Lake Waccamaw State Park in North Carolina’s Coastal Plain occupies 2,398 acres along Lake Waccamaw in Columbus County and centers on one of the region’s unusual Carolina bays. The park’s importance lies in this distinctive setting. According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s interpretation, Carolina bays are relict thermokarst lakes formed several thousand years ago in a colder, drier, windier climate, when frozen ground thawed and was later reshaped by wind and water. This suggests permafrost may once have reached this far south during the last ice age or earlier glacial periods. The park preserves both protected lakeshore and evidence of an ancient southeastern landscape.