The Wateree River, about 75 mi (120 km) long, is a tributary of the Santee River in central South Carolina in the United States, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean.

It was named for the Wateree Native Americans, a tribe who had migrated to this area from western North Carolina.

They lived here until the early 18th century, when they were set upon and displaced by mostly English settlers during the Yamasee War.

Survivors merged with the larger Catawba people, becoming extinct as a tribe.

This is a manmade lake formed by Wateree Hydro Station Dam, a Duke Energy hydroelectric project built in the 20th century in Kershaw County, South Carolina.