isthmus or ???

[Jennifer Murphy]

What is the correct term for the narrow strip of land on the eastern end
of North Carolina where Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills are located, the
latter being the site of the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903?

My first thought was an isthmus, because it is narrow and has ocean on
two sides. But it doesn't really "connect" two land masses.

I don't think it can be a peninsula, because it really only has water on
two sides, not three.

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <e0ikj8hb8obrjs2p6...@4ax.com>,

Jennifer Murphy <JenM...@jm.invalid> wrote:
>What is the correct term for the narrow strip of land on the eastern end
>of North Carolina where Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills are located, the
>latter being the site of the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903?

It's normally known as Cape Hatteras.

-GAWollman

--
Garrett A. Wollman | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft
wol...@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program
Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption
my employers. | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993

[Don Phillipson]

"Jennifer Murphy" <JenM...@jm.invalid> wrote in message
news:e0ikj8hb8obrjs2p6...@4ax.com...

"Barrier island" is what a geographer would call it, but
what is correct for geographers may not meet your
particular needs. Isthmus or sandspit might be better known.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

[Jennifer Murphy]

On Fri, 8 Mar 2013 20:22:03 +0000 (UTC), wol...@bimajority.org (Garrett
Wollman) wrote:

>In article <e0ikj8hb8obrjs2p6...@4ax.com>,
>Jennifer Murphy <JenM...@jm.invalid> wrote:
>>What is the correct term for the narrow strip of land on the eastern end
>>of North Carolina where Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills are located, the
>>latter being the site of the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903?
>
>It's normally known as Cape Hatteras.

I think Cape Hatteras is the point that protrudes the farthest into the
Altantic. But in looking up Cape Hatteras, I came acress the term
"barrier island", which I think best describes the strip of land.

[Jennifer Murphy]

Thanks, I found the same term while looking up Cape Hatteras. Barrier
island will do nicely.

Is this also a proper term for the strips of land along much of the east
coast of south Florida? Locals call the water inside the land strips the
"inland waterway".

[Frank S]

"Don Phillipson" <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:khdhr3$p89$1...@speranza.aioe.org...

The piece of sandy land between south San Diego Bay and the Pacific
Ocean, that connects Coronado "Island" to the rest of California, is
called the (Silver) Strand.

--
Frank ess

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <otikj89sai4eil9nh...@4ax.com>,

Jennifer Murphy <JenM...@jm.invalid> wrote:

>Is this also a proper term for the strips of land along much of the east
>coast of south Florida? Locals call the water inside the land strips the
>"inland waterway".

It's part of the Intracoastal Waterway, which runs nearly the entire
length of the Atlantic coast.

[Skitt]

Frank S wrote:
> "Don Phillipson" wrote:

>> "Jennifer Murphy" wrote:

>>> What is the correct term for the narrow strip of land on the eastern end
>>> of North Carolina where Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills are located, the
>>> latter being the site of the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903?
>>>
>>> My first thought was an isthmus, because it is narrow and has ocean on
>>> two sides. But it doesn't really "connect" two land masses.
>>>
>>> I don't think it can be a peninsula, because it really only has water on
>>> two sides, not three.
>>
>> "Barrier island" is what a geographer would call it, but
>> what is correct for geographers may not meet your
>> particular needs. Isthmus or sandspit might be better known.
>
> The piece of sandy land between south San Diego Bay and the Pacific
> Ocean, that connects Coronado "Island" to the rest of California, is
> called the (Silver) Strand.
>

Yeah, but strand is just another word for shore or beach.

--
Skitt (SF Bay Area)
http://home.comcast.net/~skitt99/main.html

[Skitt]

On 3/8/2013 1:24 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote:
> In article <otikj89sai4eil9nh...@4ax.com>,
> Jennifer Murphy <JenM...@jm.invalid> wrote:
>
>> Is this also a proper term for the strips of land along much of the east
>> coast of south Florida? Locals call the water inside the land strips the
>> "inland waterway".
>
> It's part of the Intracoastal Waterway, which runs nearly the entire
> length of the Atlantic coast.
>

... and that's not all. It runs along the Gulf coast also, but there
the islands are called keys.

[Jennifer Murphy]

On Fri, 8 Mar 2013 21:24:10 +0000 (UTC), wol...@bimajority.org (Garrett
Wollman) wrote:

>In article <otikj89sai4eil9nh...@4ax.com>,
>Jennifer Murphy <JenM...@jm.invalid> wrote:
>
>>Is this also a proper term for the strips of land along much of the east
>>coast of south Florida? Locals call the water inside the land strips the
>>"inland waterway".
>
>It's part of the Intracoastal Waterway, which runs nearly the entire
>length of the Atlantic coast.

But what is the proper name for the strip(s) of land to the east of the
waterway?

[Jennifer Murphy]

On Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:44:16 -0800, Skitt <ski...@comcast.net> wrote:

>On 3/8/2013 1:24 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote:
>> In article <otikj89sai4eil9nh...@4ax.com>,
>> Jennifer Murphy <JenM...@jm.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> Is this also a proper term for the strips of land along much of the east
>>> coast of south Florida? Locals call the water inside the land strips the
>>> "inland waterway".
>>
>> It's part of the Intracoastal Waterway, which runs nearly the entire
>> length of the Atlantic coast.
>>
>
>... and that's not all. It runs along the Gulf coast also, but there
>the islands are called keys.

But that is a completely different beast. The keys are part of a coral
archipelago. I'm asking if the proper term for strip(s) of land on the
Atlantic side of the inland or coastal waterway is "barrier islands" or
something else.

[John Varela]

ITYM Intracoastal Waterway. It runs from Texas to New Jersey,
[assing right through the city of New Orleans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracoastal_Waterway

The islands off the coast of New Jersey, one of which is the site of
Atlantic City, are barrier islands.

--
John Varela

[Skitt]

Jennifer Murphy wrote:
> Skitt wrote:
>> Garrett Wollman wrote:

>>> Jennifer Murphy wrote:

>>>> Is this also a proper term for the strips of land along much of the east
>>>> coast of south Florida? Locals call the water inside the land strips the
>>>> "inland waterway".
>>>
>>> It's part of the Intracoastal Waterway, which runs nearly the entire
>>> length of the Atlantic coast.
>>>
>>
>> ... and that's not all. It runs along the Gulf coast also, but there
>> the islands are called keys.
>
> But that is a completely different beast. The keys are part of a coral
> archipelago. I'm asking if the proper term for strip(s) of land on the
> Atlantic side of the inland or coastal waterway is "barrier islands" or
> something else.
>

I'd go with "barrier islands". I lived on Merritt Island for six years,
back in the 1990s. It was considered to be a barrier island.

[Mark Brader]

Jennifer Murphy:

> What is the correct term for the narrow strip of land on the eastern end
> of North Carolina where Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills are located, the
> latter being the site of the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903?

It's a peninsula.

> I don't think it can be a peninsula, because it really only has water on
> two sides, not three.

Any shape that protrudes from the general alignment of a coastline is a
peninsula; it's not about sides. (There are also other words, such as
"cape" and "headland". Like "bay" vs. "gulf", they aren't always
clearly distinguished.) If you think there is only water on "two sides",
though, I think you are failing to count Oregon Inlet, which separates
the peninsula from Hatteras Island, as seen clearly on this map:
http://mappery.com/maps/Outer-Banks-Tourist-Map.jpg

The southern part of the peninsula used to be a barrier island called
Bodie Island (that's pronounced "Body"), and this name is still used
for the area, although due to storms it is no longer separated from the
peninsula. The rest of it is called the Carrituck Peninsula. The
names may not be clearly distinguished any more.

I couldn't find anything on the Internet that tells me clearly whether
whether Kitty Hawk and the Kill Devil Hills were on the island or the
peninsula before they were joined, but my impression is that they were
on the peninsula.
--
Mark Brader | "Grammar am for people who can't think for *myself*.
Toronto | Understanded me?"
m...@vex.net | -- Buck (Get Fuzzy: Darby Conley)

My text in this article is in the public domain.

[Tony Cooper]

I'm not quite local to the south coast of Florida, but that water is
the "Intracoastal Waterway". Specifically, that's the Atlantic
Intracoastal Waterway since there are other Intracoastal Waterways.
The Atlantic one goes from Key West FL (the southernmost tip of
Florida) up to Norfolk VA.

--
Tony Cooper - Orlando FL

[Joe Fineman]

I presume so. When I lived on Long Island, I was used to calling Fire
Island a "barrier beach"; the intervening water is Great South Bay.
Such beaches (some attached to the mainland, some not -- subject to
change by hurricanes & human interventions) are found all along the
Atlantic coast of the US from there on down, and on the Gulf coast as
well.
--
--- Joe Fineman jo...@verizon.net

||: It used to be possible, after dialing a number, to hope that :||
||: no-one would answer. :||

[John Varela]

Yes. And for all similar islands anywhere, including the Gulf of
Mexico.

--
John Varela