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Pamlico Sound (PAM-lik-o) in North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
, is the largest lagoon
Lagoon

A lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed Bar , reef, or similar feature....
 along the U.S. East Coast
East Coast of the United States

The East Coast of the United States, also known as the "Eastern Seaboard" or "Atlantic Seaboard", refers to the easternmost coastal states in the central and northern United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada....
 being 129 km (80 miles) long and 24 to 48 km (15 to 30 miles) wide. It is a body of water separated from the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 by the Outer Banks
Outer Banks

The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
, a row of low, sandy barrier islands
Bar (landform)

A shoal or sandbar is a somewhat linear landform within or extending into a body of water, typically composed of sand, silt or small pebbles....
, including Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras

Cape Hatteras is a Headlands and bays on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic Ocean coast of North America....
. The Neuse
Neuse River

The Neuse River is a major permanent stream rising in the piedmont of North Carolina, emptying into the Pamlico Sound below New Bern, North Carolina....
 and Pamlico
Pamlico River

The Pamlico River is a tidal river located in the city of Washington, North Carolina, North Carolina, in the United States of America. It is formed by the junction of Tar River and Tranters Creek....
 rivers (the latter is the estuary
Estuary

An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
 of the Tar River
Tar River

The Tar River is a river that is approximately 346 kilometers long, of northeast North Carolina flowing generally southeast to an estuary of Pamlico Sound....
) flow in from the west.






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Pamlicosound Eo
Pamlico Sound (PAM-lik-o) in North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
, is the largest lagoon
Lagoon

A lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed Bar , reef, or similar feature....
 along the U.S. East Coast
East Coast of the United States

The East Coast of the United States, also known as the "Eastern Seaboard" or "Atlantic Seaboard", refers to the easternmost coastal states in the central and northern United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada....
 being 129 km (80 miles) long and 24 to 48 km (15 to 30 miles) wide. It is a body of water separated from the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 by the Outer Banks
Outer Banks

The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
, a row of low, sandy barrier islands
Bar (landform)

A shoal or sandbar is a somewhat linear landform within or extending into a body of water, typically composed of sand, silt or small pebbles....
, including Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras

Cape Hatteras is a Headlands and bays on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic Ocean coast of North America....
. The Neuse
Neuse River

The Neuse River is a major permanent stream rising in the piedmont of North Carolina, emptying into the Pamlico Sound below New Bern, North Carolina....
 and Pamlico
Pamlico River

The Pamlico River is a tidal river located in the city of Washington, North Carolina, North Carolina, in the United States of America. It is formed by the junction of Tar River and Tranters Creek....
 rivers (the latter is the estuary
Estuary

An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
 of the Tar River
Tar River

The Tar River is a river that is approximately 346 kilometers long, of northeast North Carolina flowing generally southeast to an estuary of Pamlico Sound....
) flow in from the west. Pamlico Sound is linked on the north with Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound

Albemarle Sound is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan River and Roanoke River....
 through Roanoke Sound
Roanoke Sound

The Roanoke Sound is a sound that separates Roanoke Island from Bodie Island of the Outer Banks. To the north of the Roanoke Sound lies the Albemarle Sound and to the south lies the Pamlico Sound....
 and Croatan Sound
Croatan Sound

Croatan Sound is an inlet in Dare County, North Carolina, North Carolina. It connects Pamlico Sound with Albemarle Sound, and is bordered to the east by Roanoke Island; Roanoke Sound is on the other side of the island....
 (passages
Channel (geography)

In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or man-made deeper course through a reef, bar , bay, or any shallow body of water....
). Core Sound
Core Sound

The Core Sound is a large and shallow body of water in eastern North Carolina located between the mainland of Carteret County, North Carolina and Core Banks, part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, located west of the Atlantic Ocean and north of Bogue Sound....
 is the narrow southern end. Explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano mistook the sound for the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
. The sound and its ocean inlets are noted for wide expanses of shallow water and occasional shoaling, making the area hazardous for larger vessels. In addition, the shallow nature of the sound makes it susceptible to wind and barometric pressure driven tidal fluctuations. This effect is amplified on the tributary rivers where water levels can change by as much as two feet in three hours when winds are aligned with the rivers' axes and are blowing strongly.

Pamlico Sound is part of a large interconnected network of lagoon estuaries, which as a whole is the second largest estuary in the United States (Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia....
 being the largest). There are seven sounds making up the whole: Albemarle Sound, Currituck Sound
Currituck Sound

Currituck Sound is a protected inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northeastern part of North Carolina. Thirty miles N-S and 3-8 miles wide, this shallow, island-filled sound is separated from the ocean by Bodie Island, part of the Outer Banks....
, Croatan Sound, Pamlico Sound, Bogue Sound, Core Sound, and Roanoke Sound.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Cape Hatteras National Seashore preserves the portion of the Outer Banks of North Carolina from Bodie Island to Ocracoke Island, stretching over 70 miles ....
 and Cape Lookout National Seashore
Cape Lookout National Seashore

Cape Lookout National Seashore preserves a 56 mile long section of the Southern Outer Banks, or Crystal Coast, of North Carolina, United States, running from Ocracoke Inlet on the northeast to Beaufort Inlet on the southeast....
 are located on the barrier islands. Along the coastal areas are numerous waterfowl
Waterfowl

Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, goose, and swans.They are strong swimmers with medium to large bodies....
 nesting sites, including Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located on the north end of North Carolina's Hatteras Island, a coastal barrier island and part of a chain of islands known as the Outer Banks, adjacent to Cape Hatteras National Seashore....
 and Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge on the mainland.

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