Topsail Island, North Carolina Quiz

Answer: All of these.

Without the barrier islands, the East Coast would face the full brunt of hurricanes and would suffer much more damage from erosion and storm surge.

The estuaries provide a calm and nutrient rich environment that sea life thrives in. The waters off the coast on North Carolina are teeming with life. Marlin, flounder, grouper, and trout are among the many fish that are plentiful in these waters. Shrimp, crab, clams, oysters, and scallops can also be found here. Sharks enjoy this area also.

The loggerhead turtle comes ashore every spring to lay its eggs, sometimes over a 100, and cover them with sand. They hatch in fall and the hatchlings must make their way to the ocean. A loggerhead can be over three feet long and way over 300 pounds.

Answer: The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center

The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center was founded by Karen Beasley in mid 1980s. Since her untimely death in 1991, her mother Jean Beasley has been running the center.
The center has drawn a lot of attention to the sea turtles and each year draws volunteers from across the country.

Answer: Bertha and Fran

On July 12, 1996, Hurricane Bertha his the island, followed less than two months later by Fran on September 5. The combination of two powerful storms so close together devastated the inland. The estimated losses from both hurricanes was well over $6 billion.
Hazel hit the island in October 1959, Bonnie hit in 1998, and Hurricane Floyd hit 1999.

Answer: Salt

Salt was a valuable commodity in the days before refrigeration. It was used to preserve meat and fish, for personal health and for trading. Up until this time, most of the salt came from Europe. Someone realized that the ocean had salt in it and an industry was born.

The salt would be extracted from the sea water by boiling or evaporation. It is hard for us to imagine today something like salt being hard to find or expensive.

Answer: Camp Davis

Camp Davis was established in 1941. At its height, it housed some 110,000 men and women.

Answer: Anti-aircraft guns

The "90" (90 mm) was the largest anti-aircraft gun used by the Coast Artillery. It was capable of firing 18 rounds per minute and had a crew of 15. The gun was 16 feet long and fired a shell weighing 23 pounds.

Answer: Woman Airforce Service Pilots

To my knowledge, no WASPs were allowed in combat during WWII, but they were capable pilots. They would pull a target behind their plane for the anti-aircraft crews to practice hitting a moving target. This sounds like a dangerous way to make a living.

Answer: Operation Bumblebee

This project conducted research between 1946 and 1948.

Answer: All of these

This project helped prove the viability of the ramjet. The jet engine was a revolution. In twenty years, we went from propellers to rockets.

Answer: True

The most visible remains of the military's presence on Topsail Island are the observation towers. There were eight in all and seven of them still remain. These are three-story concrete structures that have survived the years and the hurricanes. Many of them have been incorporated into homes, but you can still see the structure.

They were used originally to track missiles fired from the south end of the island in the 1940s.

Thank you for playing, I hope you enjoyed learning about this place as much as I enjoyed writing about it.