Hatteras Inlet
Encyclopedia
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, located along the Outer Banks
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
, separating Hatteras Island
Hatteras Island
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 towns of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton,...
and Ocracoke Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to the Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, is the largest lagoon along the U.S. East Coast, being long and 24 to 48 km wide. It is a body of water separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a row of low, sandy barrier islands, including Cape Hatteras. The Neuse and Pamlico rivers flow in...
. Hatteras Inlet is located entirely within Hyde County
Hyde County, North Carolina
-National protected areas:* Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge * Cape Hatteras National Seashore * Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge* Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge * Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
.
History
The first "Hatteras Inlet" was formed south of the current inletInlet
An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a sound, bay, lagoon or marsh. In sea coasts an inlet usually refers to the actual connection between a bay and the ocean and is often called an...
, but closed around 1764. The modern "Hatteras Inlet" was formed on September 7, 1846 by a violent gale
Gale
A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are...
. This was the same storm that opened present-day Oregon Inlet
Oregon Inlet
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 a 2.5 mile bridge that spans the inlet...
to the north. This became a profitable inlet, because it gave the Inner Banks
Inner Banks
The Inner Banks is a term used by some to describe the inland coastal region of eastern North Carolina, an area on the East Coast of the United States that is 22,227 square-miles by its broadest definition...
, NC
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
a quicker and easier way to travel to and from the Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...
. It was easier to come into this inlet from the north. Because of the increase of commerce, Hatteras Village
Hatteras, North Carolina
Hatteras is an unincorporated community in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, on the Outer Banks island of Hatteras. North Carolina Highway 12 passes through the community linking it to Frisco and Ocracoke . It is south of the famous Cape Hatteras and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton...
Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
was established in 1858. The initial invasion of the North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
coast, on Hatteras Island
Hatteras Island
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 towns of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton,...
, during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
called Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries
Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries
The Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, sometimes known as the Battle of Forts Hatteras and Clark, was a small but significant engagement in the early days of the American Civil War. Two Confederate forts on the North Carolina Outer Banks were subjected to an amphibious assault by Union forces that...
came from Hatteras Inlet. The two Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
forts guarding the inlet quickly fell.
Hatteras Inlet today
The inlet today is approximately two miles across, but this distance changes daily because of the convection of brackish waterBrackish water
Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root "brak," meaning "salty"...
. No bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
runs across Hatteras Inlet. A fleet of eight ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
, owned by the North Carolina Department of Transportation
North Carolina Department of Transportation
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina.-History:...
, provides a free 40-minute ride year round to people who want to traverse the inlet. These ferries connect North Carolina State Highway 12
North Carolina State Highway 12
NC 12 is a North Carolina state highway that traverses the northeastern shoreline of North Carolina, linking the islands of the Outer Banks. It is a popular route for visitors touring the Outer Banks...
between the two islands.