Hatteras Island (historically, Croatoan Island) is a barrier island located off the North Carolina coast. Dividing the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound, it runs parallel to the coast, forming a bend at Cape Hatteras. It is part of North Carolina's Outer Banks and includes the towns of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras. It contains the largest part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It is almost entirely in Dare County, North Carolina, but there is a very small sliver of about 45 acres (180,000 m2) which extends southwest into Hyde County.
The island is one of the longest in the contiguous United States, measuring 42 miles (68 km) along a straight line from end to end, or roughly 50 miles (80 km) along the curve of the land.
Hatteras Island is known for sport fishing, surfing, windsurfing and kiteboarding, and is known as "The blue marlin capital of the world."
Accommodations range from hotels and condos to luxurious oceanfront cottages. Hatteras Island is often used for destination weddings, family reunions, and special events.
According to the United States Census Bureau the island has a land area of 85.56 km² (33.04 sq mi) and a population of 4,001 as of the 2000 census.
Read more about Hatteras Island: History, Law Enforcement, Accessibility
Famous quotes containing the word island:
“I candidly confess that I have ever looked on Cuba as the most interesting addition which could ever be made to our system of States. The control which, with Florida, this island would give us over the Gulf of Mexico, and the countries and isthmus bordering on it, as well as all those whose waters flow into it, would fill up the measure of our political well-being.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)