As a result of its proximity to water, temperatures above 90 ☏ (32 ☌) are rare, with an average of only 2.3 days annually above 90 ☏ (32 ☌) one or two years out of each decade will not see any 90 ☏ readings. During the summer, average daily highs are in the 86–87 ☏ (30–31 ☌) range, and occasional intense (but usually brief) thundershowers occur. įor all narrative below, consult the climate table, showing climate data for the 1991-2020 period. The cape is the northern limit of tropical fauna. The proximity to water moderates conditions throughout the year, producing cooler summers and warmer winters than inland areas of North Carolina. Cape Hatteras is surrounded by water, with Pamlico Sound to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Most of the area falls into USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 9. ![]() The cape's shoals are known as Diamond Shoals.Īn aerial view of where Hurricane Isabel cut inlets into Hatteras IslandĬape Hatteras has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa), with long, hot summers, and short, mild winters. It is the site where the two great basins of the East Coast meet. mainland, then back toward the mainland, creating lagoons and estuaries sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest community on the island, and is home to the governmental offices and schools for the island.Ĭape Hatteras lies in the chain of long, thin barrier islands of the Outer Banks, which arch out into the Atlantic Ocean away from the U.S. The community of Buxton lies on the inland side of the Cape itself, at the widest part of Hatteras Island. Beach and sound access ramps, campgrounds, nature trails, and lighthouses can be found and explored on all three islands. Few ships wreck today, but storms still uncover the ruins of the old wrecks that lie along the beaches of the Outer Banks.Ĭape Hatteras National Seashore protects parts of three barrier islands: Bodie Island, Hatteras Island, and Ocracoke Island. Others staffed lighthouses built to guide mariners. As early as the 1870s, villagers served in the United States Life-Saving Service. In the past 400 years, the graveyard has claimed many lives, but island villagers saved many. Diamond Shoals, a bank of shifting sand ridges hidden beneath the turbulent sea off Cape Hatteras, has never promised safe passage for ships. Over 600 ships wrecked here as victims of shallow shoals, storms, and war. The treacherous waters off the coast of the Outer Banks are known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. It is also the nearest landmass on the North American mainland to Bermuda, which is about 563 nautical miles (648 mi 1,043 km) to the east-southeast. ![]() A large area of the Outer Banks is part of a National Park, called the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shape the topography. Image orientated with North to the left and East pointing up.Ĭape Hatteras / ˈ h æ t ə r ə s/ is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina.
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