The Waxhaws is a loosely defined area on the border of North and South Carolina, in the Piedmont region. The core of the area lies on the eastern side of the Catawba River, between Camp Creek and Twelve Mile Creek, in Lancaster County, South Carolina. The region is generally forested and hilly, but not mountainous. The name derives from that of the Indian tribe who inhabited the area at the time of its discovery by Westerners, the Waxhaws. One town in the region bears the name, Waxhaw, North Carolina, incorporated in 1889. Part of the area is now the territory of the Catawba Indian Nation.