White Island and Seavey Island are in the Isles of Shoals

Isles of Shoals

The Isles of Shoals are a group of small islands and tidal ledges situated approximately off the east coast of the United States, straddling the border of the states of New Hampshire and Maine.- History :...

 located off the coast of New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 in the town of Rye

Rye, New Hampshire

Rye is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,298 at the 2010 census.-History:The first settlement in New Hampshire, originally named Pannaway, was established in 1623 at Odiorne's Point. The first settler in Rye was William Berry...

. During low tide, the two islands are connected by a land bridge.

White Island is dominated by a lighthouse, now automated, and the keeper's house. The lighthouse and associated buildings are now owned by the state of New Hampshire. The island hosts a coastal weather station which frequently records sustained hurricane force winds from nor'easter

Nor'easter

A nor'easter is a type of macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada, so named because the storm travels to the northeast from the south and the winds come from the northeast, especially in the coastal areas of the Northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada...

 coastal storms in the winter, due to the exposed nature of the island. The lighthouse tower was restored in 2005 as the result of the efforts of a group of seventh graders in nearby North Hampton

North Hampton, New Hampshire

North Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,301 at the 2010 census. While the majority of the town is inland, North Hampton includes a part of New Hampshire's limited Atlantic seacoast.-History:...

, known as the Lighthouse Kids (a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation). Poet Celia Thaxter

Celia Thaxter

Celia Laighton Thaxter was an American writer of poetry and stories. She was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.-Life and work:...

 grew up on this island before moving to Smuttynose Island

Smuttynose Island

Smuttynose Island is one of the Isles of Shoals, located six miles off the coast of New Hampshire, but actually in the state of Maine. It was named by fishermen, seeing the island at sea level and noticing how the profuse seaweed at one end looked like the "smutty nose" of some vast sea...

 and eventually Appledore Island

Appledore Island

Appledore Island, Maine, is the largest of the Isles of Shoals located about seven miles off the Maine/New Hampshire coast....

.

Seavey Island has been the site of a tern

Tern

Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...

 restoration project conducted by the Audubon Society of New Hampshire in recent years.