Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Cape Hatteras Light, the iconic black-and-white spiral tower on Hatteras Island in North Carolina's Outer Banks, remains a fully operational U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse. Its automated beacon—visible 20 nautical miles—continues to warn mariners of the Diamond Shoals, the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" where the Labrador Current and Gulf Stream collide.
The current tower (1870) is the second on the site. In 1999, the entire 4,800-ton structure was moved 2,900 feet inland to escape encroaching seas—a feat of engineering as remarkable as its original construction. The lighthouse and keeper's quarters are now part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, open for climbing seasonally.
Active, historic, and still doing the job it was built for: guiding ships past one of the world's most treacherous coastlines.