  We study fluctuations and topological melting transitions of quantum Hall
stripes near half-filling of intermediate Landau levels. Taking the stripe
state to be an anisotropic Wigner crystal (AWC) allows us to identify the
quantum Hall nematic state conjectured in previous studies of the 2D electron
gas as an {\em anisotropic hexatic}. The transition temperature from the AWC to
the quantum Hall nematic state is explicitly calculated, and a tentative phase
diagram for the 2D electron gas near half-filling is suggested.
