Drum Inlet is an inlet of the Outer Banks in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It connects the Core Sound with the Atlantic Ocean and separates North Core Banks from South Core Banks.
Drum Inlet initially opened in about 1899, but closed naturally by 1919. It reopened during the 1933 Outer Banks Hurricane, but closed again by 1971. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers then opened New Drum Inlet about 3 miles to the south. In 1999 Hurricane Dennis reopened Old Drum Inlet, but it has again closed. In 2005 Ophelia Inlet was opened by Hurricane Ophelia just south of New Drum Inlet, and later merged with New Drum Inlet
Over the winter of 2008-2009, all of the inlets shoaled and closed up, leaving only Ophelia Inlet.
In September 2011, Hurricane Irene reopened New Drum and Old Drum Inlets and widened Ophelia Inlet.
Famous quotes containing the words drum and/or inlet:
“Only the drum is confident, it thinks the world has not changed;”
—Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962)
“As for the inlet or outlet of Walden, I have not yet discovered any but rain and snow and evaporation, though perhaps, with a thermometer and a line, such places may be found.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)