Lake Waccamaw

Lake Waccamaw
Sunset from State Park by Joey Nobles
Location of Lake Waccamaw in North Carolina, USA
Location of Lake Waccamaw in North Carolina, USA
Lake Waccamaw
Location of Lake Waccamaw in North Carolina, USA
Location of Lake Waccamaw in North Carolina, USA
Lake Waccamaw
LocationColumbus County, North Carolina
Coordinates34°17′12″N 78°30′35″W / 34.28667°N 78.50972°W / 34.28667; -78.50972
Part ofLake Waccamaw State Park
Primary inflowsBig Creek; First Little, Second Little and Third Little Creeks
Basin countriesUnited States
Managing agencyNorth Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation
DesignationState Lake
Surface area8,938 acres (3,617 ha)
Average depth7.5 ft (2.3 m)
Shore length114 mi (23 km)
Surface elevation43 ft (13 m)
SettlementsLake Waccamaw
References[1]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Waccamaw is a fresh water lake located in Columbus County in North Carolina. It is the largest of the natural Carolina Bay lakes.[2] Although bay trees (Magnolia virginiana L., Gordonia lasianthus Ellis, and Persea) are present within many Carolina Bays,[3] the term "bay" does not refer to the trees but comes instead from an early science publication by Glenn (1895), who used the word "bay" (which he described as "lake-like expanses") to refer to these features near the town of Darlington, South Carolina.[4] Lake Waccamaw is fed by four creeks: First, Second, Third, and Big creeks. The outlet forms the Waccamaw River which flows south-southwest to empty into the Atlantic Ocean near Georgetown, South Carolina

  1. ^ "Lake Waccamaw". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 17 June 1980.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ParkSize was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "History of lake Waccamaw, North Carolina".
  4. ^ Glenn, L.C., 1895, Some notes on Darlington (S.C.), 'Bays': Science, v. 2, no. 41, p. 472-475