Core Sound

The Core Sound is a sound in eastern North Carolina located between the mainland of Carteret County and Core Banks, part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It lies between the large Pamlico Sound to the northeast and the smaller Back Sound to the west. Several shifting inlets connect the sound to the Atlantic Ocean. Settlements on the mainland side of the sound include Marshallberg, Davis, Sea Level, and Atlantic. There are no permanent settlements on Core Banks. There are cabins that are available to rent. A ferry service out of Davis carries day visitors and campers across the sound to the islands.

Core Sound
Location
Interactive map of Core Sound

The Core Sound is a sound in eastern North Carolina located between the mainland of Carteret County and Core Banks, part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It lies between the large Pamlico Sound to the northeast and the smaller Back Sound to the west. Several shifting inlets connect the sound to the Atlantic Ocean.

Settlements on the mainland side of the sound include Marshallberg, Davis, Sea Level, and Atlantic. There are no permanent settlements on Core Banks. There are cabins that are available to rent.^[1] A ferry service out of Davis carries day visitors and campers across the sound to the islands.^[2]

v t e Outer Banks of North Carolina and Virginia
Landforms	Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula Beacon Island Bodie Island Cape Hatteras Cape Lookout Colington Island Coquina Beach Core Banks Hatteras Island Knotts Island Mary Island Monkey Island No Ache Island Ocracoke Island Pea Island Portsmouth Island Roanoke Island Shackleford Banks Shelly Island
Places	City of Virginia Beach Sandbridge Currituck County Carova Beach Corolla Knotts Island Dare County Avon Buxton Colington Duck Frisco Hatteras Kill Devil Hills Kitty Hawk Manteo Nags Head Rodanthe Salvo Southern Shores Wanchese Waves Whalebone Junction Hyde County Ocracoke Carteret County Cape Lookout Village Portsmouth
Waterways	Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway North River Bays Back Bay Knotts Island Bay Onslow Bay Raleigh Bay Sounds Albemarle Sound Back Sound Core Sound Croatan Sound Currituck Sound Pamlico Sound Roanoke Sound Inlets Barden Inlet Beaufort Inlet Drum Inlet Hatteras Inlet Isabel Inlet New Inlet Ocracoke Inlet Oregon Inlet
Lighthouses	Bodie Island Lighthouse Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Cape Lookout Lighthouse Currituck Beach Light Ocracoke Light
Protected areas and wildlife	National seashores Cape Hatteras National Seashore Cape Lookout National Seashore Wildlife refuges Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge Currituck National Wildlife Refuge Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge State parks False Cape State Park Jockey's Ridge State Park State coastal reserves Buxton Woods Kitty Hawk Woods Game lands Buxton Woods Game Land Currituck Banks Game Land North River Game Land Roanoke Island Marshes Game Land Preserves Nags Head Woods Preserve Roanoke Island Marshes Preserve Museums, zoos, and institutes Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island University of North Carolina - Coastal Studies Institute Other Currituck Banks North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve Fort Raleigh National Historic Site Mountains-to-Sea Trail Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary Roanoke Island Festival Park Run Hill State Natural Area Wright Brothers National Memorial Wildlife Banker horse Red wolf
Transportation	Routes Historic Albemarle Tour North Carolina Ferry System North Carolina Highway 12 Bridges Captain Richard Etheridge Bridge Herbert C. Bonner Bridge Marc Basnight Bridge Melvin R. Daniels Bridge Mid-Currituck Bridge Rodanthe Bridge Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge Washington Baum Bridge William B. Umstead Bridge Wright Memorial Bridge Airports Billy Mitchell Airport Dare County Regional Airport First Flight Airport Ocracoke Island Airport
History	Events and places Battle of the Atlantic Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Freedmen's Colony of Roanoke Island Graveyard of the Atlantic Hatteras Weather Bureau Station Pea Island Life-Saving Station Roanoke Colony Torpedo Alley Whalehead Club People Marc Basnight Blackbeard Croatan Virginia Dare Richard Grenville Manteo Raleigh Roanoke people Wanchese John White
Weather	1936 Outer Banks hurricane 1945 Outer Banks hurricane Hurricane Helene (1958) Hurricane Fran (1996) Hurricane Isabel (2003) Hurricane Irene (2011) Hurricane Dorian (2019) Hazard mitigation

v t e The Crystal Coast of North Carolina
Landforms	Cape Lookout Harkers Island Core Banks Shackleford Banks Bogue Banks Bear Island
Places	Counties: Carteret County Onslow County Towns/Cities: Beaufort Morehead City Atlantic Beach Pine Knoll Shores Salter Path Indian Beach Emerald Isle Cape Carteret Cedar Point Swansboro
Waterways	Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Core Sound Bogue Sound Onslow Bay
Protected areas	Cape Lookout National Seashore Shackleford Banks Fort Macon State Park North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores Hammocks Beach State Park
Transportation	Highways: U.S. Highway 70 North Carolina Highway 58 North Carolina Highway 24 North Carolina Highway 101 Airports: Michael J. Smith Field Albert J. Ellis Airport Coastal Carolina Regional Airport

References

[edit]

^ "Lodging - Cape Lookout National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-10-31.
^ "List of Authorized Ferry Services - Cape Lookout National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-10-31.

34°51′08″N 76°20′54″W / 34.85222°N 76.34833°W / 34.85222; -76.34833

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