Carolina Bays have been a source of fascination for visitors to the low country of South Carolina since the time of their discovery. Some bays are open water depressions dotted with pond cypress trees and rimmed by pitcher plants and sundew.
Some bays are thick pocosins of shrubby sweet bay, fetterbush and pond pines.
They can be 1 acre or thousands of acres. The common feature of Carolina Bays is their symmetrical formation. They are generally oval depressions and the long axis always runs from northwest to southeast. The geological origin of these wetlands remains a mystery. Only about 200 of South Carolina's original 2,600 natural bays have remained in their pristine state.