 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(July 2009) |
Hatteras Inlet is an estuary in North Carolina, located along the Outer Banks, separating Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. Hatteras Inlet is located entirely within Hyde County.
The first "Hatteras Inlet" was formed south of the current inlet, but closed around 1764. The modern "Hatteras Inlet" was formed on September 7, 1846, by a violent gale. This massive storm was the same storm that opened present-day Oregon Inlet. The new inlet at Hatteras became a profitable inlet because it gave the Inner Banks, NC a quicker and easier route to travel to and from the Gulf Stream. It was easier to come into this inlet from the north than to Ocracoke. Because of the increase in commerce, Hatteras Village Post Office was established in 1858. The initial invasion of the North Carolina coast on Hatteras Island during the Civil War, called the Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, came from Hatteras Inlet on August 28–29, 1861. The two Confederate forts guarding the inlet quickly fell. [1]
The inlet today is approximately two miles across, but this distance changes daily because of the convection of brackish water. No bridge crosses Hatteras Inlet. A fleet of eight ferries, owned by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, provides a free 60-minute ride year round to people who want to traverse the inlet from Hatteras to Ocracoke. These ferries connect North Carolina State Highway 12 between the two islands. [2]
Claiborne S. Young (2005). Cruising Guide to Coastal North Carolina. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair. ISBN 0-89587-314-1.
Hyde County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,589, making it the second-least populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Swan Quarter. The county was created in 1705 as Wickham Precinct. It was renamed Hyde Precinct in 1712 and gained county status in 1739.
Dare County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,915. Its county seat is Manteo.
Ocracoke is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated town located at the southern end of Ocracoke Island, located entirely within Hyde County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 948 as of the 2010 census. In the 2020 census, the population had dropped to 797 people.
Pamlico Sound is a large estuarine lagoon in North Carolina. The largest lagoon along the North American East Coast, it extends 80 mi (130 km) long and 15 to 20 miles wide. It is part of a large, interconnected network of similar lagoons that includes Albemarle Sound, Currituck Sound, Croatan Sound, Roanoke Sound, Pamlico Sound, Bogue Sound, Back Sound, and Core Sound known collectively as the Albemarle-Pamlico sound system. With over 3,000 sq. mi. (7,800 km2) of open water the combined estuary is second only in size to 4,479 sq mi (11,600 km2) Chesapeake Bay in the United States.
Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina.
Hurricane Alex was one of the northernmost major hurricanes on record, and whose formation marked the fifth-latest start to an Atlantic hurricane season since 1954. The first named storm, hurricane, and major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, Alex developed from the interaction between an upper-level low and a weak surface trough on July 31 to the east of Jacksonville, Florida. It moved northeastward, and strengthened to attain winds of 100 mph (160 km/h) before passing within 10 miles (16 km) of the Outer Banks coast. Alex strengthened further and reached a peak of 120 mph (190 km/h) winds while off the coast of New England, one of only six hurricanes to reach Category 3 status north of 38° N. Alex caused a scare of a hurricane-force direct hit in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which had been devastated by Hurricane Isabel less than a year earlier.
Hatteras Island is a barrier island located off the North Carolina coast. Dividing the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound, it runs parallel to the coast, forming a bend at Cape Hatteras. It is part of North Carolina's Outer Banks and includes the communities of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras. It contains the largest part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Prior to European settlement the island was inhabited by Croatoan Native Americans.
Hatteras is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, on the Outer Banks island of Hatteras, at its extreme southwestern tip. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 504. Immediately to the west of the village of Hatteras is Hatteras Inlet which separates Hatteras Island from the neighboring Ocracoke Island. North Carolina Highway 12 passes through the community linking it to Frisco to the east and Ocracoke to the west.
The Outer Banks are a 200 mi (320 km) string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean. A major tourist destination, the Outer Banks are known for their wide expanse of open beachfront and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The seashore and surrounding ecosystem are important biodiversity zones, including beach grasses and shrubland that help maintain the form of the land.
North Carolina Highway 12 (NC 12) is a 148.0-mile-long (238.2 km) primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina, linking the peninsulas and islands of the northern Outer Banks. Most sections of NC 12 are two lanes wide, and there are also two North Carolina Ferry System routes which maintain continuity of the route as it traverses the Outer Banks region. NC 12 is part of the Outer Banks Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway. The first NC 12 appeared on the 1924 North Carolina Official Map and at its greatest length ran from NC 30 in Pollocksville to NC 48 near Murfreesboro. Over time it was replaced by both U.S. Route 258 (US 258) and NC 58 and ceased to exist in 1958. The current NC 12 first appeared on the 1964 state highway map running from US 158 in Nags Head to Ocracoke. In 1976 NC 12 was extended to US 70 on the mainland and in 1987 was extended north to Corolla.
Oregon Inlet is an inlet along North Carolina's Outer Banks. It joins the Pamlico Sound with the Atlantic Ocean and separates Bodie Island from Pea Island, which are connected by the 2.8 mile Marc Basnight Bridge that spans the inlet. As one of the few access points to the ocean along this stretch of coast, Oregon Inlet is a major departure point for charter fishing trips, with a nearby harbor serving as the base for many large boats that travel miles out towards the Gulf Stream almost every day. The inlet is also the location of a U.S. Coast Guard motor lifeboat station.
New Inlet was an inlet along the Outer Banks of North Carolina joining Pamlico Sound with the Atlantic Ocean. It had not existed since 1945 before Hurricane Irene temporarily re-opened the inlet in 2011.
Isabel Inlet was an informally named inlet along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was created by Hurricane Isabel when it swept ashore on September 18, 2003.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division is a branch of NCDOT that is responsible for the operation of over two dozen ferry services that transport passengers and vehicles to several islands along the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Tropical Storm Danielle was a strong tropical storm that made landfall on Virginia in the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season. The fourth storm of the season, Danielle was one of two tropical cyclones in the year to make landfall in the United States, the other being Hurricane Andrew. It formed out of a stationary trough of low pressure on September 18 near the coast of North Carolina. The system quickly reached tropical storm status, and Danielle looped to the west due to a change in steering currents. Tropical Storm Danielle reached a peak of 65 mph (105 km/h) winds before weakening and hitting the Delmarva Peninsula. The storm quickly dissipated over land.
The effects of Hurricane Isabel in North Carolina were widespread, with the heaviest damage in Dare County. The hurricane made landfall in the Outer Banks of North Carolina on September 18. There, storm surge flooding and strong winds damaged thousands of houses. The storm surge produced a 2,000 feet (610 m) wide inlet on Hatteras Island, isolating Hatteras by road for two months. Several locations along North Carolina Highway 12 were partially washed out or covered with debris. Hurricane Isabel produced hurricane-force wind gusts across eastern North Carolina, knocking down trees and power lines. About 700,000 residents lost power due to the storm, although most outages were restored within a few days. The hurricane killed three people in the state – two due to falling trees, and the other a utility worker attempting to restore electricity. Damage in the state totaled $450 million.
Ocracoke Inlet is an estuary located in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States that separates Ocracoke Island and Portsmouth Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. It is the southern terminus of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and the northern terminus of the Cape Lookout National Seashore. The inlet is approximately two miles across, although it changes daily.
Pea Island is an island which is part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Because of the shifting nature of the barrier island system of which Pea Island is a part, and the way in which inlets open and close over time, Pea Island has, at times, been contiguous with the neighboring islands of Bodie Island or Hatteras Island. Pea Island was created when two inlets, the New Inlet in 1738, and Oregon Inlet in 1846, separated it from the neighboring islands. The island was rejoined to Hatteras Island intermittently from 1922 until 1945 as the narrow New Inlet opened and closed with shifting sands. From 1945 to 2011, Pea Island was merely the northern 11 miles or so of Hatteras Island. Hurricane Irene reopened the New Inlet, making Pea Island separate again, although it has since reconnected with Hatteras. Pea Island was home to the Pea Island Life-Saving Station, the first U.S. Coast Guard life-saving station to have an all African-American crew. Since 1937, it has also been home to the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Bodie Island is a long, narrow barrier peninsula that forms the northernmost portion of the Outer Banks. The land that is most commonly referred to as Bodie Island was at one time a true island, but in 1811 Roanoke Inlet, which had separated it from the Currituck Banks in the north, closed. As a result, the Currituck Banks and Bodie Island are now one contiguous peninsula, joined at the Nags Head area, where the inlet once flowed. Today, either name can be used to refer to the peninsula as a whole, but both portions colloquially retain their historical names.
Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative (CHEC) is a utility cooperative that distributes electricity to Hatteras and Ocracoke islands in the Outer Banks region of the state of North Carolina. The electric cooperative was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Buxton.
35°11′31″N75°45′40″W / 35.19194°N 75.76111°W
| Authority control databases: National |
|---|
