Great Cypress Swamp (Delaware)

The Great Cypress Swamp is a zone / outdoor operation zone in southern Sussex County, Delaware.

Difficult enemies include bat swarms.

## History

The Great Cypress Swamp, or just “The Swamp” is situated on the Southern edge of Sussex county and spills over into both Wicomico an Worcester Counties in Maryland.  Historically, the Swamp was known as the headwaters of the Pocomoke River, but ditching in the 1930’s has diverted a large portion of its drainage to the Delaware Inland Bays.

The swamp once yielded much cypress timber. Through overharvesting and a disastrous peat fire in 1930, much of its vegetation was destroyed. One of the fires burned for eight months, leading it to be deemed the "Burnt Swamp" by local residents.

## Geography

*The character and history surrounding The Great Cypress Swamp are as diverse and intriguing as its flora and fauna, and it offers endless opportunities for research about historic and ecological amenities of the region.*  On the geological timescale, The Swamp shows evidence of sandy ridges and shallow depressions, which are remnants of the previous ice-age when the Delmarva Peninsula was a desert of windswept sand dunes.  Today, “The Swamp” is marked by hundreds of years of ditching and draining for agriculture, extensive timbering, and two major historical fires, *the second of which is believed to have been started by the explosion of a prohibition-era still*. Over the course of 35 years or more, Delaware Wild Lands has consolidated 10,000 acres of land in Sussex County, Delaware and Worcester County, Maryland to protect what remains of this once vast 50,000 to 60,000-acre swamp. Just behind the Roman Fisher Farm, *Baldcypress knees and the swollen trunks of Black Tupelo rise from tannin-amber water in a scene more reminiscent of the swamps in the Carolinas.*  Deeper in the heart of The Swamp, the broad leaves of Swamp Cottonwood shade vernal pools and remnant stands of Atlantic White-cedar that serve as a reminder of what the forest once looked like. Delaware Wild Lands’ current management efforts in The Swamp include:

## Landmarks

* Roman Fisher Homestead - *with reed plants and a small marshy plain in the middle of the swamp*
* Ruins of Prohibition Still - *in a small burned crater of brown grass in middle of halved cypress trees*
* Charred area (result of eight month fire) - *goes on for a short while*
* Lake Area - *long and expansive, bordered by trees*
* Heron nest - *by narrow river*
* Canal of floating Indian bones - Cherokee savage sometimes wanders here

## Items

One

* Skull
* Noxious Gas

## Resources

* Cypress Bark
* Maple Resin
* Loblolly Bark

## Dynamic

One

* Kennamite Powder sold here by Roman Fisherman can be used to add wear resistance to metallic items crafted in blacksmithing. (but not welding)

## Quests

One

* **The "Roman" Fisher.**

## NPCs

None

* The "Roman" Fisher - sells unique items and pays a good amount for items.

## Mobs

Two

* Cottonbacked Ruffian - chance of dropping crafting plans
* Bat Swarms

## Beasts

* Heron
* Screech Owl
* Zebra Swallowtail (butterfly)

## Critters

All criteria for To all the Rabbits of the Land (achievement)

* Brown-headed cowbird
* Black-throated green warbler
* Swainson's warbler
* Worm-eating warbler

## Herbs

* Milkweed (not to be confused with milkroot)
* Sunflowers

## Trees

* Bald Cypress
* Loblolly Pine
* Red Maple

## Named Mobs

Sussex County Rare Mobs

There are 17 named mobs which spawn in Sussex Counties wildland areas. Five from these can spawn in the Great Cypress Swamp.

(only three active at a time). Respawns to new boss every few days. No same boss spawns twice.

* Old Silverbeak (Heron) **(Cypress only)**
* Mist (Screech owl)
* The "Roman" (Ruffian)
* Connor O'Two (Park ranger with Gumboro disease) (**Cypress only**)
* Cherokee Savage **(Cypress only)**