Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Slovenia mushroom foraging
Slovenia • 6 days, 5 nights
Forest to Table in Alpine Slovenia
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è pasta... E pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Romans insist you should feel the cracked peppercorns and cheese grains on your tongue.
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è pasta... E pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Romans insist you should feel the cracked peppercorns and cheese grains on your tongue.
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Tripe is fried to a crisp.
L’Osteria della Trippa
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
You don’t need to go to Turkey to see hundreds of hot air balloons rising.
Dear Atlas: Where Can I Find the Most Unusual Festivals in the U.S.?
about 12 hours ago
Located in Indianola, Mississippi, Club Ebony hosted performances by blues legends like B.B. King.
How Club Ebony Helped Keep the Blues Alive in the Jim Crow South
about 12 hours ago
Spot Gentoos and other species of penguins waddling, swimming, and diving from icebergs.
Adventure at Sea: An Explorer’s Guide to Antarctica
about 21 hours ago
Our journey begins in Texas—more specifically in Big Bend National Park.
The Atlas Obscura (Audio) Guide to the National Parks
1 day ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States North Carolina Hatteras Shipwrecked Doritos
Gastro Obscura

Shipwrecked Doritos

The time thousands of bags of chips washed ashore in the Outer Banks is memorialized in a local museum.

Hatteras, North Carolina

Added By
meltingknight
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Thousands of bags of chips washed up on Hatteras Island.   Chris Curry, The Virginian-Pilot/Used With Permission
Thousands of bags of chips washed up on Hatteras Island.   Chris Curry, The Virginian-Pilot/Used With Permission
The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, where a bag of the salvaged Doritos is displayed.   Vbofficial/Public Domain
Hatteras Island, North Carolina.   betancourt/CC BY 2.0
The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, where a bag of the salvaged Doritos is displayed.   TriangleREVA/CC BY-ND 2.0
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In November of 2006, the tastiest disaster struck the waters around North Carolina’s Outer Banks. A shipment container stuffed full of Nacho Cheese, Spicy Nacho, and Cool Ranch Doritos tipped and fell overboard into the ocean.

The bags of chips washed up on Hatteras Island, where locals then salvaged—ate—the surplus of shipwrecked snacks. There was even a report of someone filling up a truck with the payload. 

The National Park Service, which owns the island, arrived around noon of that Thursday and located the beached shipping container. When they looked inside, there were still multiple bags of chips.

This incident will be forever remembered in the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras, where a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos is displayed among other less delicious victims of the sea.

Related Tags

Shipwrecks Food Beaches

Know Before You Go

Drive to Hatteras and follow the signs.

Community Contributors

Added By

meltingknight

Edited By

Kerry Wolfe

  • Kerry Wolfe

Published

August 4, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://pilotonline.com/news/local/doritos-junkies-hit-jackpot-as-beached-cargo-container-spills-the/article_80ab57e0-04fb-523d-aea8-10c7b2b37031.html
  • https://pilotonline.com/news/photos-spilled-doritos-chips-wash-up-on-outer-banks/article_dfa8ef7b-d40f-5721-81ee-560ccf5ae293.html
Shipwrecked Doritos
59200 Museum Dr
Hatteras, North Carolina
United States
35.206263, -75.70428
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Hatteras Weather Bureau Station

Hatteras, North Carolina

miles away

British Cemetery of Ocracoke

Ocracoke, North Carolina

miles away

Portsmouth Village

Ocracoke, North Carolina

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Hatteras

Hatteras

North Carolina

Places 2

Nearby Places

Hatteras Weather Bureau Station

Hatteras, North Carolina

miles away

British Cemetery of Ocracoke

Ocracoke, North Carolina

miles away

Portsmouth Village

Ocracoke, North Carolina

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Hatteras

Hatteras

North Carolina

Places 2

Related Stories and Lists

Shipwrecked Doritos

Podcast

By The Podcast Team

Related Places

  • Hel, Poland

    Beached Wreck of the Warship Grom II

    The rusting hulk of a Soviet warship sits on a Polish beach.

  • Rimel Beach

    Menzel Jemil, Tunisia

    Rimel Beach

    An eerie ship cemetery with gunfire as a soundtrack.

  • A rusty shipdeck sits submerged in the sand along a beach

    Manzanillo, Costa Rica

    Yicel Shipwreck

    An intentionally grounded cargo ship remains half-buried in the sand.

  • Mauritania

    Shipwreck

    On a secluded beach is one of the few shipwrecks left on the shores of Mauritania.

  • Milos, Greece

    Sirocco

    This "volcanic all-day restaurant" is right on the beach.

  • Beach at Piñones

    Loíza, Puerto Rico

    Piñones

    Archaeological sites and great food inside the island's largest mangrove forest.

  • The opening through the rocks that forms Mar Chiquita

    Manatí, Puerto Rico

    Mar Chiquita

    Enjoy the waters of this half-moon-shaped natural pool surrounded by breathtaking scenery.

  • Rexhame Beach, Marshfield

    Marshfield, Massachusetts

    Rexhame Beach

    In 1898, a New England storm that claimed more than 400 lives created this brand new stretch of shoreline.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.