Читать книгу Afoot & Afield: Atlanta. 108 Spectacular Outings in North-Central Georgia онлайн

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Signage along the Non-Game Interpretive Trail, Moccasin Creek State Park (ssss1)

Salamanders are another type of amphibian seen in Georgia wetlands. In northern areas, such as Moccasin Creek State Park near Clayton, look for the spotted salamander, which has a blue-black body with yellow spots and orange stripes on its back.

Dozens of reptile species live in the woodlands of north and central Georgia, including lizards, snakes, and turtles. A group of large snapping turtles inhabits the Big Pond in the Reynolds Nature Preserve south of Atlanta. They can grow to be more than a foot in length, and adult snapping turtles in the wild can weigh 10 to 30 pounds.

Georgia’s various habitats support more than 40 species of venomous and nonvenomous snakes. The venomous copperhead has a stout body colored a dull brown and wrapped with bands the shape of an hourglass. Timber rattlesnakes make their home both on rocky slopes and swampy areas and have a gray or tan body with dark bands. The venomous cottonmouth, or water moccasin, lives in the wetlands and river habitats of Georgia’s Piedmont. It has a thick body of brown, yellow, or almost black and dark bands. Cottonmouths can reach 4 feet in length and have a big, triangular head.