Pungo Lake

Pungo Lake is a freshwater lake in Washington County and Hyde County, North Carolina.^[1][2] The lake has an area of about 2,800 acres,^[3] and is one of the five largest freshwater lakes in the state.^[4] It is the smallest of the Pocosin Lakes.^[5]

Pungo Lake
Tundra swan in Pungo Lake
Location	Washington County, Hyde County, North Carolina
Group	Pocosin lakes
Coordinates	35.7140686°N 76.5507567°W / 35.7140686; -76.5507567
Type	Freshwater lake
Etymology	Machapunga people
Max. depth	6 ft (1.8 m)

Physical characteristics

Pungo Lake is a black water lake, with no submerged vegetation due to the fact that sunlight can not penetrate its waters. The lake is believed to have formed after a ground fire burned peat deposits, creating a large depression which filled with rainwater.^[6]

History

The lake was named after the Machapunga people.^[2] There were attempts to drain the lake in the 1840s and 1850s, and it was connected to Pungo River via canal, but there have never been any major settlements around it.^[5] The soil surrounding the lake is too peat-rich to be used for agriculture.^[7]

Conservation

The lake is a part of the Pungo unit of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.^[8] The lake became a national wildlife refuge in the 1960s, and additional land was included in the refuge in the 1990s. It is a refuge for many migratory bird species, including snow geese, tundra swans.^[9][3] marsh birds, wood ducks, owls, and hawks. Other species that inhabit the Pungo Lake area include red wolves, white-tailed deer, otters, bobcats, and alligators.^[6]