The shipwreck of the famed Civil War ironclad USS *Monitor* is located 16 miles off Cape Hatteras, N.C., in 240 feet of water. The *Monitor* is known for its participation in the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862 when the USS *Monitor* fought the CSS *Virginia* to a stalemate, neither ship able to penetrate the others armor. While the battle may have been a draw, it did signal the end of wooden warships and ushered in a new era of naval warfare with metal hulled ships and rotating gun turrets. The shipwreck of the USS *Monitor* was discovered in 1973, and in 1975 became the nation's first National Marine Sanctuary. Credit: NOAA/Monitor NMS