The Frying Pan Shoals are a shifting area of

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body ...

s off Cape Fear in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States. Formed by silt from the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River in the town of ...

, the shoals are over 28 miles long and resemble a frying pan in shape. They provide fishing. The shoals are known for the high number of shipwrecks found in the region and are deemed part of the

Graveyard of the Atlantic Graveyard of the Atlantic is a nickname for the treacherous waters and area of numerous shipwrecks off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States, which are due to the coast's shifting sands and inlets. To a lesser degree, this nickname has a ...

. From May 1994 to August 2008 over 130 new shipwreck locations were discovered in the area. Known since the beginning of European exploration, the shoals were marked on a map in 1738. The southern edge of the shoals has been marked by nine lightships including the ''

Frying Pan A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It typically ranges from in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small ...

'', a light tower, and a

weather buoy Weather buoys are instruments which collect weather and ocean data within the world's oceans, as well as aid during emergency response to chemical spills, legal proceedings, and engineering design. Moored buoys have been in use since 1951, whil ...

. The Bald Head Light and the

Oak Island lighthouse The Oak Island Lighthouse is located in the Town of Caswell Beach near the mouth of the Cape Fear River in Southeastern North Carolina. It sits next to the Coast Guard Station Oak Island, Oak Island Coast Guard Station on the east end of Oak Isl ...

have also provided warning to mariners.

External links

*
15 light station coordinates

References

{{authority control Landforms of Brunswick County, North Carolina Shoals of the Atlantic Ocean Shoals of the United States