Pamlico Sound
The Pamlico Sound in North Carolina in the United States of America, together with a length of 129 kilometers and a width of 24 to 48 kilometers, the largest lagoon on the east coast of the United States. The sound is separated by the barrier island chain of the Outer Banks, a row of low and sandy islands, from the Atlantic Ocean. These islands off the Pamlico Sound and the Cape Hatteras heard. From the west, open the Neuse and Pamlico River of which the latter is the estuary of the Tar River. In the north of the Pamlico Sound is linked by the small sounds Roanoke and Croatan with the adjacent large Albemarle Sound and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The narrow southern end is formed by the Core Sound.
Pamlico Sound is part of the large network of interconnected estuaries, which form the largest estuary in the USA jointly by the Chesapeake Bay. The area can be divided into seven different sounds: Albemarle Sound, Currituck Sound, Croatan Sound, Pamlico Sound, Bogue Sound, Core Sound, and Roanoke Sound.
On the offshore islands are nature reserves Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Cape Lookout National Seashore, on the shore of the Sound are several nesting areas for waterfowl, are protected these nesting sites in Pea Iceland National Wildlife Refuge and Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge on the mainland.
The discoverer Giovanni da Verrazano kept the sound on his arrival in America incorrectly for the Pacific Ocean. The sound itself and its compounds into the open sea are difficult for larger ships to pass, wide sandbars and shallow water make the passage dangerous. In addition, the shallow basin of the sound makes it vulnerable to changes in water level caused by wind and air pressure. The effect can be observed in the opening out rivers, the level can go up there within three hours by up to 60 centimeters when the wind is to the axis of the river and the wind is strong. The region around Cape Hatteras also bears the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic (Eng. "Ship Graveyard of the Atlantic ").