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16-574: The refuge is strategically located along the Atlantic Flyway , making it an important wintering area for ducks , geese, and tundra swans . At times, flocks of over 12,000 snow geese may be observed on the refuge after their arrival in November. Many other wildlife species such as wading birds , shorebirds , raptors, neotropical migrants, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians use refuge habitats for food, cover, and nesting. A pair of bald eagles also nest on

32-565: A diversion canal seven and a half miles long to connect the two. This was one of the infrastructure projects supported by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression to provide jobs and invest in the future. The dam at Wilson's Landing is eight miles long and has 62 Tainter gates . Despite its size, the Santee Dam generates only 1.92 megawatts of hydropower. Hydroelectric facilities at Pinopolis Dam were designed to produce

48-753: A surface area of 8,231 acres (33.31 km). Of this, 7,357 acres (29.77 km) is in North Carolina and 874 acres (3.54 km) is in Virginia. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service . Atlantic Flyway The Atlantic Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in North America. The route generally starts in Greenland, then follows

64-490: Is named for the American Revolutionary War General Francis Marion , known legendarily as the "Swamp Fox". His former home of Pond Bluff was one of those flooded when the lake was created. The lake is located in five South Carolina counties: Berkeley , Calhoun , Clarendon , Orangeburg , and Sumter . Public access is provided through several public boat ramps, Santee State Park , and

80-550: Is only about a third of the area of what, if filled to capacity, would be the fifteenth largest lake in the U.S.. Lake Marion was created by the construction of the Santee Dam in November 1941, part of the state-owned electric and water utility Santee Cooper 's Hydroelectric and Navigation Project. The project also included construction of the Pinopolis Dam (Cooper River Dam) to create Lake Moultrie , immediately downstream, and

96-537: The Appalachian Mountains to join the flyway. Good sources of water, food, and cover exist over its entire length. The warm climates found in the southern portion of the region are home to many northern birds in winter, while in summer the region is home to many bird species from South America . Land located within the Atlantic Flyway is the most densely populated land out of the four major flyways crossing

112-566: The Saint Lawrence River , the coast of Maine , Long island harbors, Barnegat Bay , Great Egg Harbor , Little Egg Harbor , Absecon Bay, Delaware Bay , Chesapeake Bay, Virginia's Eastern Shore and Back Bays saw presidents and captains of great industry spend part of their winters at their wildfowling clubs. In South Carolina there was Georgetown's and Charleston's old rice fields , and backcountry marshes and freshwater rivers and lakes that continued to draw ducks in great numbers until

128-660: The Santee National Wildlife Refuge stopped feeding the ducks in the winter months of the 1980s due to the economy and changes in National Wildlife Refuge policy across the nation. In the 1960s to the mid-1980s the upper Santee swamp's upper Lake Marion region used to winter over 150,000 mallards each and every winter's duck count. Along the Atlantic Flyway, there are many key sites that migratory birds use to gather to breed, feed, or rest for certain periods. Some species may remain in these rest stops for

144-486: The Santee National Wildlife Refuge . Interstate 95 (As well as U.S. Routes 15 and 301 which are Concurrent with I-95) cross the man-made lake near the town of Santee . Lake Marion is home to several communities and camps for youth and students. Religious groups, fraternal organizations, and rowing teams come to Lake Marion each spring and summer due to its sheltered location, calm waters, and temperate climate. The state fishing record for largemouth bass (16.2 lbs)

160-615: The Atlantic coast of Canada, then south down the Atlantic Coast of the United States to the tropical areas of South America and the Caribbean. Every year, migratory birds travel up and down this route following food sources, heading to breeding grounds, or traveling to overwintering sites. This route is used by birds typically because no mountains block most of this path, though birds cross

176-462: The United States. Ducks and geese are born in the tundra of Quebec , and fly south in autumn to Chesapeake Bay and Virginia 's famous Back Bay , and the James River , and then move southward through North and South Carolina , Georgia and Florida for the winter . Northeast and northwest Florida get a great number of teal and divers as the winter progresses. In the northeastern states

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192-749: The entire season. Notable locations include: The other primary migration routes for North American birds include the Mississippi , Central and Pacific Flyways . There is an East Atlantic Flyway in Europe, and one in the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Marion (South Carolina) Lake Marion is a large man-made lake in central South Carolina . It has a 315-mile (507 km) shoreline and covers nearly 110,000 acres (450 square kilometers or 173.7 square miles) of rolling farmlands, former marshes , and river valley landscape . With territory spanning five counties,

208-417: The lake is referred to as South Carolina's inland sea. The Santee River was dammed in the 1940s to supply hydroelectric power , as part of the rural electrification efforts initiated under President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal during the Great Depression . This created Lake Marion, one of the fifty largest lakes in the United States, whether natural or man-made reservoirs. At current capacity it

224-618: The lion's share of power under the original scheme: it generates about 128 megawatts. In 1985, as part of a large-scale rediversion and redesign, the United States Army Corps of Engineers installed the St. Stephen Dam hydro facility to recapture lost generating capacity of another 84 megawatts. Lake Marion is fed by many tributaries, including Wyboo Creek and the Santee River , and also by numerous springs, including Eutaw Springs. The lake

240-425: The refuge. About 74 percent of the refuge is slightly brackish marsh habitat, dominated by cattails , black needlerush , and giant cordgrass . The remaining habitat includes farmland, marsh impoundments , brush and typical upland and lowland eastern pine - hardwood forest. Vegetation in these areas includes loblolly pine , sweet gum , black gum , cypress , red maple , hickory , and oak . The refuge has

256-473: Was set at this lake. Other fish that abound are striped bass , white perch , white bass , crappie , channel catfish , Arkansas blue catfish , shellcrackers , bream and chain pickerel (jack). Other wildlife at Lake Marion include deer , fox , squirrel , turtle , dove , wild turkey , alligator , and various species of duck , hawk , eagle , egret , and osprey . Conditions vary from shallow swamps and blackwater ponds to vast open water, with

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