The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse not only is the tallest in the nation, it's also one of the most recognized American lighthouses and a famous symbol of North Carolina. Cape Hatteras is one of the few North Carolina lighthouses where visitors can climb the inside stairs to the top. Cape Hatteras has white and black spiral bands and a red brick base. The lighthouse's beacon of light can be seen some 20-miles out to sea and has warned sailors for more than 100 years about the treacherous Diamond Shoals, the shallow sandbars which extend some 14 miles out into the ocean off Cape Hatteras. Charlotte NC photographer Patrick Schneider has extensive photo collections of the following lighthouses: Bodie Island Lighthouse, Bald Head Island Lighthouse, Cape Fear Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Cape Lookout Lighthouse, Currituck Beach Lighthouse, Diamond Shoal Lighthouse, Federal Point Lighthouse, Oak Island Lighthouse, and Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island.