The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse protects one of the most hazardous sections of the Atlantic coast. Offshore of the Cape Hatteras, the Gulf Stream collides with the Virginia Drift, a branch of the Labrador Current from Canada. The current forces southbound ships into a dangerous twelve-mile long sandbar called Diamond Shoals. Hundreds and possibly thousands of shipwrecks in this area have given it the reputation as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic".

The present Cape Hatteras Light was designed by Dexter Stetson. There are no known photographs of the first Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which remained standing for some years after the present one was built. In 1999, after years of study and debate, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was moved (at a cost of $12 million) 884 meter inland in 23 days to save it from falling in the Atlantic Ocean. It was extinguished on March 1, 1999 in preparation for the move and was relighted on November 13, 1999. Ownership of the lighthouse was transferred from the Coast Guard to the National Park Service in 1999. Cape Hatteras Light is a National Historic Landmark. It is the tallest lighthouse in the U.S. and is one of the tallest brick lighthouses in the world.

ARLHS Number: USA-119
Build: 1799-1803
Construction: brick
Height: 64m