Editing Harkers Island, North Carolina (section)

==Geography==
Harkers Island is located south of the center of Carteret County. The Harkers Island [[census-designated place]] covers the entire island and extends slightly out into the surrounding water. According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the CDP has a total area of {{convert|10.0|km2|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|5.8|km2|disp=flip}} is land and {{convert|4.2|km2|disp=flip}}, or 41.76%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010"/> At its highest point, the island is {{Convert|19|ft}} above mean [[sea level]], in an area known as the "sand hole", on the western end of the island, made up of mostly white sand on rolling dunes.

Harkers Island is protected from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] by the barrier islands of the [[Shackleford Banks]] to the south and the [[Core Banks, North Carolina|Core Banks]] to the east. The body of water directly south of the island is [[Back Sound]]. To the east is [[Core Sound]], to the north is The Straits, and to the northwest is the mouth of the North River. The Straits are shallow but navigable by those with local experience. There are two small bays on the north side of the island, Westmouth Bay and Eastmouth Bay. North of Eastmouth Bay is Browns Island, which is accessible only by boat. Harkers Island Road, designated as State Road 1335, connects the island to the mainland by the Earl C. Davis Memorial Bridge, a steel swing bridge built in 1968 to replace a wooden bridge built in 1941.