ju tianyi wrote:
 
> Dear Professors:
>
> Here is a sentence I read days ago.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Today tropical swamps and marshes are undergoing the most rapid
> accumulation of peat, with rates in Borneo of 17m in 4000 years.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> I wonder how to distinguish the "swamp " and "marsh" here.  As I know they
> are all different kinds of geographical phenomena ( but quite similar ) in
> this sentence. But they are of the same meaning according to my dictionary
> ( wet and lower land or the land with shallow water and grass ). Could you
> tell me what is the tiny difference?
>
> TIA
>
> Tianyi
 
  Tianyi--
 
I would guess that most native speakers would have difficulty making the
distinction between "marsh" and "swamp."  I know I did.  From what I found in
Webster's  Dictionary, it looks like they are both areas of wet land, but a
swamp is characterized by having woody vegetation (such as trees) and a marsh
is characterized by having grassy vegetation (weeds, cattails, etc.).  I don't
know of any other distinction other than this one.  Maybe someone else could
add some more insight.
 
                                I hope this helps.
                                Darrin Jones