I don't know how many have ever been to Cape Hatteras, but if you have never been there, I highly recommend you vist there if you ever have the chance. I've been there a number of times over the years; for those in other countries, unfamiliar with the geography of the U.S. East Coast, Cape Hatteras is on the east coast of North Carolina; one of the things the Cape is famous for, is the terrible weather off-shore in the Atlantic Ocean. The area around the Cape has been the site of more ship wrecks over the past few hundred years, than almost any place world wide. Since back in the 1800's, Cape Hatteras has been a favorite vacation destination for many thousands of tourists, and of course, the most famous "land mark" has always been the famous old, 208 ft Cape Hatteras Light house.

When I first visited the Cape "back in the day", it seemed to me then, that the old light house was in serious danger of being undermined by the constant erosion from the sea, and that it would probably "end up" IN the ocean, rather than "beside" it; some 20 or so years later, my "fears" of this happening were shared by others, and in 1999, at great expense, (and with the help of some "world class" engineering talent ), the grand old 208 ft high, 1,250,000 brick Light House was moved some 2,900 ft farther inland ), where it is now about 1,500 ft from the ocean; ( which, incidentally, is just about the same distance as it was from the Sea when it was first built, more than 120 years ago ! There's a very good lesson there if you catch it; (never build ANYTHING close to the Ocean if you expect for it to last very long.

Now........even though I knew all of this back in 1999, I hadn't thought much about the Cape Hatteras Light House..........until about 2 hours ago; at which time I happened to "stumble" accidentally on this website, while trying to gather information on a whole different topic, ( which had been the subject of discussion in another thread that has now been archived ), namely, "Why Don't More Ships Use Gas Turbine Engines For Propulsion"? I happened to discover THAT thread while looking for information about yet ANOTHER subject; (now I'm trying to do about four things at one time.)

http://www.erichall.eu/2005u230.html

If you're "into" Light Houses, this is a very interesting web site. (IMHO that is; opinions may vary)

Charley