Intracoastal Waterway

Front: Archeological evidence suggests human activity on Daufuskie Island as early as 12,000 B.C., with seasonal habitation tied to the harvesting of coastal resources. Early European inhabitants also realized the importance of the coastal waterways for navigation and transportation, utilizing the tidal waters as an intracoastal highway between Charleston and Savannah. Reverse: Later improvements would formalize and extend this inland water route, and this section of the Cooper River is a small portion of what is now the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), a 3,000 mile long inland shipping channel that stretches along the East and Gulf Coasts. The Atlantic portion of the ICW extends from Norfolk to Key West, traveling past Daufuskie Island on its journey south.