Sunset Beach is a beach located on the Cape May Peninsula, in Lower Township, New Jersey, [1] near Cape May Point, along the Delaware Bay, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a local tourist attraction due in part to its proximity to the SS Atlantus, also known as the Concrete Ship, and the Cape May Lighthouse.
Sunset Beach is known for a flag raising-lowering ceremony, which is held daily from Memorial Day weekend through August, and on Saturdays in September. All the flags flown in the ceremony are flags from the caskets of veterans. The ceremony has been taking place on Sunset beach since 1973. [2] Other attractions include Cape May diamonds, clear quartz crystals that can be easily found along the beach's length; the SS Atlantus, a partially submerged concrete ship; summer fireworks. [3]
Many whales are seen from May to December, while migratory birds are seen in the spring and fall. [4] [5] Monarch butterflies use Sunset Beach as a migratory stopover on their way to Mexico from Canada. [6]
Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on the Cape May peninsula, bound by the Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are five barrier islands that have been built up as seaside resorts. A consistently popular summer destination with 30 miles (48 km) of beaches, Cape May County attracts vacationers from New Jersey and surrounding states, with the summer population exceeding 750,000. Tourism generates annual revenues of about $6.6 billion as of 2018, making it the county's single largest industry. The associated leisure and hospitality industries are Cape May's largest employers. Its county seat is the Cape May Court House section of Middle Township. The county is part of both the Jersey Shore and South Jersey regions of the state.
Lower Township is a township in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area, also known as the Delaware Valley or Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 22,057, a decrease of 809 (−3.5%) from the 2010 census count of 22,866, which in turn reflected a decrease of 79 (−0.3%) from the 22,945 counted in the 2000 census.
The Cape May–Lewes Ferry is a ferry system in the United States that traverses a 17-mile (27 km) crossing of the Delaware Bay connecting North Cape May, New Jersey with Lewes, Delaware. The ferry constitutes a portion of U.S. Route 9 and is the final crossing of the Delaware River-Delaware Bay waterway before it meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is only one of two direct crossings between Delaware and New Jersey, the other being the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
The Jersey Shore, commonly referred to locally as simply the Shore, is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about 141 miles (227 km) of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Point in the south. The region includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May counties, which are in the central and southern parts of the state. Located in the center of the Northeast Megalopolis, the northern half of the shore region is part of the New York metropolitan area, while the southern half of the shore region is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as the Delaware Valley. The Jersey Shore hosts the highest concentration of oceanside boardwalks in the United States.
SS Atlantus is the most famous of the twelve concrete ships built by the Liberty Ship Building Company in Brunswick, Georgia, United States, during and after World War I.
The Cape May Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in the U.S. state of New Jersey at the tip of Cape May, in Lower Township's Cape May Point State Park. It was built in 1859 under the supervision of U.S. Army engineer William F. Raynolds, was automated in 1946, and continues operation to this day.
Concrete ships are built primarily with ferrocement hulls, reinforced with steel bars. This contrasts against more traditional materials, such as pure steel or wood. The advantage of ferrocement construction is that materials are cheap and readily available, while the disadvantages are that construction labor costs are high, as are operating costs. During the late 19th century, there were concrete river barges in Europe, and during both World War I and World War II, steel shortages led the US military to order the construction of small fleets of ocean-going concrete ships, the largest of which was the SS Selma. United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for concrete ships-barges was Type B ship. Few concrete ships were completed in time to see wartime service during World War I, but during 1944 and 1945, concrete ships and barges were used to support U.S. and British invasions in Europe and the Pacific. Since the late 1930s, there have also been ferrocement pleasure boats.
Cape May Point State Park is a 244 acres (0.99 km2) state park located in Lower Township, New Jersey, with a Cape May Point postal address. The park offers walking, hiking and nature trails as well as beaches, an exhibit gallery, a ranger office and is the site of the Cape May Light. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.
The Wildwoods are a group of five communities in Cape May County, New Jersey. These are situated on the Island of Five Mile Beach, a barrier island facing the Atlantic Ocean. These Jersey Shore communities have relatively small year-round populations that swell significantly during the summer with vacationers.
The Little Creek-Cape Charles Ferry was a passenger ferry service operating across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay from the 1930s until 1964. Known also as the Princess Anne-Kiptopeke Beach Ferry or Little Creek-Kiptopeke Beach Ferry, the service connected Virginia Beach, Virginia with Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Departures from and arrivals to Cape Charles were matched with times of Pennsylvania Railroad passenger trains such as the Del-Mar-Va Express and the Cavalier that operated the length of the Delmarva Peninsula.
The Cape May National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area on the Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey. It is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System and managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Established in January 1989 with 90 acres (0.36 km2) acquired from the Nature Conservancy, it has since grown to more than 11,000 acres (45 km2) in size, and plans call for its further expansion to more than 21,200 acres (86 km2). It comprises three distinct and non-contiguous units: the Delaware Bay Division, the Great Cedar Swamp Division and the Two Mile Beach Unit. Located in the Middle Atlantic coastal forests ecoregion, the cape provides habitat for large numbers of migratory birds.
Fire Control Tower No. 23 is a NRHP-listed tower located in Lower Township, Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. The tower was built in 1942 as part of Fort Miles, the system of harbor defenses of the Delaware Bay. It was one of 15 towers from North Wildwood, New Jersey to Bethany Beach, Delaware used to aim coastal batteries at German ships and submarines. It is located near Sunset Beach in Cape May Point State Park.
Poverty Beach or Sewell Point is a barrier spit, approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) in length entirely within the City of Cape May, along the Atlantic Ocean coast of eastern New Jersey in the United States. It is the southernmost barrier island in New Jersey.
Turdo Vineyard & Winery is a winery in the North Cape May section of Lower Township in Cape May County, New Jersey. The vineyard was first planted in 1999, and opened to the public in 2004. Turdo has 5 acres of grapes under cultivation, and produces 1,100 cases of wine per year. The winery is named after the family that owns it.
Monarch butterfly migration is the phenomenon, mainly across North America, where the subspecies Danaus plexippus plexippus migrates each autumn to overwintering sites on the West Coast of California or mountainous sites in Central Mexico. Other populations from around the world perform minor migrations or none at all. This massive movement of butterflies has been recognized as "one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the world".
Five Mile Beach or Holly Beach is the name of a barrier island on the Jersey Shore in Cape May County. The popular resort area collectively known as The Wildwoods are on Five Mile Beach and adjacent islands.
Two Mile Beach is a barrier island on the Jersey Shore in Cape May County, since 1922 connected to Five Mile Beach.
Cape May Inlet is an inlet in southeastern Cape May County, New Jersey.
Turtle Gut Inlet was an inlet located in what is now Wildwood Crest, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States.
Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area is a 1,159-acre (469 ha) wildlife management area in Lower Township, Cape May County, New Jersey.
38°56′40″N74°58′14″W / 38.9444°N 74.9705°W
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