Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile (320-km) long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, on the east coast of the United States. They cover approximately half the northern North Carolina coastline, separating the Albemarle Sound and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean.
The Outer Banks is a major tourist destination and is known for its temperate climate and wide expanse of open beachfront. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore has four campgrounds where visitors may camp.[1]
The Wright brothers' first flight in a powered, heavier-than-air vehicle took place on the Outer Banks on December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills near the seafront town of Kitty Hawk. The Wright Brothers National Monument commemorates the historic flights, and First Flight Airport is a small, general-aviation airfield located there.
The English Roanoke Colony—where the first person of English descent, Virginia Dare, was born on American soil[2]—vanished from Roanoke Island in 1587. The treacherous seas off the Outer Banks and the large number of shipwrecks that have occurred there have given these seas the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic. The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is located in Hatteras Village near the United States Coast Guard facility and Hatteras ferry.
Geography
The Outer Banks is a series of islands: from north to south — Bodie Island, Roanoke Island, Hatteras Island, and Ocracoke Island. The northern part of the Outer Banks, from Oregon Inlet northward, is usually considered part of the North American mainland, although it is technically separated by the Intracoastal Waterway, which passes through the Great Dismal Swamp occupying much of the mainland west of the Outer Banks. Road access to the northern Outer Banks ends in Corolla, North Carolina, with communities such as Carova Beach accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles. North Carolina State Highway 12 links most of the popular Outer Banks communities. The easternmost point is Cape Point at Cape Hatteras on Hatteras Island, site of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
The Outer Banks is not anchored to offshore coral reefs like some other barrier islands and as a consequence often suffers significant beach erosion during major storms. In fact, its location jutting out into the Atlantic makes it the most hurricane-prone area north of Florida, for both landfalling storms and brushing storms offshore. Hatteras Island was cut in half on September 18, 2003, when Hurricane Isabel washed a 3,000 foot (900 m) wide and 30 foot (9 m) deep channel called Isabel Inlet through the community of Hatteras Village on the southern end of the island. The tear was subsequently repaired and restored by sand dredged by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Culture
The islands are home to herds of feral horses, sometimes called "banker ponies," which according to local legend are descended from Spanish Mustangs washed ashore centuries ago in shipwrecks. Colonies exist near Corolla and on Ocracoke Island.
Ocracoke was the home base of pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. Ocracoke was also where the famed pirate was later slain. Ocracoke's historic 1823 Lighthouse is the oldest operating lighthouse on the East coast. Ocracoke is home to the Ocrafolk music festival first full weekend in June.
Recognizing the popular abbreviation "OBX" for the Outer Banks, residents petitioned for automobile license plates with an OBX prefix. After this was done in 2001, the complete run of plates (OBX-0000 through OBX-9999) was quickly exhausted. Since North Carolina plates can include eight characters, locals protested and were rewarded with an extended series of plates beginning with OBX10000. Although the "OBX" plates are available to any North Carolina resident, they are only available at the Dare County license plate agency.
Communities
Towns and communities along the Outer Banks include (listed from north to south):
Bodie Island
Roanoke Island
Hatteras Island
Ocracoke Island
Cape Lookout National Seashore
- Portsmouth Island (Uninhabited)
- Core Banks (Uninhabited)
- Shackleford Banks (Uninhabited)
Parks
- Cape Hatteras National Seashore
- Cape Lookout National Seashore
- Currituck Heritage Park
- Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
- Jockey's Ridge State Park
- Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
- Wright Brothers National Memorial
- Fort Macon State Park
Notable residents
- Andy Griffith, actor.
- Michael Collins, astronaut.
See also
- North Carolina Highway 12
- Inner Banks
- Crystal Coast (Southern Outer Banks)
