Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is one of North Carolina's seven lighthouses (not including the lighthouses on the sounds and rivers). Hatteras is positioned at the convergence of two major ocean currents, resulting is an area know as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, that was the scene of numerous shipwrecks. The lighthouse was a beacon to shipping to avoid the treacherous Diamond Shoals.

Hatteras Island, like all of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, is moving slowly to the southwest, and experience a great deal of erosion by the tides. The lighthouse was relocated further inland to avoid its eventual collapse into the sea. The move was completed in 2000. The lighthouse is open to climbing and affords an amazing view of the coastal area that it protects.