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The Congaree River is a short but wide river in South Carolina in the United States. It flows for only 47 mi (78 km) but serves an important role as the final outlet channel for the entire Lower Saluda and Lower Broad watersheds, before merging with the Wateree River just north of Lake Marion to form the Santee River.
It is formed in Columbia by the confluence of the Saluda and Broad rivers near the Piedmont (United States) fall line. It serves as part of the boundary between Richland, Calhoun, and Lexington counties. The only cities in close proximity to river are Columbia on the east, and Cayce and West Columiba on the west.
Alhough the river quite meandering through its vast bottomland swamp below Columbia, it is navigable along much of its length at high water by barge traffic, which comes upriver from the Port of Charleston approximately 100 miles (167 km) through the Santee-Cooper Lakes to within 5 mi (8 km) of the fall line. The Congaree Swamp National Monument, one of the main recreational attractions of the river, is located about halfway down the river's course. The National Park of 22,200 acres (90 km²)has set aside some of the last remaining bottomland hardwood forest in North America. Recreational opportunities include hiking, biking, bird watching, botanical interests, and canoeing.
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