Alt Text Area map of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, which sits at the northern tip of Roanoke Island in North Carolina. The island is shaped like an elongated oval. To the east, Cape Hatteras extends down as a narrow barrier between the Roanoke Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. The historic site and Cape Hatteras National Seashore are shaded green, the non-park land is beige, and the water is blue. Extended Description This description will start on Roanoke Island and its surrounding waters, with historic and noteworthy points from north to south, followed by main roads and bridges, and will end on Cape Hatteras. Roanoke Island Between the North Carolina mainland and the west side of the island is the Croatan Sound. Albemarle Sound touches the island’s north side, including Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, which stretches over the tip in the shape of a bird with spread wings. Roanoke sound flows down the island’s east side; the land has a cutout in the middle for Shallowbag Bay and near the southern tip for Broad Creek. Pamlico Sound touches the south end. Noteworthy Points Freedom Trail cuts across Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. Other points on or next to park land include the NWR Gateway Visitor Center, on the southern inland end of the park; Weir Point, the site of Fessenden’s 1902 Radio Tower, on the Croatan Sound coast; and the sites of Civil War Fort Huger and Fort Blanchard. Further south along this coast is the North Carolina Aquarium and airport, then the site of 1863-1867 Freedmen’s Colony, followed by the site of Civil War Fort Bartow. Across the island on the east coast, touching Shallowbag Bay, is Roanoke Island Festival Park and Elizabeth II, as well as the city of Manteo. In the middle of the island are the sites of the 1862 Civil War Battle of Roanoke Island and the Civil War 3-gun battery battlefield marker. Slightly further south on the west coast is the site of the 1862 landing by Brigadier General Burnside’s Union forces (Ashby’s Harbor). The city of Wanchese sits further south near the bottom end of the island, near Broad Creek. There is no public access at Weir Point, Fort Huger, Fort Blanchard, and Fort Bartow. Roads Two bridges connect mainland North Carolina to Roanoke Island: the northernmost, William B. Umstead Memorial Bridge, leads straight to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. The southernmost, Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge, cuts across the island halfway and the road continues over the Roanoke Sound as Washington Baum Bridge to Cape Hatteras. The two mainland bridges link up at Manns Harbor on the mainland. The road from Umstead Bridge continues toward the island’s northeast coast as US Highway 264 and then US Highway 64. This highway continues south down the island, veering east toward the Washington Baum Bridge, at which point this highway becomes North Carolina State Route 345, leading toward Wanchese. Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge is a bypass for US Highway 264 and US Highway 64. Cape Hatteras Crossing over the Roanoke Sound on the Washington Baum Bridge, the road meets Whalebone Junction at the middle of the cape. State Route 12 leads south, through Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which extends down to the southernmost tip. Text near the bottom of the map near this road reads, “To Bodie Island Lighthouse and Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.” Heading left, or north, from Whalebone Junction is US Highway 158, which goes to Nags Head near the Atlantic side and Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the Roanoke Sound side. Text at the top of the map near this road reads, “To Wright Brothers National Memorial.” Legend A scale measures 1 mile and 1 kilometer.