Lake Waccamaw
Encyclopedia
Lake Waccamaw is a unique fresh water
lake
located in Columbus County
in North Carolina
. The lake is oval in shape and measures roughly 5.2 by 3.5 miles (5.6 km) with an average depth of 7.5 feet (2.3 m). It covers 36,170,802 square meters, an average width of 2.32 meters and a shoreline of about 22,852 meters. 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 by four creeks: First, Second, Third, and Big Creeks. The lake outlet forms the Waccamaw River
which flows southeasterly to empty into the Atlantic Ocean near Georgetown, South Carolina
It is the largest of the natural Carolina Bay
Lakes (Bladen Lake Group
) with a total surface area of 8938 acres (36.2 km²). The term "Bay" Lake stems from the abundance of bay trees (Magnolia virginiana L., Gordonia lasianthus Ellis, and Persea spp., Frey, 1949) growing in the numerous swampy oval depressions on the Carolina coastal plain. The lake has been estimated to be 15,000 -30,000 years old, although older fossils have been found upon the shores, and in 2008 a whale fossil was found in the lake. Scientists have removed the bones of a whale that they say may date back 1 - 3 million years. Once restored, the skull of the whale will be on display at the forestry museum in Whiteville, NC.
The lake is fed mainly by Big Creek and the surrounding swamp lands
. The organic matter from the decaying vegetation of the swamps makes the water tea-colored. The lake is full of life. It even contains some species
of fish
, such as the Waccamaw silverside
, that are native only to Lake Waccamaw.
Lake Waccamaw has a broad, flat bottom of gyttja (mud) and peat
encircled by sandy shallows and submerged sandy terraces that extend up to 500 m offshore. A natural sand bar, which extends along the northwest shore between a fringing cypress swamp and the main lake, was supplemented with spoil dredged to form a neighboring canal
in 1946 and developed with private residences. Big Creek delivers tea-colored water from the large cypress and gum tree swamp at the northeast corner of the lake, and the Waccamaw River
emerges from the southern shore. A dam
at the outlet built in 1926 now regulates lake levels, which used to fall by as much as a meter during dry spells, occasionally exposing the sand terraces. The dam was renovated in 2008 to help restore control of the lake water levels.
Lake Waccamaw has 14 miles (22.5 km) of shoreline and, unlike most of the other Carolina Bay lakes, it gets the majority of its water from the surrounding swamp instead of direct rain
water. A limestone
bluff along the north shore filters the water and reduces the acid
ity levels, making the lake ideal for a wide range of aquatic life.
The lake was established as a North Carolina State Lake in 1929, and it is managed by the adjacent Lake Waccamaw State Park
.
s. Dredges have brought up old charred tree stumps, and they support a theory that the lake is the basin left by a prehistoric peat fire.
Lake Waccamaw has several feeders, called First Little, Second Little and Third Little Creeks and then Big Creek as well as water from the Friar swamp. Underground springs feed the creeks.
Before the arrival of European settlers to Lake Waccamaw, it was inhabited by Native Americans
. A place still called Indian Mounds is on the east shore and, on the site of one mound, it is said nothing will grow on it.
King Charles the Second
originally granted this land to one of the Lord Proprietors
who made individual grants to those willing to settle in this part of the new world. These large grants were divided among heirs and new settlers. By the mid-18th century, few of the early settlers or their descendants were left around the lake area. They were replaced by people such as John Powell, who brought cattle from Virginia
to settle his grant of land.
There is a quote attributed to John Bartram
stating, "This is the pleasantist place that I have ever seen". There is, however, no evidence of this quote in his writings. The origin of the quote is perhaps explained by The News Reporter
which states, "N.C. State University researcher John A. McGeachy seems to have found it in his paper “Travel on the Cape Fear River in the Colonial Period. A group of at least 14 men traveled the area with Nathaniel Moore in 1733. The publication from that trip was called “A New Voyage to Georgia.” From old Brunswick they traveled 40 miles (64.4 km) up the Cape Fear River to Moore’s place, then to Lake Waccamaw, described by an unnamed author as “the pleasantest place that ever I saw in my life.”
John Powell's son, Absalom, after the American Revolutionary War
, started buying large areas of land. A North Carolina Historical Marker was placed near his grave on August 22, 1933 at Lake Waccamaw. John Powell's son, Isaac, of Lake Waccamaw was appointed first major for Bladen County
militia
in 1804 and a Justice of the Peace
in 1806. He was the largest landowner of his day in Columbus County, owning over 10,000 acres (40 km²) - most of his land in the area of Lake Waccamaw.
Lake Waccamaw is described in the "Voyage of the Paper Canoe" by Nathaniel H. Bishop - "A geographical journey of 2500 miles from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico, during the years 1874-5.". You can read the entire description here: http://www.eldritchpress.org/nhb/paperc/intro.html
More on Lake Waccamaw theories and history can be found at Waccamaw Siouan
The lack of rain in the eastern portion of North Carolina during 2007 affected the water level in Lake Waccamaw. Water levels dropped greater than 15 inches (381 mm) below normal as of late 2007. The record low is 19.5 inches (495.3 mm) recorded in 1993. The record high was 37 inches (939.8 mm) above normal in 1999. In 2008, some additional rain and swamp drainage had increased the water levels.
and killifish
. The water also contains a diversity of unusual mollusks. The endemic Waccamaw spike and Waccamaw fatmucket are among 15 species of mussel
s and clam
s in the lake. And, of the 11 snail
species, the Waccamaw amnicola and siltsnail are also one-of-a-kind species.
Interestingly enough, alligators thrive at Lake Waccamaw.
According to the website http://www.fishbase.org the following is a list of the fish species found in the lake.
Fish Species in Lake Waccamaw: No. of Species listed in Fishbase.org=37
Species
, Family
, Habitat
, Length (cm), Trophic,
Acantharchus pomotis Centrarchidae demersal 21 TL 3.0 native
Ameiurus catus Ictaluridae demersal 95 TL 3.8 native
Ameiurus natalis Ictaluridae demersal 47 TL 3.3 native
Ameiurus platycephalus Ictaluridae demersal 29 TL 3.4 native
Amia calva Amiidae demersal 109 TL 3.8 native
Anguilla rostrata Anguillidae demersal 152 TL 3.7 native
Aphredoderus sayanus Aphredoderidae demersal 14 TL 3.4 native
Centrarchus macropterus Centrarchidae demersal 30 TL 3.7 native
Cyprinus carpio carpio Cyprinidae benthopelagic 147 TL 3.0 native
Dorosoma cepedianum Clupeidae pelagic 64 TL 2.0 native
Elassoma zonatum Elassomatidae demersal 5 TL 3.0 native
Enneacanthus gloriosus Centrarchidae demersal 10 TL 3.0 native
Enneacanthus obesus Centrarchidae demersal 10 TL 3.0 native
Erimyzon oblongus Catostomidae demersal 36 TL 2.8 native
Erimyzon sucetta Catostomidae demersal 41 TL 2.8 native
Esox americanus Americanus demersal 44 TL 3.4 native
Esox niger Esocidae demersal 99 TL 4.0 native
Etheostoma fusiforme Percidae benthopelagic 6 TL 3.2 native
Etheostoma perlongum Percidae benthopelagic 9 TL 3.4 endemic
Fundulus waccamensis Fundulidae benthopelagic 10 TL 3.0 endemic
Gambusia affinis Poeciliidae benthopelagic 7 TL 3.2 native
Lepisosteus osseus Lepisosteidae demersal 200 TL 4.2 native
Lepomis auritus Centrarchidae demersal 31 TL 3.1 native
Lepomis gibbosus Centrarchidae benthopelagic 40 TL 3.1 native
Lepomis gulosus Centrarchidae demersal 31 TL 3.7 native
Lepomis macrochirus Centrarchidae benthopelagic 41 TL 3.3 native
Lepomis punctatus Centrarchidae demersal 20 TL 3.0 native
Menidia extensa Atherinidae pelagic 8 TL 3.2 endemic
Micropterus salmoides Centrarchidae benthopelagic 97 TL 3.8 native
Morone americana Moronidae demersal 50 TL 3.0 native
Notemigonus crysoleucas Cyprinidae demersal 30 TL 3.0 native
Notropis chalybaeus Cyprinidae benthopelagic 7 TL 3.0 native
Notropis petersoni Cyprinidae benthopelagic 9 TL 3.0 native
Noturus gyrinus Ictaluridae demersal 13 TL 3.2 native
Perca flavescens Percidae benthopelagic 50 TL 3.7 native
Pomoxis nigromaculatus Centrarchidae benthopelagic 49 TL 4.2 native
Umbra pygmaea Umbridae demersal 15 TL 3.6 native
Another legend is recorded in the book Recollections and Records. In the book the lake's origin is described in terms of a European-American romantic myth. According to local tradition
, the large and beautiful lake was once a mound of flowers. The keeper of this beautiful garden
was an American Indian princess
who was know to all as the most beautiful princess in all the world. Each spring it became the custom for the chiefs of all tribes to send their sons to the camp of the princess. There they were received from her hands a blessing and a wild rose
that would bring them good luck. As the tale goes, a young brave who had seen the princess asked her to become his wife. She replied that she had promised never to marry so she could stay in the garden, teach, and send all of the tribes her blessings. The brave became very angry and swore that he would destroy the mound of flowers. His tribe invaded and overcame the Waccamaw braves and their chiefs. The princess knelt and asked to die in the garden. She requested that the mound of flowers be changed into a beautiful lake that man could not destroy. She asked too, that the lake would never become dry and that the waters should always be pure and crystal.
lakes. The formation of these lakes is described in detail at Carolina Bay
, housed in a 1904 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
depot, is on the National Register of Historic Places
. Exhibits include a 300-year-old Indian canoe
and marine fossil
s recovered from the lake, natural history specimens, Waccamaw Siouan Indian artifacts, early European settler artifacts, railroad including a caboose
, information on local industries including turpentine
, cypress shingle
s, logging, and tool manufacturing, along with many old photographs. The hours are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 AM to 3 PM and Sundays from 3 to 5 PM. Admission is free. The museum is handicapped accessible.
Fresh Water
Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...
lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
located in Columbus County
Columbus County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 54,749 people, 21,308 households, and 15,043 families residing in the county. The population density was 58/sq mi . As of 2004, there were 24,668 housing units at an average density of 26/sq mi...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The lake is oval in shape and measures roughly 5.2 by 3.5 miles (5.6 km) with an average depth of 7.5 feet (2.3 m). It covers 36,170,802 square meters, an average width of 2.32 meters and a shoreline of about 22,852 meters. 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 by four creeks: First, Second, Third, and Big Creeks. The lake outlet forms the Waccamaw River
Waccamaw River
The Waccamaw River is a river, approximately 140 miles long, in southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the United States. It drains an area of approximately 1110 square miles in the coastal plain along the eastern border between the two states into the Atlantic Ocean...
which flows southeasterly to empty into the Atlantic Ocean near Georgetown, South Carolina
It is the largest of the natural Carolina Bay
Carolina Bay
Carolina bays are elliptical depressions concentrated along the Atlantic seaboard within coastal Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and northcentral Florida...
Lakes (Bladen Lake Group
Bladen Lake Group
The Bladen Lake Group is a lake group located in southeastern North Carolina. Some people believe that these lakes were created by meteorites that showered this area. There are several lakes included in this group and all contain the same geologic makeup. All of the lakes are oval and are angled...
) with a total surface area of 8938 acres (36.2 km²). The term "Bay" Lake stems from the abundance of bay trees (Magnolia virginiana L., Gordonia lasianthus Ellis, and Persea spp., Frey, 1949) growing in the numerous swampy oval depressions on the Carolina coastal plain. The lake has been estimated to be 15,000 -30,000 years old, although older fossils have been found upon the shores, and in 2008 a whale fossil was found in the lake. Scientists have removed the bones of a whale that they say may date back 1 - 3 million years. Once restored, the skull of the whale will be on display at the forestry museum in Whiteville, NC.
The lake is fed mainly by Big Creek and the surrounding swamp lands
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
. The organic matter from the decaying vegetation of the swamps makes the water tea-colored. The lake is full of life. It even contains some species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, such as the Waccamaw silverside
Waccamaw silverside
The Waccamaw silverside is a rare species of fish in the family Atherinopsidae. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.-Description:...
, that are native only to Lake Waccamaw.
Lake Waccamaw has a broad, flat bottom of gyttja (mud) and peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
encircled by sandy shallows and submerged sandy terraces that extend up to 500 m offshore. A natural sand bar, which extends along the northwest shore between a fringing cypress swamp and the main lake, was supplemented with spoil dredged to form a neighboring canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
in 1946 and developed with private residences. Big Creek delivers tea-colored water from the large cypress and gum tree swamp at the northeast corner of the lake, and the Waccamaw River
Waccamaw River
The Waccamaw River is a river, approximately 140 miles long, in southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the United States. It drains an area of approximately 1110 square miles in the coastal plain along the eastern border between the two states into the Atlantic Ocean...
emerges from the southern shore. A dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
at the outlet built in 1926 now regulates lake levels, which used to fall by as much as a meter during dry spells, occasionally exposing the sand terraces. The dam was renovated in 2008 to help restore control of the lake water levels.
Lake Waccamaw has 14 miles (22.5 km) of shoreline and, unlike most of the other Carolina Bay lakes, it gets the majority of its water from the surrounding swamp instead of direct rain
Rain
Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
water. A limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
bluff along the north shore filters the water and reduces the acid
Acid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
ity levels, making the lake ideal for a wide range of aquatic life.
The lake was established as a North Carolina State Lake in 1929, and it is managed by the adjacent Lake Waccamaw State Park
Lake Waccamaw State Park
Lake Waccamaw State Park is a North Carolina state park in Columbus County, North Carolina, in the United States. Located near the town of Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina, it covers 1,732 acres along the southern edge of Lake Waccamaw, a Carolina bay. Lake Waccamaw State Park is located in North...
.
History
Some believe Lake Waccamaw belongs to the Bladen Lake group, which may have been formed by meteoriteMeteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
s. Dredges have brought up old charred tree stumps, and they support a theory that the lake is the basin left by a prehistoric peat fire.
Lake Waccamaw has several feeders, called First Little, Second Little and Third Little Creeks and then Big Creek as well as water from the Friar swamp. Underground springs feed the creeks.
Before the arrival of European settlers to Lake Waccamaw, it was inhabited by Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. A place still called Indian Mounds is on the east shore and, on the site of one mound, it is said nothing will grow on it.
King Charles the Second
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
originally granted this land to one of the Lord Proprietors
Province of Carolina
The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
who made individual grants to those willing to settle in this part of the new world. These large grants were divided among heirs and new settlers. By the mid-18th century, few of the early settlers or their descendants were left around the lake area. They were replaced by people such as John Powell, who brought cattle from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to settle his grant of land.
There is a quote attributed to John Bartram
John Bartram
*Hoffmann, Nancy E. and John C. Van Horne, eds., America’s Curious Botanist: A Tercentennial Reappraisal of John Bartram 1699-1777. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 243. ....
stating, "This is the pleasantist place that I have ever seen". There is, however, no evidence of this quote in his writings. The origin of the quote is perhaps explained by The News Reporter
The News Reporter
The News Reporter is a broadsheet semi-weekly newspaper based in Whiteville, North Carolina. The paper was founded in 1896 and serves Columbus County, North Carolina, United States...
which states, "N.C. State University researcher John A. McGeachy seems to have found it in his paper “Travel on the Cape Fear River in the Colonial Period. A group of at least 14 men traveled the area with Nathaniel Moore in 1733. The publication from that trip was called “A New Voyage to Georgia.” From old Brunswick they traveled 40 miles (64.4 km) up the Cape Fear River to Moore’s place, then to Lake Waccamaw, described by an unnamed author as “the pleasantest place that ever I saw in my life.”
John Powell's son, Absalom, after the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, started buying large areas of land. A North Carolina Historical Marker was placed near his grave on August 22, 1933 at Lake Waccamaw. John Powell's son, Isaac, of Lake Waccamaw was appointed first major for Bladen County
Bladen County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 32,278 people, 12,897 households, and 8,937 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile . There were 15,316 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile...
militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
in 1804 and a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in 1806. He was the largest landowner of his day in Columbus County, owning over 10,000 acres (40 km²) - most of his land in the area of Lake Waccamaw.
Lake Waccamaw is described in the "Voyage of the Paper Canoe" by Nathaniel H. Bishop - "A geographical journey of 2500 miles from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico, during the years 1874-5.". You can read the entire description here: http://www.eldritchpress.org/nhb/paperc/intro.html
More on Lake Waccamaw theories and history can be found at Waccamaw Siouan
Waccamaw Siouan
Waccamaw Siouan Indians are one of eight state-recognized Native American tribal nations in North Carolina. Formerly Siouan-speaking, they are located predominantly in the southeastern North Carolina counties of Bladen and Columbus. They adopted this name in 1948. Their communities are St...
Recent Environmental Events
Aquatic Life in Lake Waccamaw
Several endemic species are found only in or around the lake, including the Waccamaw darter, silversideWaccamaw silverside
The Waccamaw silverside is a rare species of fish in the family Atherinopsidae. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.-Description:...
and killifish
Killifish
A killifish is any of various oviparous cyprinodontiform fish . Altogether, there are some 1270 different species of killifish, the biggest family being Rivulidae, containing more than 320 species...
. The water also contains a diversity of unusual mollusks. The endemic Waccamaw spike and Waccamaw fatmucket are among 15 species of mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
s and clam
Clam
The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...
s in the lake. And, of the 11 snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
species, the Waccamaw amnicola and siltsnail are also one-of-a-kind species.
Interestingly enough, alligators thrive at Lake Waccamaw.
According to the website http://www.fishbase.org the following is a list of the fish species found in the lake.
Fish Species in Lake Waccamaw: No. of Species listed in Fishbase.org=37
Species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, Family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, Habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
, Length (cm), Trophic,
Acantharchus pomotis Centrarchidae demersal 21 TL 3.0 native
Ameiurus catus Ictaluridae demersal 95 TL 3.8 native
Ameiurus natalis Ictaluridae demersal 47 TL 3.3 native
Ameiurus platycephalus Ictaluridae demersal 29 TL 3.4 native
Amia calva Amiidae demersal 109 TL 3.8 native
Anguilla rostrata Anguillidae demersal 152 TL 3.7 native
Aphredoderus sayanus Aphredoderidae demersal 14 TL 3.4 native
Centrarchus macropterus Centrarchidae demersal 30 TL 3.7 native
Cyprinus carpio carpio Cyprinidae benthopelagic 147 TL 3.0 native
Dorosoma cepedianum Clupeidae pelagic 64 TL 2.0 native
Elassoma zonatum Elassomatidae demersal 5 TL 3.0 native
Enneacanthus gloriosus Centrarchidae demersal 10 TL 3.0 native
Enneacanthus obesus Centrarchidae demersal 10 TL 3.0 native
Erimyzon oblongus Catostomidae demersal 36 TL 2.8 native
Erimyzon sucetta Catostomidae demersal 41 TL 2.8 native
Esox americanus Americanus demersal 44 TL 3.4 native
Esox niger Esocidae demersal 99 TL 4.0 native
Etheostoma fusiforme Percidae benthopelagic 6 TL 3.2 native
Etheostoma perlongum Percidae benthopelagic 9 TL 3.4 endemic
Fundulus waccamensis Fundulidae benthopelagic 10 TL 3.0 endemic
Gambusia affinis Poeciliidae benthopelagic 7 TL 3.2 native
Lepisosteus osseus Lepisosteidae demersal 200 TL 4.2 native
Lepomis auritus Centrarchidae demersal 31 TL 3.1 native
Lepomis gibbosus Centrarchidae benthopelagic 40 TL 3.1 native
Lepomis gulosus Centrarchidae demersal 31 TL 3.7 native
Lepomis macrochirus Centrarchidae benthopelagic 41 TL 3.3 native
Lepomis punctatus Centrarchidae demersal 20 TL 3.0 native
Menidia extensa Atherinidae pelagic 8 TL 3.2 endemic
Micropterus salmoides Centrarchidae benthopelagic 97 TL 3.8 native
Morone americana Moronidae demersal 50 TL 3.0 native
Notemigonus crysoleucas Cyprinidae demersal 30 TL 3.0 native
Notropis chalybaeus Cyprinidae benthopelagic 7 TL 3.0 native
Notropis petersoni Cyprinidae benthopelagic 9 TL 3.0 native
Noturus gyrinus Ictaluridae demersal 13 TL 3.2 native
Perca flavescens Percidae benthopelagic 50 TL 3.7 native
Pomoxis nigromaculatus Centrarchidae benthopelagic 49 TL 4.2 native
Umbra pygmaea Umbridae demersal 15 TL 3.6 native
Legend of Lake Waccamaw
There are many theories regarding the formation of Lake Waccamaw. One legend told is the story where the meteorite (falling star) hit the earth on the southeast side of the lake and destroyed all the beautiful flowers that were placed in the garden by the warriors when they came back from a hunt or from protecting the village. The flower garden was taken care of by the women of the village. Many animals lived in the garden as well. Because the people forgot to give thanks to the Creator and became full of themselves, the Creator sent the meteor as punishment. To this day, the Waccamaw Siouan people remember the stories told.Another legend is recorded in the book Recollections and Records. In the book the lake's origin is described in terms of a European-American romantic myth. According to local tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
, the large and beautiful lake was once a mound of flowers. The keeper of this beautiful garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
was an American Indian princess
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
who was know to all as the most beautiful princess in all the world. Each spring it became the custom for the chiefs of all tribes to send their sons to the camp of the princess. There they were received from her hands a blessing and a wild rose
Wild Rose
Wild Rose is the name given to certain flowering shrubs:*Genus Rosa:** Rosa acicularis, or Wild Rose, a rose species which occurs in Asia, Europe, and North America...
that would bring them good luck. As the tale goes, a young brave who had seen the princess asked her to become his wife. She replied that she had promised never to marry so she could stay in the garden, teach, and send all of the tribes her blessings. The brave became very angry and swore that he would destroy the mound of flowers. His tribe invaded and overcame the Waccamaw braves and their chiefs. The princess knelt and asked to die in the garden. She requested that the mound of flowers be changed into a beautiful lake that man could not destroy. She asked too, that the lake would never become dry and that the waters should always be pure and crystal.
Scientific Theories of Formation
Scientifically, Lake Waccamaw is widely believed to be one of the Carolina BayCarolina Bay
Carolina bays are elliptical depressions concentrated along the Atlantic seaboard within coastal Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and northcentral Florida...
lakes. The formation of these lakes is described in detail at Carolina Bay
Carolina Bay
Carolina bays are elliptical depressions concentrated along the Atlantic seaboard within coastal Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and northcentral Florida...
Interesting facts
The Lake Waccamaw Depot museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, housed in a 1904 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was an American railroad that existed between 1900 and 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad...
depot, is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Exhibits include a 300-year-old Indian canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
and marine fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s recovered from the lake, natural history specimens, Waccamaw Siouan Indian artifacts, early European settler artifacts, railroad including a caboose
Caboose
A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...
, information on local industries including turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
, cypress shingle
Wood shingle
Wood shingles are roof shingles made of cut wood, used for roofing material. Such roofing material made from split wood is referred to as "shakes"....
s, logging, and tool manufacturing, along with many old photographs. The hours are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 AM to 3 PM and Sundays from 3 to 5 PM. Admission is free. The museum is handicapped accessible.