by Wayne Dodd
On Saturday, 12/4/2021, 17 members of the CCGMS had the great fortune to venture on South to the Valdosta, GA area to do some prospecting in the Withlachoochee River. We had spectacular weather and the water was actually a very comfortable temperature. Our trip was led by David Braswell.
The Withlachoochee and several other sites in Florida hold the famous Withlachoochee Coral. Some of this ancient coral, which formed approximately 38 Million Years Ago (MYA}, has been agatized. This agatized coral is actually a silica pseudomorph of the original Aragonite coral. The result is some spectacular color and forms within the coral heads.
The group assembled and then drove approximately 15 miles to the boat ramp. There, we found canoes that we rented (arranged by David) and used to travel (ie., paddle!) approximately .6 miles downriver. So, we paired off in the canoes and were on our way. Along the way, several of the collectors pulled off to the river banks to see what could be found. There was not much collectable on the banks above the water line. But there was some under the water along the banks. It was difficult to avoiding sliding down the bank into the river, but we grabbed some stuff that looked interesting and piled it in the canoe. Most of the underwater specimens had a lot of algae growing on them. That made assessment difficult and cleaning, once home, a chore as well. But, for sure, the beautiful agatized coral pieces made it well worth the effort.
Eventually, David led us to a very shallow area where collecting was somewhat easier. That didn’t stop some hearty (and very strong) folks from collecting well below the surface. Some collectors had waders but most just walked around in the water with old sneakers to protect their feet. Mostly what was found in the shallows were small agatized pieces which had been broken off of larger heads in the way distant past. Many of these pieces were beautiful with great potential to be turned in to jewelry.
Following all that digging, we had to paddle back to the boat ramp. Did I mention that paddling back meant going upstream? Oh, and the boats were now filled with coral and therefore a heck of a lot heavier than they were on the way down river. That meant that not only was paddling more difficult, but there were some shallow areas that the increased draft made very difficult to navigate!
It turned out to be a truly special field trip. Fun and, I expect, provided lots of nice specimens to the participants.
We had 17 participants on our December 4, 2021 field trip to the Withlacoochee River, most braving the long drive down I-75 to Valdosta. For the effort, the group was blessed with near-perfect conditions for an early December trip with mostly sunny skies and a 75° day, with water temperatures near 60°. We had six canoes provided to us by Suwanee River Canoe Rental in addition to some who brought their own water transport. After successfully launching from the boat ramp and getting accustomed to balancing in a canoe, the group began paddling and drifting downstream along with the slow-moving currents of the Withlacoochee.
Coral structures and rocks protruding from the bottom were encountered through the swifter sections and required some exiting of the canoes to maneuver around and avoid dragging along the bottom in the shallower sections. As we proceeded downstream, most began to drop off from the group to explore the banks along the way and to explore the coral exposures of the lower Hawthorn Group deposited during the Miocene epoch.Ultimately, we all wound up at a shallow reach in the river with a wide sand bar composed of algae-covered coral heads along with broken pieces of agatized coral and sand deposited by the currents. Water levels on the river were near their average lows on our trip but are frequently 10 to 25 feet higher with swifter currents that can move the bedload and tumble it into place on the sandbars. Small pieces of agatized coral are frequently polished by the fast-moving water and sand and could be found by scratching around in the deposited bed material.
Most canoes and at least one kayak were considerably heavier by midafternoon on the trip back up-stream to the landing. It was also tempting to look for that one last great specimen along the bank and bottom on the return trip.Overall, it seemed everyone enjoyed the unusual but scenic field trip and found plenty to photograph and remind them of their South Georgia river adventure.
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