North Carolina's Outer Banks separating the Atlantic Ocean (east) from Albemarle Sound (north) and Pamlico Sound (south). Orbital photo courtesy NASA.

The Outer Banks are a major tourist destination and are known for their temperate climate and wide expanse of open beachfront. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore has four campgrounds where visitors may camp.

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 sea-front 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 http://www.nps.gov/fora/?vanished without a trace 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.

Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, Hatteras, North Carolina, June 2007

Geography

A view of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse from the beach (June 2007)

The Outer Banks are not anchored to offshore coral reefs like some other barrier islands, and as a consequence often suffer significant beach erosion during major storms. In fact, their location jutting out into the Atlantic makes them 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 3000 feet (900 m) wide and 30 feet (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 colonies of wild 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 also the home base of pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. Ocracoke was also where the famed pirate was later slain.

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 NC 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

• Carova Beach
• Corolla Light
• Corolla
• Duck
• Southern Shores
• Kitty Hawk
• Kill Devil Hills
• Nags Head

Roanoke Island

• Manteo
• Wanchese

Hatteras Island

Sunrise over Avon

• Rodanthe
• Waves
• Salvo
• Avon
• Buxton
• Frisco
• Hatteras

Ocracoke Island

• Ocracoke

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, famous actor.
• Michael Collins, astronaut.

See also

• North Carolina Highway 12
• Inner Banks
• Crystal Coast (Southern Outer Banks)
• Currituck County

External links

• Outer Banks Visitors Bureau
• Outer Banks Web Cams

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