Trail Ridge

The Trail Ridge is a sand ridge in southeastern Georgia and northeastern Florida. Portions of the sand on the ridge contain deposits of heavy metals, which have been mined near the southern end of the ridge. The ridge was initially described as a relic beach ridge, thought to have originated in the Pliocene or early to middle Pleistocene epoch as a barrier island with a fresh water lagoon to its west, of which the Okefenokee Swamp may be a relic of the northern end. Later investigation of the internal structure of the southernmost part of the ridge suggests that the ridge is the result of an inland migration of a line of coastal dunes. Part of the southern end overlays a layer of peat that may represent a freshwater swamp that was buried when the dune line migrated inland.