Cape Lookout National Seashore
| Cape Lookout National Seashore | |
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IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
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Cape Lookout Lighthouse
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| Location | Outer Banks, Carteret County, North Carolina, United States |
| Nearest city | Harkers Island, NC |
| Coordinates | 34°36′19″N 76°32′11″W / 34.60528°N 76.53639°WCoordinates: 34°36′19″N 76°32′11″W / 34.60528°N 76.53639°W |
| Area | 28,243 acres (114.30 km2) |
| Established | March 10, 1966 |
| Visitors | 508,116 (in 2011) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Cape Lookout National Seashore |
Cape Lookout National Seashore preserves a 56-mile (90-km) long section of the Southern Outer Banks, or Crystal Coast, of North Carolina, USA, 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 and Shackleford Banks. The seashore includes two historic villages on Core Banks, Shackleford's wild horses, and the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, which has a black-and-white diamond pattern. A visitors 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.
The National Seashore 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 60 mph (97 km/h). Damage was light but flooding and beach erosion affected this lookout. On August 27, 2011, Hurricane Irene made landfall near Cape Lookout as a Category 1 storm with 85 mph sustained winds. Hurricane Arthur also made landfall near Cape Lookout as a Category 2 storm with 100 mph sustained winds.
The Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act (H.R. 126;113th Congress), if passed, would take wild horses from herds on the Cape Lookout National Seashore and introduced them to the herds in the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge in order to ensure genetic viability.
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Wikipedia