Wiregrass Region
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Wiregrass Region or Wiregrass Country is an area of the Southern United States encompassing parts of southern Georgia, southeastern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. The region is named for the native Aristida stricta, commonly known as wiregrass due to its texture.
The region stretches approximately from just below Macon, Georgia and follows the Fall Line west to Montgomery, Alabama. From there it turns south and runs to approximately Washington County, Florida in the northern panhandle. From there it runs east, roughly making its southern boundary along Interstate 10 to Lake City, Florida. From there it turns north, roughly following the Suwanee River back into Georgia and along the western fringes of the Okefenokee Swamp. From here it runs due north back to Macon.
Interstate 75, Interstate 10, and portions of Interstate 65 traverse parts of the Wiregrass.
Major cities in the region are virtually nonexistent, but principally populated areas include:
- Dothan, Alabama
- Albany, Georgia
- Americus, Georgia
- Thomasville, Georgia
- Tifton, Georgia
- Valdosta, Georgia
- Lake City, Florida
- Live Oak, Florida
- Marianna, Florida
- Tallahassee, Florida
The region includes Fort Rucker.
There are only two major waterways in the region, and they bisect the wiregrass dividing it into three portions. They are the Chattahoochee River and the Flint River which join to form the Apalachicola River which flows south from Bainbridge, Georgia and Lake Seminole to the Gulf of Mexico at Apalachicola, Florida.
The Wiregrass Region suffers from extremely high humidity in the summer (due to its proximity to the Gulf) and enjoys mild winters. Snowfall occurs occasionally in this region in extremely cold years.