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32-638: Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a United States national seashore which preserves the portion of the Outer Banks of North Carolina from Bodie Island to Ocracoke Island , stretching over 70 miles (110 km), and is managed by the National Park Service . Included within this section of barrier islands along N.C. 12 , but outside the national seashore boundaries, are Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and several communities, such as Rodanthe , Buxton , and Ocracoke . Cape Hatteras

64-548: A mean temperature of 10 °C (50 °F) or higher. There are only two types within the C or subtropical climate group: In the Trewartha scheme the D climate group encompasses temperate climates that have 4 to 7 months with a mean temperature of 10 °C (50 °F) or higher. D climate groups have two types: Most of Europe north of the 44th parallel exhibits a Do or Dc climate type. This represents subarctic and subpolar oceanic climate realms, defined

96-673: A national beach or national recreation area , but debate over the meaning of this status and how the land would be acquired by the NPS delayed action, as existing and expected development made it unsuitable for a national park. The 1936 Park, Parkway, and Recreational Area Study Act gave the Park Service a framework to designate and protect a wider variety of resources that included recreational land use. Congress authorized Cape Hatteras National Seashore in August 1937, and President Roosevelt signed

128-400: A role in determining climate classification. Specifically, this would apply if correcting the average temperature of each month to a sea-level value—using the formula of adding 5.6 °C (10.1 °F) for each 1,000 meters (3,281 ft) of elevation—would cause the climate to fit into a different thermal group from that into which the actual monthly temperatures place it. Sometimes G

160-516: Is Gulf Islands , at over 137,000 acres (550 km ); the smallest is Fire Island , at 19,579 acres (79.23 km ). The total areas protected by national seashores and lakeshores are approximately 595,000 acres (2,410 km ) and 214,000 acres (870 km ), respectively. These thirteen sites had a total visitation of 21.1 million people in 2017, led by Cape Cod at over 4 million visitors. The lakeshores and seashores have an emphasis on recreation, and most allow hunting and off-road vehicles, which

192-598: Is a combination of natural and cultural resources, and provides a wide variety of recreational opportunities. Once dubbed the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" for its treacherous currents, shoals, and storms, Cape Hatteras has a wealth of history relating to shipwrecks , lighthouses , and the US Lifesaving Service . The islands also provide a variety of habitats and are a valuable wintering area for migrating waterfowl. The park's fishing and surfing are considered

224-563: Is not permitted in national parks. Five seashores and lakeshores also include land more strictly protected as wilderness areas . Shorelines, both on oceans and lakes, are particularly vulnerable to natural change. National seashores have experienced higher temperatures than in the past, with even hotter summers expected from the effects of climate change . All nine seashores on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico feature low-lying barrier islands , which could be submerged by rising sea levels , and storm surges from severe hurricanes can disintegrate

256-432: Is used instead of H if the above is true and the altitude is between 500 and 2,500 meters (1,640 and 8,202 ft), but the G or H is placed in front of the applicable thermal letter rather than replacing it. The second letter used reflects the corrected monthly temperatures, not the actual monthly temperatures. An option exists to include information on both the warmest and coldest months for every climate by adding

288-511: The A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina would have a dominant vegetation type of Live oak /Sea Oats Uniola paniculata ( 90 ) with a dominant vegetation form of Coastal Prairie ( 20 ). Rodanthe has one of the highest rates of beach erosion on the Outer Banks. There are three visitor centers, each located on a barrier island . The visitor centers offer information about

320-641: The Gulf of Mexico . Point Reyes is the only national seashore on the Pacific coast . While all of these protected sites have extensive beaches for recreation, they extend inland to include other natural resources like wetlands and marshes, forests, lakes and lagoons, and dunes. Many also feature historic lighthouses and estates. National seashores are located in ten states and national lakeshores are in two other states. Florida , North Carolina , and Michigan each have two. The largest national seashore or lakeshore

352-577: The National Park Service (NPS), an agency of the Department of the Interior . National seashores and lakeshores are coastal areas federally designated by Congress as being of natural and recreational significance as a preserved area. All of the national lakeshores are on Lakes Michigan and Superior , and nine of the ten national seashores are on the Atlantic Ocean , including two on

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384-625: The Cape Hatteras National Seashore, ranger programs, and a bookstore. In October 2007, Defenders of Wildlife , along with the National Audubon Society , sued the National Park Service at Cape Hatteras National Seashore for not properly protecting shorebird and sea turtle species that nest on the beaches of the Park. The Park Service was found not to be in compliance with an executive order requiring

416-627: The Great Lakes and Pacific coast also led to designations, including Pictured Rocks , authorized as the first national lakeshore in 1966. Funds from the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation and the Mission 66 program drove system expansion and land acquisition by the Park Service. Altogether thirteen further national seashores and lakeshores would be authorized and established, all in the 1960s and 1970s. The 1961 law authorizing Cape Cod National Seashore

448-507: The Köppen Dfd , Dwd , and Dsd climate types in Trewartha's scheme, but a letter can optionally be added to the end of the symbol to indicate the temperature of the coldest month ( see below ). This is the polar climate group, where all months have a monthly mean air temperature below 10 °C (50 °F). Polar climates have two subtypes, Ft ( tundra ) and Fi ( ice cap ): Highland climates are those in which altitude plays

480-476: The National Park Service instituted its new, and final, ORV management plan. Twenty-eight of the seashore's 67 miles are set aside as year-round ORV routes, with only 26 miles designated as year-round vehicle-free areas for pedestrians, families, and wildlife. The remaining 13 miles of seashore are seasonally open to ORVs. For instance, during the first week of July 2012, while less than 20 miles of

512-486: The beaches and beach access points were placed off-limits to ORV use during the months when the birds are nesting. This became a contentious issue among some residents and users of Hatteras Island as ORV access is considered by some to be an important part of regional culture and economics, despite a 2008 study that found that only 3-4% of annual visitors to the National Seashore are ORV users. In January 2012,

544-931: The beaches are accessible by ORVs, an additional 31.6 miles were open to pedestrians, meaning 78% of the Seashore was open to visitors in some form. The plan also proposes new parking facilities, ORV ramps, and water shuttles to increase visitor access to beaches. According to the Trewartha climate classification system, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina has a humid subtropical climate 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

576-420: The beaches. Warmer temperatures at the Great Lakes may result in continued drop in water levels, with unclear effects on the shoreline. The Natural Resources Defense Council states that long-term planning for all sites must address erosion and visitor access. The first federal protection of shoreline in the U.S. for public recreation purposes was in 1930, when Congress established "the principle of conserving

608-513: The best on the East Coast. Cape Hatteras National Seashore was authorized by Congress on August 17, 1937. The funds to purchase much of the land for Cape Hatteras National Seashore were donated by multi-millionaire philanthropist Paul Mellon . On June 29, 1940, the name of the park was changed by the U.S. Congress to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area . The name change was done to accommodate hunting interests, which at that time

640-514: The bill before visiting Roanoke Island . It was not established, however, until 1953 and dedicated in 1958 after permission to hunt was determined, the land was purchased and donated to the Park Service, and ongoing funding was authorized, but the process would serve as an example for how to create and manage similar dual-purpose sites. A 1955 NPS survey of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts recommended sixteen areas that would be worthy of protection, five of which would become national seashores. Studies of

672-413: The enabling legislation for seashores and lakeshores vary in the degree to which the two are stressed. Trewartha climate classification Trewartha's modifications to the 1884 Köppen climate system sought to reclass the middle latitudes into three groups, according to how many months have a mean temperature of 10 °C (50 °F) or higher: The tropical climates and polar climates remained

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704-407: The establishment of policies and procedures regarding off-road vehicle (ORV) use on the National Seashore, failing to implement management plans to adequately protect the shorebirds and sea turtles nesting in the park. The Defenders of Wildlife have claimed that the use of ORVs on park lands has degraded the habitat used by the nesting birds, many of which are also federally protected species. Many of

736-596: The natural beauty of shore lines for recreational use" in northern Minnesota. With a push for job-creating conservation programs during the Great Depression , the National Park Service expanded its role in managing national parks and national monuments to protecting historic sites and recreation areas, including coastlines. Its work controlling erosion at North Carolina's Outer Banks led to it considering designation of Cape Hatteras , where not only beach-going but also fishing and hunting were already popular, as

768-475: The original scheme, but Am was added later, with the same parameters as Köppen's (except that at least three months, rather than one, must have less than 60 mm average precipitation). BW and BS mean the same as in the Köppen scheme. However, a different formula is used to quantify the aridity threshold: 10( T − 10) + 3 P , with T equaling the mean annual temperature in degrees Celsius, and P denoting

800-635: The percentage of total precipitation received in the six high-sun months (April through September in the Northern Hemisphere , October through March in the Southern ). Unlike in Köppen's scheme, no thermal subsets exist within this group in Trewartha's, unless the Universal Thermal Scale (see below) is used. In the Trewartha scheme the C climate group encompasses subtropical climates, which have 8 or more months with

832-502: The same as in Köppen's scheme, where 1 to 3 months have an average temperature of 10 °C (50 °F) or above. In this climate zone there is only a short period (normally 50 to 90 days) that is frost free. In the original scheme, this group was not further divided; later, the designations Eo and Ec were created: As in Group D , a third letter can be added to indicate seasonality of precipitation. There are no separate counterparts to

864-423: The same as in the original Köppen climate classification. The "highland" climate is ambiguously defined. Newer users of KTC generally omit this option. This is the tropical climate realm, defined the same as in Köppen's scheme (i.e., all 12 months average 18 °C (64.4 °F) or above). The A climates are the realm of the winterless frost-free zone. There was no specific monsoon climate identifier in

896-494: The summer months in Cape Hatteras National Seashore, a cooling afternoon sea breeze is present on most days, but episodes of extreme heat and humidity can occur with heat index values ≥ 100 °F (≥ 38 °C). Cape Hatteras National Seashore is prone to hurricane strikes, particularly during the Atlantic hurricane season which extends from June 1 through November 30, sharply peaking from late August through September. During

928-683: The winter months, episodes of cold and wind can occur with wind chill values < 15 °F (< -9 °C). The plant hardiness zone in Cape Hatteras National Seashore is 8b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 19.6 °F (-6.9 °C). The average seasonal (Dec-Mar) snowfall total is < 2 inches (< 5 cm), and the average annual peak in nor'easter activity is in February. National seashore Download coordinates as: The United States has ten protected areas known as national seashores and three known as national lakeshores, which are public lands operated by

960-490: Was a unique allowance for a National Park Service managed entity. The park was officially established as the first national seashore on January 12, 1953, and dedicated on April 24, 1958, and is currently co-managed with two other Outer Banks parks, Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island . It is headquartered at Fort Raleigh. According to

992-468: Was also important for gaining federal protection. The newest national lakeshore or seashore is Canaveral , established in 1975. There is one former national lakeshore, renamed Indiana Dunes National Park in 2019 in a bid to increase visibility and tourism to the area despite the Park Service's naming conventions. Other national parks that include coastal areas, such as Olympic and Acadia National Parks , emphasize conservation over recreation, though

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1024-688: Was the first to include appropriations for purchasing land; to prevent local opposition it limited removal of private property and established an advisory commission with local representation, an innovation used for others. The creation of Cape Cod recognized the importance of commitment to preserving entire areas threatened by development, even as philosophical questions of uniqueness, national importance, and protection of an urbanized area were raised. The national lakeshores, seashores, and riverways, although lacking recognizable monuments, would be rare coastal areas kept in more pristine condition. Their geologic features and biological significance of diverse plant life

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