In late 1994 we began to study the transport and transformation of
materials by the five major Georgia rivers on the Atlantic coast of the
southern USA.  The Savannah and the Altamaha are among the largest rivers
in the eastern USA, both arising in the coastal plain. The Savannah River
has been heavily dredged and extensively dammed, whereas the Altamaha is
relatively undisturbed. The Ogeechee is primarily a coastal plain,
black-water river, but a small part of its watershed is in the Piedmont
clay-soil region. The Satilla and St. Marys are small Coastal Plain rivers
but the St. Marys drains part of the Okefenokee Swamp and has an unusually
low p.H.  The initial focus has been on material moving from head-of-tide
to the coastal ocean. Here we compare the five rivers in terms of
watershed, flow and other physical characteristics. We then summarize our
findings on transport and transformation of organic and inorganic
materials.  Despite the physiographic differences between the rivers, they
show some surprising similarities in the way materials are transformed
during transport through the land-sea margin.