 105.1 (40.6) | 104.8 (40.4) | 98.1 (36.7) | 98.4 (36.9) | 85.6 (29.8) | 82.2 (27.9) | 105.3 (40.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 57.6 (14.2) | 61.2 (16.2) | 68.6 (20.3) | 76.2 (24.6) | 83.0 (28.3) | 89.2 (31.8) | 92.3 (33.5) | 90.6 (32.6) | 85.7 (29.8) | 76.8 (24.9) | 67.5 (19.7) | 59.9 (15.5) | 75.8 (24.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 34.4 (1.3) | 36.2 (2.3) | 42.7 (5.9) | 50.6 (10.3) | 59.6 (15.3) | 67.6 (19.8) | 71.1 (21.7) | 70.4 (21.3) | 64.6 (18.1) | 52.5 (11.4) | 41.3 (5.2) | 36.2 (2.3) | 52.3 (11.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 1.2 (−17.1) | 13.2 (−10.4) | 17.6 (−8.0) | 27.5 (−2.5) | 37.5 (3.1) | 47.4 (8.6) | 56.5 (13.6) | 54.8 (12.7) | 44.7 (7.1) | 29.3 (−1.5) | 18.8 (−7.3) | 8.5 (−13.1) | 1.2 (−17.1) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.89 (99) | 3.58 (91) | 3.97 (101) | 3.12 (79) | 3.47 (88) | 4.97 (126) | 4.84 (123) | 5.01 (127) | 4.43 (113) | 3.55 (90) | 2.97 (75) | 3.77 (96) | 47.57 (1,208) |
| Averagedew point °F (°C) | 35.7 (2.1) | 37.3 (2.9) | 42.7 (5.9) | 50.6 (10.3) | 60.2 (15.7) | 68.2 (20.1) | 71.8 (22.1) | 71.4 (21.9) | 66.3 (19.1) | 55.8 (13.2) | 44.9 (7.2) | 39.2 (4.0) | 53.8 (12.1) |
| Source: PRISM[14] | |||||||||||||
The park resides entirely within the Congaree RiverFloodplain Complex with flood deposits ofsand,silt, andclay.Muck andpeat are the products of vegetation decay. Themeander of the river has produced distinctiveoxbow lakes. North of the park is the NE-SW regional trending AugustaFault and the Terrace Complex consisting ofPliocenefluvial terraces. South of the park is the Southern Bluffs, which have been eroding since theLate Pleistocene. West of the park is theFall Line andPiedmont.[15]
In 2008,South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV) produced a documentary on the history of the Congaree National Park titledRoots in the River: The Story of Congaree National Park. The documentary featured interviews with people involved in the movement that eventually led to the area's U.S. National Monument status, and observed the role the park plays in the surrounding community of the Lower Richland County area of South Carolina. The program first aired on the SCETV network in September 2009.
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