Distinctive for its black and white diamond pattern, the Cape Lookout Lighthouse is the southernmost lighthouse that guards the Outer Banks, and is easily one of the most visited attractions on the refreshingly desolate Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Barrier Islands Basics
Barrier islands are migratory, slowly moving towards the mainland in a process called barrier island migration or island rollover. During storms, strong winds create a surge of water that can wash over the island. This storm surge picks up and carries sand from the ocean beach to the marshes and beach on the sound side of the island. Here, the sand spreads out, creating blooms of sand called overwash fans. These deposits may be quite thick, raising the marshes higher out of the water and extending them further out into the sound. This overwash is essential to the marshes and other sound side habitats because it is the primary source of new sand deposits in that area.
Over 85% of the sand found on the beaches of Cape Lookout National Seashore is composed of quartz. Dark strips of sand, composed of biotite or magnetite as well as other minerals, can occasionally be found among the tan colored quartz sand. This heavy mineral sand is typically deposited on our beaches by storms which carry the sand from the mid-ocean rift valley.
Core and Shackleford Banks
There are two major sections of the barrier island chain within Cape Lookout National Seashore: Core Banks and Shackleford Banks. Shackleford Banks extends from Beaufort Inlet on the western side to Barden Inlet on the eastern side. Core Banks extends from the point of Cape Lookout and Barden Inlet up to Ocracoke Inlet, across from Ocracoke Village and Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The ocean beach on Shackleford Banks faces southwest while the ocean beaches on Core Banks are southeast facing. Because the prevailing winds are typically northeasterly or southwesterly, sand is often blown across Shackleford Banks from the ocean side to the sound side and blown up or down the beaches of Core Banks. This has allowed plants to trap more sand on Shackleford Banks, resulting in significantly larger dunes on this island than on any of the islands composing Core Banks. A maritime forest has thrived on Shackleford Banks because these large dunes protect the trees from the damaging effects of salt spray.
Inlets of Core Banks
There are generally two large islands which compose Core Banks. These islands are called North Core Banks, also known as Portsmouth Island, and South Core Banks. These islands have been separated more or less constantly since 1899 by an inlet located between mile 18 and mile 24 of the national seashore. At times, additional inlets open, separating Core Banks into three or more islands. Some of the inlets which have appeared along Core Banks are Whalebone Inlet, Swash Inlet, Sand Island Inlet, Old Drum Inlet, New Drum Inlet, Ophelia Inlet, Cedar Inlet, and New Inlet. In order to distinguish them from existing inlets, geologists typically call historical inlets paleo-inlets (for example, Whalebone Inlet is called Paleo-Whalebone Inlet).
These inlets are often highly dynamic: opening, widening, shallowing, closing, and reopening. For example, Old Drum Inlet opened around 1899 just south of mile 18. This inlet closed naturally in 1910, but was reopened by storm surge from a hurricane in the fall of 1933. Old Drum Inlet attempted to reclose and, in order to maintain this channel to the ocean, the inlet was periodically dredged from 1939 until 1952. Old Drum Inlet closed again in January of 1971. New Drum Inlet was artificially opened that same year near mile marker 22. Old Drum Inlet was reopened in 1999 by Hurricane Dennis.
In 2005, Hurricane Ophelia deposited sand in Old Drum Inlet, which closed shortly afterwards, and opened an inlet near mile 24, named Ophelia Inlet. Ophelia Banks-marked by Ophelia Inlet to the south and New Drum Inlet to the north-migrated northwards, eventually closing New Drum Inlet. Hurricane Irene, which made landfall near Cape Lookout in September 2011, reopened New Drum and OId Drum Inlets. This storm also widened Ophelia Inlet.
Visiting the Cape Lookout Lighthouse
The hardest part of visiting the Cape Lookout Lighthouse is simply getting there, but thankfully there are a number of options for reaching the site throughout the Crystal Coast.
Several passenger ferries regularly depart for the lighthouse from the towns of Beaufort and Harker’s Island, and there are also several privately-owned vehicular ferries that leave from the small northern towns of Davis and / or Atlantic on Cedar Island. Prices vary for ferry transportation, and reservations should be made well in advance – especially in the prime summer season.
The History of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse
The current lighthouse was built in the late 1850s, and is the second lighthouse to stand at this isolated spot along the National Seashore. Replacing an 1812 lighthouse that only extended 96’ ft. tall and was therefore ineffective for mariners well offshore, this “new” 1859 structure reached 163’ ft. into the sky, and was outfitted with a first-order Fresnel lens which allowed the beacon to illuminate the region. The ensuing 12-19 mile range of the light was essential, as Cape Lookout is adjacent to shifting sandbars and massive currents, and as a result, serves as the final resting place for centuries of shipwrecks.
Though it officially went into operation in 1859, it wasn’t painted its distinctive diamond pattern until 1873, which distinguished it from other lighthouses along the Outer Banks. (In fact, if it wasn’t for the different patterns of paint, the Bodie Island Lighthouse in the Northern Outer Banks and the Cape Lookout Lighthouse would be nearly identical.)
One of the reasons for the delay in the painting was the onset of the Civil War, which nearly destroyed the lighthouse in its entirety. After Union Troops took over the closest towns of Beaufort and Morehead City in 1862, the lighthouse became their property. In 1864, Confederate soldiers tried to destroy the structure by sneaking on to the isolated beaches, however this attempt to turn the lighthouse into ruins was unsuccessful. (The operation did severely damage the lighthouse’s staircase and its oil supply, however.) Regardless, after the war ended, the moderately-damaged lighthouse was returned to its former glory, and a better-performing iron staircase was installed to replace the original wooden one.
The lighthouse served the coastline admirably for nearly a century until it was automated in 1950, and eventually converted into a popular attraction within the Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Source: https://www.nps.gov/calo/learn/nature/geologicactivity.htm
Questions to answer in order to log this earthcache are below. Answers can be found in the above descriptions as well as on the signs located at the above coordinates for this earthcache. Please message your answers to the cache owner within 48 hours of logging this earthcache as found.
- Name the trees that you see from this reference point.
- A maritime forest on a natural barrier should consist of ___________?
- What are the two large islands that compose Core Banks?
- What plant do you see from this reference point that keeps the sand from blowing away?
- Note the time of day and if you are viewing low or high tide - how many feet from this point do the waves come ashore?
- What do you notice from this reference point that create a dynamic coastline?
- As you walk towards the ocean you will find a path for vehicular traffic and a sign at the coordinates what picture is on the sign?
- Standing at the coordinates for Shell Point, what is the distance to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse?
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Optional: Post a photo of you or your avatar with the lighthouse in the background.
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