Editing Columbus County, North Carolina (section)

==Geography==
{{maplink|frame=yes|zoom=8|id=Q509813|type=shape-inverse|text=Interactive map of Columbus County}}
Columbus County is located in southeastern North Carolina. It is bordered by [[Bladen County, North Carolina|Bladen County]], [[Pender County, North Carolina|Pender County]], [[Brunswick County, North Carolina|Brunswick County]], and [[Robeson County, North Carolina|Robeson County]] in North Carolina and [[Horry County, South Carolina|Horry County]] and [[Dillon County, South Carolina|Dillon County]] in [[South Carolina]]. According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total land area of {{convert|955.00|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|938.12|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|16.88|sqmi}} (1.77%) is water.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 23, 2022 |title=2020 County Gazetteer Files – North Carolina |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_counties_37.txt |access-date=September 9, 2023 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> It is the third-largest county in North Carolina by land area.<ref name= censusprofile/> Columbus is drained by the Lumber River and Waccamaw River.{{sfn|Spruill|1990|p=2}} There are several large lakes within the county, including Lake Tabor and Lake Waccamaw.

One of the most significant geographic features is the [[Green Swamp (North Carolina)|Green Swamp]], a 15,907-acre area in the north-eastern portion of the county. Highway 211 passes alongside it. The swamp contains several unique and endangered species, such as the [[venus flytrap]]. The area contains the Brown Marsh Swamp, and has a remnant of the giant [[longleaf pine]] forest that once stretched across the Southeast from Virginia to Texas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Green Swamp Preserve |url=https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/green-swamp-preserve/ |access-date=August 15, 2022 |website=The Nature Conservancy |language=en-US}}</ref>

===State and local protected areas===
* [[Columbus County Game Land]] (part)<ref name="NCWRC Game Lands">{{Cite web |title=NCWRC Game Lands |url=https://www.ncpaws.org/ncwrcmaps/gamelands |access-date=March 30, 2023 |website=www.ncpaws.org}}</ref>
* [[Green Swamp (North Carolina)|Green Swamp Preserve]] (part)
* [[Honey Hill Hunting Preserve]]
* [[Juniper Creek Game Land]] (part)<ref name="NCWRC Game Lands"/>
* [[Lake Waccamaw State Park]]
* [[Lumber River State Park]] (part)
* [[North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences#North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences at Whiteville|North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences at Whiteville]]

===Major water bodies===
* [[Cape Fear River]]
* [[Juniper Creek (North Carolina)|Juniper Creek]]
* [[Lake Waccamaw]]
* [[Lumber River]]
* [[Waccamaw River]]
* [[White Marsh (North Carolina)|White Marsh]]