{{Short description|Estuary in North Carolina, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{more footnotes needed|date=July 2009}} [[File:NPS cape-hatteras-map.jpg|thumb|Map of the Outer Banks showing location of Hatteras Inlet]] '''Hatteras Inlet''' is an [[estuary]] in [[North Carolina]], located along the [[Outer Banks]], separating [[Hatteras Island]] and [[Ocracoke Island]]. It connects the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the [[Pamlico Sound]]. Hatteras Inlet is located entirely within [[Hyde County, North Carolina|Hyde County]].
== History == The first "Hatteras Inlet" was formed south of the current [[inlet]], but closed around 1764. The modern "Hatteras Inlet" was formed on September 7, 1846, by a violent [[gale]]. This massive storm was the same storm that opened present-day [[Oregon Inlet]]. The new inlet at Hatteras became a profitable inlet because it gave the [[Inner Banks]], [[North Carolina|NC]] a quicker and easier route to travel to and from the [[Gulf Stream]]. It was easier to come into this inlet from the north than to [[Ocracoke Inlet|Ocracoke]]. Because of the increase in commerce, [[Hatteras, North Carolina|Hatteras Village]] [[Post Office]] was established in 1858. The initial invasion of the [[North Carolina]] coast on [[Hatteras Island]] during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], called the [[Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries]], came from Hatteras Inlet on August 28–29, 1861. The two [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[forts]] guarding the inlet quickly fell.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hatteras-nc.com/history/hatteras-village-history.shtml |title=History of Hatteras Inlet |access-date=2007-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220115701/http://www.hatteras-nc.com/history/hatteras-village-history.shtml |archive-date=2007-02-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Hatteras Inlet today == The inlet today is approximately two miles across, but this distance changes daily because of the convection of [[brackish water]]. No [[bridge]] crosses Hatteras Inlet. A fleet of eight [[Ferry|ferries]], owned by the [[North Carolina Department of Transportation]], provides a free 60-minute ride year round to people who want to traverse the inlet from Hatteras to Ocracoke. These ferries connect [[North Carolina State Highway 12]] between the two islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.outerbanks.com/hatteras-inlet.html |title=Hatteras Inlet |website=OuterBanks.com |access-date=2022-08-23}}</ref>
== Further reading == {{cite book| author=Claiborne S. Young| year=2005| title=Cruising Guide to Coastal North Carolina| publisher=John F. Blair| location=Winston-Salem, NC |ISBN=0-89587-314-1}}
==Map== [https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=hatteras+inlet,+nc&sll=35.219258,-75.803604&sspn=0.180347,0.376282&ie=UTF8&z=12&t=h&om=1 Google Maps - Hatteras Inlet]
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{S-start}} {{Succession box | title = Beaches of The Outer Banks | years = | with = | before = [[Hatteras, North Carolina|Hatteras]] | after = [[Ocracoke, North Carolina|Ocracoke Island]] }} {{S-end}}
{{Outer Banks inlets}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Outer Banks]] [[Category:Bodies of water of Hyde County, North Carolina]] [[Category:Inlets of North Carolina]]