Altamaha-ha

by Daniel Eskridge

Title

Altamaha-ha

Artist

Daniel Eskridge

Medium

Digital Art - Digital Painting

Description

Altamaha-ha is a cryptid of southern Georgia folklore. The creature, a river monster with an alligator shaped head and long neck, is said to inhabit the Altamaha river and nearby marshes. Sometimes known as Altie, one of the unusual features is that unlike similar plesiosaur shaped cryptids, Altamaha-ha lacks rear flippers. The legend of this creature, originated with Muskogee tribe and predates the colonial period. Sightings have been reported for centuries. The river basin is very large (the second largest in the U.S. behind the Mississippi) giving the beast plenty of room to swim. Which is good as some sightings of the monster peg it at seventy feet long, though most report about half that length.

While I love creating art depicting cryptids, particularly those of my region (the southeastern U.S.), my home state has few to speak of. There is the Uktena, but that's more in the area of mythology rather than cryptozoology. Then there is Hogzilla, but that was a real animal and a known species. So, I'm rather excited about this one. Really, Altie is the only well known cryptid specific to Georgia.

Thanks for looking,
Daniel

Uploaded

June 18th, 2022

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