Outer Banks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Outer Banks consists of a 100-mile (160-km) long string of beaches and narrow barrier islands on the East Coast of the United States. The Outer Banks form approximately the northern half of the state of North Carolina's Atlantic coastline, and separate the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds from the Atlantic Ocean. The area is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic because of the huge number of sunken ships offshore. The Outer Banks was the site of the Wright brothers' first flight in a powered, heavier-than-air vehicle on December 17, 1903. The site where they flew is now located in the beachfront town of Kill Devil Hills, where the Wright Brothers National Monument commemorates the historic flight. The area also serves as the site of First Flight Airport. The Outer Banks are the site where the unsuccessful British colony termed the Lost Colony [1] vanished without a trace from Roanoke Island in 1587, and where the first Briton was born on American soil (Virginia Dare). The Outer Banks are now a major tourist destination known for temperate weather and wide expanses of open beachfront.
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[edit] Geography
The northern part of the Outer Banks from Oregon Inlet northward is considered part of the North American mainland, although it is technically cut apart from the mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway passing through the Great Dismal Swamp, which occupies much of the mainland to the west of the Outer Banks. It is part of a continuous sand ridge extending well into the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. There is no road access from Virginia through the ridge. Road access to the northern Outer Banks ends in Corolla, North Carolina, with other communities such as Carova only being accessible by four-wheel drive vehicles. North Carolina State Highway 12 links most of the popular Outer Banks communities. The island itself is not anchored to an offshore coral reef like some other barrier islands and suffers significant beach erosion during severe storms, known to locals as Nor'easters.
The position of the Outer Banks jutting out into the Atlantic makes the area the most hurricane-prone area north of Florida, for both landfalling storms and brushing storms offshore. The easternmost point is Cape Point at Cape Hatteras on Hatteras Island, site of the famous candy-striped Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It is 208 feet (63 m) tall and was moved inland away from the encroaching ocean in 1999. It weighs 4800 tons and was moved 2900 feet (880 m).
[edit] Culture
Outer Banks is popularly abbreviated OBX; Outer Banks residents petitioned their state representative Marc Basnight, who is also the North Carolina Senate President, to intervene on their behalf and have automobile license plates issued with the prefix OBX. This was done in 2001, and the plates OBX-0000 through OBX-9999 were soon exhausted. Locals protested and were rewarded with a new series beginning OBX10000 since North Carolina plates are limited to only eight characters. These plates are only available to local residents.
The natives are known as "Bankers". The area is home to colonies of wild horses, known as "Banker Ponies", descended from Spanish Mustangs washed ashore centuries ago in shipwrecks. Noted colonies exist near Corolla and on Ocracoke Island, the home base of pirate Edward Teach also known as Blackbeard. Ocracoke Island is only accessible by ferry from the southern tip of Hatteras Island.
[edit] Communities
Towns and communities along the Outer Banks include (listed from north to south):
[edit] Bodie Island
[edit] Hatteras Island
Hatteras Island was actually cut in half September 18, 2003, by Hurricane Isabel, which washed a new inlet 3000 feet (900 m) wide and 30 feet (9 m) deep through the community of Hatteras Village on the southern end of Hatteras Island. The island was repaired and restored by sand pumped ashore by the Army Corps of Engineers.
[edit] Ocracoke Island
- Ocracoke
- Portsmouth Island (Uninhabited)
- Core Banks (Uninhabited)
- Shackleford Banks (Uninhabited)
[edit] Bogue Banks/Crystal Coast
[edit] Parks
- Cape Hatteras National Seashore
- Cape Lookout National Seashore
- Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
- Jockey's Ridge State Park
- Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
- Wright Brothers National Memorial
[edit] Notable residents
- Andy Griffith, famous actor.
- Michael Collins, astronaut.
