Ogeechee River

Ogeechee River is a 294-mile-long (473 km) blackwater river in the U.S. state of Georgia. It heads at the confluence of its North and South Forks, about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-southwest of Crawfordville and flowing generally southeast to Ossabaw Sound about 16 miles (26 km) south of Savannah. Its largest tributary is the Canoochee River. The Ogeechee has a watershed of 5,540 square miles (14,300 km2).

The Ogeechee runs from the Piedmont across the fall line and sand hill region, then across the coastal plain of Georgia to the ocean. From a shallow clear running stream with several shoals, rapids, and a small falls at Shoals, below Louisville the river becomes a lazy meandering channel through beautiful cypress swamps and miles of undeveloped forests.

The origin of the name "Ogeechee" is uncertain, but it may be derived from a Muskogee term meaning "river of the Uchees", referring to the Yuchi people, who inhabited areas near it.

The Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto crossed the Ogeechee (between where present-day Sandersville and Louisville developed) on April 22, 1541, during his exploration of the southeast part of North America.

With the aid of the Smithsonian, George Pilcher, an archaeologist and medical doctor, has dated prehistoric indigenous settlements and burial grounds along the Ogeechee to 8000 BC. Historic Native American tribes continued to inhabit areas along the river, as it was a transportation route, as well as supplying fish and water for cooking and drinking.

The Ogeechee - A River and Its People (2004) is a book by Jack Leigh, the late photographer. It is the only book for which he wrote text to accompany his photographs. The book features geographic and ecological information, as Leigh traced the river from its source to the ocean. He also explores the human culture that has evolved along the river's meanders.