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Everglades, Florida -

Everglades National Park in Florida—a UNESCO Wetland Area of Global Importance—is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. It's also the largest swamp complex in the country.

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Caddo Lake, Texas -

One of the largest flooded cypress forests in the United States is rooted in Caddo Lake. In fact, the lake and bayou form the centerpiece of the Caddo Lake State Park, an important ecoregion in eastern Texas. 

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Caddo Lake, Louisiana -

Caddo Lake also seeps into western Louisiana to regale visitors with an equally stunning natural swamp landscape.

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Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia -

The Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia is one of the state's most cherished natural wonders. It forms part of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, which straddles the Georgia-Florida line.

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Okefenokee Swamp, Florida -

Florida's share of the Okefenokee Swamp is held in equal awe. Wildlife calling the forested wetland home include American alligators, North American river otters, wood storks, and Florida bobcats.

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Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana -

Honey Island Swamp is considered one of the most pristine swampland habitats in the United States. According to Louisiana folklore, the swamp's dark, humid interior is the haunt of the Honey Island Swamp Monster, the South's answer to Bigfoot.

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Atchafalaya Swamp, Louisiana -

Also known as the Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana's vast region of wetland and swamp is the largest in the United States.

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Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana -

The swamp and wetlands fall within the boundaries of the Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge, which protects an impressive array of flora and fauna, including the shy wood duck.

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Big Cypress Swamp, Florida -

Big Cypress Swamp is famous for its cypress domes, clusters of freshwater forested wetland that characterize the natural landscape of this huge swampy wilderness. The region is part of the sprawling Big Cypress National Preserve, which merges into the Everglades.

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Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida -

Dominated by a wet cypress forest, the Big Cypress National Preserve contains a mixture of tropical and temperate plant communities that are home to a fascinating array of wildlife.

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Four Hole Swamp, South Carolina -

Four Hole Swamp is sunk into the Francis Beidler Forest, a tranquil nature reserve studded with majestic cypress and tupelo trees, some likely to be over 1,000 years old. The land is owned and operated by the National Audubon Society.

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Southwest Florida mangrove swamps -

Florida's fragile mangrove swamps blanket the state's southwest coast, where the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp drain into the Gulf of Mexico. The estimated 600,000 acres of mangrove forests found in this region constitute Florida's dominant subtropical ecosystem.

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Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia -

The Great Dismal Swamp lies in the coastal plain region of southeastern Virginia and the northeastern pocket of North Carolina. Lake Drummond sits at its center. The swamp and lake form part of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

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Congaree Bottomlands, South Carolina -

The Congaree Bottomlands combine patches of marsh and swampland with creeks and rivers. The Bottomlands are found in Congaree National Park, a designated wilderness area as well as a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

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Lake Martin, Louisiana -

Louisiana's Lake Martin is another swampland destination distinguished for its scenic splendor. It's a protected wildlife reserve and a favorite home for herons, egrets, ibis, and other waterbirds.

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Barataria Preserve, Louisiana -

Part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Barataria is one of six sites found within the park containing natural levee forests, bayous, swamps, and marshes. The park incidentally is named for the 19th-century French pirate Jean Lafitte, who operated in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Great Swamp, New Jersey -

A swamp lying just 45 km (28 mi) from Lower Manhattan? Yes, the Great Swamp in New Jersey is a precious habitat of forested wetlands, marshes, creeks, glades, and hardwood uplands, set within shouting distance of the Big Apple.

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Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey -

In fact, its proximity to New York City makes Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge an appealing all-day excursion option for anyone keen to explore peaceful woodland and spot migrating waterfowl.

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Green Swamp, Florida -

One of two "Green Swamps" listed here, this one in Florida is managed as the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve. A 57-km (36-mi) section of the Withlacoochee River meanders its way through the region.

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Corkscrew Swamp, Florida -

Set in the heart of the Everglades ecosystem, the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary encompasses a habitat that's home to a bewildering variety of flora and fauna. The preserve is noted for its excellent visitor facilities, amenities that include Corkscrew's famous boardwalk.

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Barley Barber Swamp, Florida -

Some of the oldest bald cypress trees in the country stand in Barley Barber Swamp, and have done so for over 1,000 years. The swamp's once considerable dimensions have diminished over time, but the area is still connected by a navigable waterway to Lake Okee Chobee.

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Heron Pond Swamp, Illinois -

Heron Pond Swamp is part of a delightful wetland landscape unique to southern Illinois. It lies within the Cache River State Natural Area, and despite its modest boundaries serves as an important resource for migrating birds and indigenous flora.

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First Landing State Park, Virginia -

The fittingly named First Landing State Park surrounds a verdant swamp of cypress trees anchored in shallow water. The park is named for the nearby site of the first landing on April 26, 1607 of Christopher Newport and the Virginia Company colonists before establishing themselves at Jamestown.

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Great Cypress Swamp, Delaware -

While Delaware's Great Cypress Swamp may not be as celebrated as its near-namesake down in Florida, this forested freshwater swamp located on the Delmarva Peninsula in south Delaware still impresses with its bald cypress trees. They stand regally in Trap Pond State Park.

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Green Swamp, North Carolina -

Not be confused with the Florida swamp of the same name, North Carolina's swampland contains some of the country's finest examples of longleaf pine savannas. It's also famed for its population of the carnivorous plant known as the Venus flytrap.

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Reelfoot Lake State Park, Tennessee -

Regiments of bald cypress line the margins of Reelfoot Lake, the name of which is given to this state park in the northwest corner of Tennessee. More wetland than swamp, the environment nevertheless intrigues with its abundance of wildlife, including dozens of different species of shorebird.

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Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas -

Big Thicket National Preserve is where to explore a myriad of habitats, so diverse in fact that the environment is recognized as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. Swamp hunters should make for the baygall habitat, a scene of blackwater and acid bogs sheltering under a canopy of tupelo and cypress trees.

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Alakaʻi Plateau, Hawaii -

An anomaly perhaps on a list of American swamps, but the Alakaʻi Plateau on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi does include a region of alpine bog, a landscape akin to a swamp. The soggy habitat is found high up in the clouds in the Alakaʻi Wilderness Preserve—one of the wettest places on the planet.

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Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska -

Believe it or not, the remote northern climes of Alaska are home to both glaciers and swamps. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge boasts an interesting mix of small crystalline lakes, shallow boggy wetlands, and an estuary that draws hundreds of birds to its shores.

Sources: (National Geographic) (Country Roads Magazine) (History)

See also: The most picturesque mountain towns in America

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