The Oldest Lake In North Carolina Is A Beautiful Piece Of Living History
North Carolina boasts a series of natural lakes, all somewhat near the coast and each consisting unique characteristics. The second-largest of the natural lakes is found in the Town of Lake Waccamaw, which happens to surround a lake with the same name. Lake Waccamaw (the body of water, not the town) is estimated to be as old as 30,000 years and its beauty is simply breathtaking. But the history surrounding this gorgeous lake involves a bit of mystery and perhaps even an ancient lovers’ quarrel that may have changed the lay of the land for eternity. Read on to learn more.
The surface of Lake Waccamaw spans 8,938 acres ‐ or, just short of 14 square miles.
The surface is a dark sapphire for most of the year and creates some stunning reflections of the sky when the water is particularly smooth.
The shallow-water lake has a depth of a mere 7.5 feet, on average. In spite of its shallow depth, it was once used by transport boats that carried cypress shingles by boat from a lumber company on one side of the lake to the train station on the other side so they could be transported to market.
Apparently there were once whales (well, at least ONE whale) here. A whale fossil was found in the lake in 2008. Scientists would later determine the whale lived approximately one million to three million years ago. Long after the whales disappeared, Lake Waccamaw is believed to have been formed in some yet undefined way. But there are many theories.
A couple of the theories about how the lake was formed involve the Native Americans that settled here long before European settlers arrived.
One prominent Native American theory is that a ball of fire fell from the sky and dropped on the most beautiful and serene garden space belonging to the people settled here. The people believed the ball of fire was sent to take the garden away because they had begun to take the beauty of the space for granted.
Still another Native American legend involves a love-stricken warrior who was denied marriage by a Native American princess who wanted to stay in her beautiful garden forever (where the lake now sits) and never get married.
According to the tale, the warrior became enraged after being turned down for marriage and subsequently killed all of the men in the village. After, the princess knelt down and asked to die in the garden and for the garden to be instantly turned into a beautiful lake whose waters would never run dry.
Some scientists believe the origin of North Carolina's oldest lake lies in the phenomenon known as the Carolina Bays.
Some believe that long, long ago, meteorites fell from the sky and that one of them hit the ground and formed the giant lake, scorching everything on the ground. Over time, routine dredging within the lake has turned up the charred remains of ancient tree stumps, which seems to support the meteorite theory.
In what ever way Lake Waccamaw was formed, it is most definitely worthy of a visit if you haven’t already. A great place to explore the oldest lake in North Carolina is at Waccamaw State Park, where you’ll find boardwalks both over and around the edge of the lake as well as primitive camping. Learn more about the state park at this link.
Waccamaw State Park Address: 1866 State Park Drive, Lake Waccamaw, NC, 28450
Robin Jarvis is a travel writer and editor for OnlyInYourState.com with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. Her love for travel has taken her to many parts of the world. She's lived in the Carolinas for nearly three decades and currently resides in Charleston. When she's not working, she loves to cook with friends and check out new adventures. General questions and FAM tours: rjarvis@onlyinyourstate.com.
