Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. As a temperate barrier island, the landscape has been shaped by wind, waves, and storms. There are long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests in the area. A large area of the Outer Banks is part of a National Park, called the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.