Lake Waccamaw
Lake Waccamaw is a fresh water lake located in Columbus County in North Carolina. It is the largest of the natural Carolina Bay lakes. Although bay trees (Magnolia virginiana L., Gordonia lasianthus Ellis, and Persea) are present within many Carolina Bays, 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. 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 Geography Lake Waccamaw has a broad, flat bottom of gyttja (mud) and peat, encircled by sandy shallows and submerged sandy terraces that extend up to offshore. The lake is oval in shape, measuring roughly by , covering surface area with an average depth of and a shoreline of about . The marginal 70% of the lake bottom is composed of clear sand, whereas the central 30% is overlaid with a deposit of fibrous and pulpy peat. The lake is fed mainly by Big Creek