Currituck Sound

Map of northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia showing Currituck Sound.

Currituck /ˈkʊrɪtʌk/ ^[1] Sound is a protected inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, located in northeastern part of North Carolina and extreme southeastern Virginia. Thirty miles N-S and 3–8 miles wide, this shallow, island-filled sound is separated from the ocean by the Currituck Banks Peninsula (formerly Bodie Island), part of the Outer Banks. On the NE, it extends to Back Bay in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A fork on the northwest leads to the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, which is a part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway that connects the sound to Hampton Roads and the Chesapeake Bay. Although several inlets connected it directly to the Atlantic at one time or another, they have all since closed and there is now no direct access to the Ocean from the Sound. This has caused the salinity levels to be significantly lower than they had been historically. Currently, the only access to the Ocean is through the Albemarle Sound, which joins the Currituck to the South. Currituck County's Mackay Island and Currituck National Wildlife Refuge as well as Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park in Virginia Beach border the sound and are winter habitats on the Atlantic Flyway. Many watersports activities occur in the sound, including parasailing, sea kayaking, and jet skiing. An area of barrier beaches, it is also noted for its duck and goose hunting.

References

↑ Talk Like A Tarheel, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2013-02-05.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina

Landforms	Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula Bodie Island Roanoke Island Pea Island Hatteras Island Cape Hatteras Ocracoke Island Portsmouth Island Core Banks Cape Lookout

Places	Currituck County Dare County Hyde County Carteret County Carova Beach Corolla Duck Southern Shores Kitty Hawk Kill Devil Hills Nags Head Whalebone Junction Manteo Wanchese Rodanthe Waves Salvo Avon Buxton Frisco Hatteras Ocracoke Portsmouth Cape Lookout Village

Waterways	Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Currituck Sound Albemarle Sound Croatan Sound Roanoke Sound Oregon Inlet Pamlico Sound Hatteras Inlet Onslow Bay Raleigh Bay Ocracoke Inlet Core Sound Drum Inlet Barden Inlet Back Sound New Inlet Isabel Inlet

Lighthouses	Currituck Beach Light Bodie Island Light Cape Hatteras Light Ocracoke Light Cape Lookout Light

Protected areas	Cape Hatteras National Seashore Cape Lookout National Seashore Fort Raleigh National Historic Site Jockey's Ridge State Park Mountains-to-Sea Trail North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Wright Brothers National Memorial

Transportation	North Carolina Highway 12 U.S. Highway 64 U.S. Route 158 Historic Albemarle Tour Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge Dare County Regional Airport First Flight Airport Billy Mitchell Airport North Carolina Ferry System

History	Pea Island Life-Saving Station Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station

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