National Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
First lit
16 December 1871
Focal height
187 ft (57 m)
Lens
first order Fresnel lens (1870–1970), DCB-224 (1970–)
Range
24 nmi (44 km; 28 mi)
Original light
Constructed
1802
Construction
sandstone (tower)
Focal height
112 ft (34 m), 150 ft (46 m)
Lens
first order Fresnel lens (1854–)
Range
18 nmi (33 km; 21 mi)
Skeleton tower
First lit
1935
Deactivated
1950
Focal height
166 ft (51 m)
Range
19 nmi (35 km; 22 mi)
Cape Hatteras Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Nearest city
Buxton, North Carolina
Area
10 acres (4.0 ha)
Built
1870
Architect
Dexter Stetson
NRHP reference No.
78000266[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP
March 29, 1978
Designated NHLD
August 5, 1998
Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.[2][3][4] The lighthouse's semi-unique pattern makes it easy to recognize and famous. It is often ranked high on lists of most beautiful, and famous lighthouses in the US.
The Outer Banks are a group of barrier islands on the North Carolina coast that separate the Atlantic Ocean from the coastal sounds and inlets. Atlantic currents in this area made for excellent travel for ships, except in the area of Diamond Shoals, just offshore at Cape Hatteras. Nearby, the warm Gulf Stream ocean current collides with the colder Labrador Current, creating ideal conditions for powerful ocean storms and sea swells. The large number of ships that ran aground because of these shifting sandbars gave this area the nickname "Graveyard of the Atlantic." It also led the U.S. Congress to authorize the construction of the Cape Hatteras Light. Its 198-foot height makes it the tallest brick lighthouse structure in the United States and 2nd in the world.[5][6] Since its base is almost at sea level, it is only the 15th highest light in the United States, the first 14 being built on higher ground.
^"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: North Carolina". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
^Light List, Volume II, Atlantic Coast, Shrewsbury River, New Jersey to Little River, South Carolina(PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2012. p. 6.
^Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: North Carolina". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
^Buxton, North Carolina - America's Tallest Lighthouse - Climb It. Roadside America
^Rowlett, Russ. "The Tallest Lighthouses". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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