Cape Hatteras

Cape 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. mainland, then back toward the mainland, creating lagoons and estuaries sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean. It is the site where the two great basins of the East Coast meet. The cape's shoals are collectively known as Diamond Shoals. Climate Cape Hatteras has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa), with long, hot summers, and short, mild winters. Most of the area falls into USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 9. Cape Hatteras is surrounded by water, with Pamlico Sound to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The proximity to water moderates conditions throughout the year, producing cooler summers and warmer winters than inland areas of North Carolina. The cape is the northern limit of tropical fauna. For all narrative below, consult the climate table, showing climate data for the 1991–2020 period. During the summer, average daily highs are in the range, and occasional intense (but usually brief) thundershowers occur. As a result of its proximity to water, temperatures above are rare, with an average of only 2.3 days annually above ; }} ==History==

The name Hatteras is the sixth oldest surviving English place-name in the U.S. An inlet north of the cape was named "Hatrask" in 1585 by Sir Richard Grenville, the admiral leading the Roanoke Colony expedition sent by Sir Walter Raleigh. It was later applied to the island and cape as well, and modified to "Hatteras". Hatteras is the name of the Hatteras Indians. Because mariners use ocean currents to speed their journey, many ships venture close to Cape Hatteras when traveling along the eastern seaboard, risking the perils of sailing close to the shoals amid turbulent water and the frequent storms occurring in the area. So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic". The first lighthouse at the cape was built in 1803; it was replaced by the current Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1870, which at from the ground to the tip of its lightning rod is the tallest lighthouse in the United States and one of the tallest brick lighthouses in the world. In 1999, as the receding shoreline had come dangerously close to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the 4830-ton lighthouse was lifted and moved inland a distance of . Its distance from the seashore is now , about the same as when it was originally built. SS Dixie Arrow (shipwreck and remains), SS E.M. Clark (shipwreck and remains), SS Empire Gem (shipwreck and remains), and USS Monitor are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1956 the Naval Facility Cape Hatteras, adjacent to the lighthouse, became the eighth of nine shore terminals of the Atlantic Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) operational for over twenty-six years. The antisubmarine ocean surveillance purpose was classified and covered under "oceanographic research" until well after its decommissioning in June 1982. By 1963 there were 122 Navy personnel and 180 dependents resident at the facility. ==Awards and recognition==

Cape Hatteras has received the following awards: • Top 10 U.S. Beaches, Travel Channel • Top 10 U.S. Beaches for 2016, CNN • America's Top 10 Beaches of 2015, Forbes ==Education==

Residents are zoned to Dare County Schools. Zoned schools are Cape Hatteras Elementary School and Cape Hatteras Secondary School. ==Notes==