The Monitor was the first of 14 marine protected areas that make up the National Marine Sanctuary System, which includes more than 388,498 square kilometers (150,000 square miles) of marine and Great Lakes waters. The sanctuary boundaries (2.59 square kilometers or 1 square mile) protect the wreck of the USS Monitor, which lies 25.75 kilometers (16 miles) southeast of Cape Hatteras, NC. Since its sinking in 1862, the Monitor has become a productive artificial reef....