Cape Lookout National Seashore preserves a 56-mile (90-km) long section of the Southern

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separatin ...

, or

Crystal Coast In North Carolina, the Crystal Coast is an 85-mile stretch of coastline that extends from the Cape Lookout National Seashore, which includes 56 miles of protected beaches, southwestward to the New River. The Crystal Coast is a popular area with ...

, of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, running from Ocracoke Inlet on the northeast to Beaufort Inlet on the southeast. Three undeveloped barrier islands make up the seashore - North and South

Core Banks The Core Banks are barrier islands in North Carolina, part of the Outer Banks and Cape Lookout National Seashore. Named after the Coree tribe, they extend from Ocracoke Inlet to Cape Lookout, and consist of two low-relief narrow islands, North ...

and

Shackleford Banks Shackleford Banks is a barrier island system on the coast of Carteret County, North Carolina. It contains a herd of feral horses, scallop, crabs and various sea animals, including summer nesting by loggerhead turtles. It is a tourist and beach cam ...

. The seashore includes two historic villages on Core Banks, Shackleford's wild horses, and the

Cape Lookout Lighthouse The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is a 163-foot-high lighthouse located on the southern Outer Banks of North Carolina. It flashes every 15 seconds and is visible at least 12 miles out to sea and up to 19 miles. It is one of the very few lighthouses that ...

, which has a black-and-white diamond pattern. A visitor center for the seashore is located on Harkers Island. The National Park Service, as part of their Centennial Initiative celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2016, is planning to rehabilitate the Lighthouse and restore the Cape Lookout and Portsmouth Village Historic Districts.

History

The

National Seashore The United States has ten protected areas known as national seashores and three known as national lakeshores, which are public lands operated by the National Park Service (NPS), an agency of the Department of the Interior. National seashores and ...

was authorized on March 10, 1966. It was named a North Carolina Natural Heritage Area on May 23, 1986. The seashore was designated the Carolinian-South Atlantic Biosphere Reserve on June 16, 1986. Near noon on September 9, 2007, Tropical Storm Gabrielle made landfall at this exact point with winds of . Damage was light but flooding and

beach erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...

affected this lookout. On August 27, 2011,

Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2011 A ...

made landfall near Cape Lookout as a Category 1 storm with 85 mph sustained winds.

Hurricane Arthur Hurricane Arthur was the earliest known hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of North Carolina during the calendar year. It was also the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Hurricane Isaac in 2012. The first nam ...

also made landfall near Cape Lookout as a Category 2 storm with 100 mph sustained winds.

Laws

The Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act (H.R. 126;113th Congress), if passed, would take

wild horses Wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus ''Equus'' that includes domesticated and undomesticated subspecies. * Przewalski's wild horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), a rare and endangered subspecies of wild ...

from herds on the Cape Lookout National Seashore and introduced them to the herds in the

Currituck National Wildlife Refuge Currituck National Wildlife Refuge (), 32.0 °F (> 0.0 °C), at least eight months with an average mean temperature ≥ 50.0 °F (≥ 10.0 °C), at least one month with an average mean temperature ≥ 71.6 °F (≥ 22.0&nb ...

in order to ensure

genetic viability Genetic viability is the ability of the genes present to allow a cell, organism or population to survive and reproduce. The term is generally used to mean the chance or ability of a population to avoid the problems of inbreeding. Less commonly gen ...

Map

Climate

According to the

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppe ...

system, Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

with hot and humid summers, cool winters and year-around precipitation (''Cfak''). Cfak climates are characterized by all months having an average mean temperature > 32.0 °F (> 0.0 °C), at least eight months with an average mean temperature ≥ 50.0 °F (≥ 10.0 °C), at least one month with an average mean temperature ≥ 71.6 °F (≥ 22.0 °C) and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. During the summer months in Cape Lookout National Seashore, a cooling afternoon

sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is any wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass; it develops due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry land. As such, sea breezes ar ...

is present on most days, but episodes of extreme heat and humidity can occur with

heat index The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is al ...

values ≥ 100 °F (≥ 38 °C). Cape Lookout National Seashore is prone to hurricane strikes, particularly during the

Atlantic hurricane season The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year from June through November when tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean, referred to in North American countries as hurricanes, tropical storms, or tropical depressions. In addition, ...

which extends from June 1 through November 30, sharply peaking from late August through September. During the winter months, episodes of cold and wind can occur with

wind chill Wind chill or windchill (popularly wind chill factor) is the lowering of body temperature due to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air. Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When ...

values < 10 °F (< -12 °C). The

plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

at Core Sound in Cape Lookout National Seashore is 8b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 16.6 °F (-8.6 °C). The average seasonal (Dec-Mar) snowfall total is < 2 inches (< 5 cm), and the average annual peak in

nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use o ...

activity is in February.

Ecology

According to the

A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 1907–1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system in widespread use in the United States. Some of this database has bec ...

U.S.

potential natural vegetation In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard eve ...

types, Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina would have a dominant vegetation type of

Live oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are not more closely related to each other than they are to other oaks. ...

/Sea Oats

Uniola paniculata ''Uniola paniculata'', also known as sea oats, seaside oats, araña, and arroz de costa, is a tall subtropical grass that is an important component of coastal sand dune and beach plant communities in the southeastern United States, eastern Mexi ...

(''90'') with a dominant vegetation form of

Coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

(''20'').

Wildlife

File:Core Banks - Tern - 01.JPG,

Common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migrator ...

''Sterna hirundo'' driving intruders away from the nest site. File:Core Banks - Black Skimmer nesting site - 3.JPG,

Black skimmer The black skimmer (''Rynchops niger'') is a tern-like seabird, one of three similar birds species in the skimmer genus ''Rynchops'' in the gull family Laridae. It breeds in North and South America. Northern populations winter in the warmer wate ...

''Rynchops niger'' nesting site near Cape Lookout Point at southern tip of

File:Core_Banks_-_American_Oystercatcher_-_1.JPG,

American oystercatcher The American oystercatcher (''Haematopus palliatus''), occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae. Originally called the "sea pie", it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby observed the b ...

''Haematopus palliatus'' File:Core Banks - Pelican.JPG,

Brown pelican The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mou ...

''Pelecanus occidentalis'' File:Core Banks - Gull - 03.JPG,

Laughing gull The laughing gull (''Leucophaeus atricilla'') is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic coast of North ...

''Leucophaeus atricilla'' File:Core Banks - Egret - 2.JPG,

Great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...

''Ardea alba'' File:Core Banks - Shark.JPG, Small shark File:Core Banks - Whelk - 1.JPG, Live

lightning whelk ''Sinistrofulgur perversum'', the lightning whelk, is an edible species of very large predatory sea snail or whelk, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Busyconidae, the busycon whelks. This species has a left-handed or sinistral shell. It ...

''Sinistrofulgur perversum'' File:Core Banks - Hermit Crab - 2.JPG, Hermit crab, possibly flat-clawed hermit crab ''Pagurus pollicaris'' in a shell of

knobbed whelk The knobbed whelk (''Busycon carica'') is a species of very large predatory sea snail, or in the US, a whelk, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Busyconidae, the busycon whelks. The knobbed whelk is the second largest species of busyco ...

''Busycon carica'' File:Core Banks - Moon Snail.JPG, Shark eye moon snail '' Neverita duplicata'' in a shallow water on a sand bar File:Core Banks - Fiddler Crab.JPG, Fiddler crab File:Core Banks - Green Anole - 1.JPG,

Carolina anole ''Anolis carolinensis'' or green anole () (among other names below) is a tree-dwelling species of anole lizard native to the southeastern United States and introduced to islands in the Pacific and Caribbean. A small to medium-sized lizard, the ...

''Anolis carolinensis'' File:Branded Shackleford Pony.jpg,

Banker horse The Banker horse is a breed of feral horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') living on barrier islands in North Carolina's Outer Banks. It is small, hardy, and has a docile temperament. Descended from domesticated Spanish horses and possibly brought ...

Bibliography

* ''The National Parks: Index 2001–2003''. Washington:

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

. *

Notes

External links

* Official NPS website
Cape Lookout National Seashore

Cape Lookout Studies Program
{{Authority control Biosphere reserves of the United States Protected areas of Carteret County, North Carolina National Seashores of the United States Outer Banks Protected areas established in 1966 National Park Service areas in North Carolina 1966 establishments in North Carolina