All Carolina bays are shallow. None is deeper than 12 feet. The bays in North Carolina and South Carolina tend to be egg-shaped, with a long axis oriented from the northwest to the southeast. They often have a high sand rim at the southeastern end. They are named bays for the bay trees that typically surround them, not because they are bodies of water.
Scientists further agree that the bays are drying up.
Some are clay-based and others are filled with peat. Some, like Lake Waccamaw, Singletary and Jones lakes, have a natural source of water while others are dry. A cultivated Carolina bay. Another question is why the bays are home to one of the richest ecosystems in the nation. Botanists have counted as many as 30 rare plants and animals that call the bays home.