Georgia’s Altamaha River is sometimes called the “little Amazon.” It’s just 137 miles long, created by the merger of the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers. But it drains a fourth of the state, reaching all the way from Darien to Macon and Atlanta. And it’s been an engine for commercial activity for hundreds of years.

Buddy Sullivan has studied the river and written about it extensively. He talked to GPB’s Joshua Stewart about the economic significance of the Altamaha.

NOTE: Travel down the Altamaha and learn much more about it on Georgia Outdoors premiering 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 29, and 6 p.m. Saturday, July 30, on GPB TV.

Tags: fishing, tourism, Atlanta, Macon, Altamaha River, Ocmulgee River, Oconee River, Darien, timber industry, Buddy Sullivan, ecotourism