Coastal dunes lakes are a rare occurrence that only exist in a few places around the globe. In the U.S., these unusual bodies of water are only found in South Carolina, Oregon and Florida, according to Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, an organization dedicated to the preservation of the coastal dunes lakes that dot the coast in Northwestern Florida.

It's difficult to get a count on exactly how many of these rare lakes we have in South Carolina. The photo shown below is a satellite image of a coastal dune lake located on Sullivan's island.
Google Maps
Here's a closer look. The lakes can often have a darker color, due to breakdown of plant life within the water. The copper color you see in places could be attributed to tannins, also from the breakdown of plant life.
Google Maps

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Other coastal dunes lakes are more brightly colored, also a result of plant life and minerals. The one below is located within the 500 acres that make up the Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach. Surprisingly, this lake was considered a detriment to development of Myrtle Beach in the 1940s. As such, one of the original developers gave the property to his daughter who, in turn, developed the Meher Spiritual Center in the mid 1940s.
Google Maps
Many of the dune lakes in South Carolina have an outflow current that, when the water gets too high, breaches the dunes and carries the excess out into the Atlantic. You can see that at work if you look at the beach in the bottom edge of the photo seen below.
Google Maps
Another defining characteristic of a rare coastal dune lake is for it to be within a mile of the coast. The smattering of lakes seen in this exclusive neighborhood near Pawleys Island meets the criteria. These are likely rare coastal dunes lakes.
Google Maps

We couldn't locate any organization in South Carolina that was dedicated to preserving our coastal dunes lakes. However, Fort Walton Beach in Florida has an entire team dedicated to the effort. Watch their short youtube video below to learn more about this rare (and cool!) phenomenon.

Do you believe you’ve seen a rare coastal dunes lake in South Carolina? We’d love to know where it is! Feel free to continue the discussion.

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