The New Student's Reference Work/Albemarle Sound

Al'bemarle Sound, a deep, shallow inlet of the Atlantic, on the northeast coast of North Carolina, connected southward with Pamlico Sound. It extends from the mouth of the Roanoke River for about sixty miles eastward, where it is separated from the Atlantic by a long, narrow spur of land. It is from 5 to 15 miles in width, and being enclosed from the ocean its waters are mainly fresh, while it is almost useless for shipping. Its average depth is only 20 feet. The Sound and neighboring region received its name in early colonial days when Charles II of England, in 1663, made a favorite general of his, the first Duke of Albemarle, one of the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas.