How did the Diamond Shoals get their name?
It is not known where the actual name came from. The shoals are not a continuous mass but are a series of three distinct shoals with channels between them. In 1948, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names designated the entire series as Diamond Shoals and assigned names to the individual shoals and sloughs (the channels between the shoals). The innermost shoal is Hatteras Shoals, the middle section is Inner Diamond Shoals and the outer section is Outer Diamond Shoals. As for the sloughs – Hatteras Slough runs between Hatteras Shoals and Inner Diamond Shoals. The one that runs between the Inner Diamond Shoal and Outer Diamond Shoal is called the Diamond Slough.
