Bodie Island

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Bodie Island (traditionally pronounced "body" but "bo-dee" by many non-residents) is a long, narrow barrier peninsula that forms the northernernmost portion of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The land that is most commonly referred to as Bodie Island was at one time a true island; the inlet separating it from the Currituck Banks peninsula in the north closed. As a result, the Currituck Banks and Bodie Island are now one contiguous peninsula, joined together at the Nags Head area, where the inlet once flowed. Today, either name can be used to refer to peninsula as a whole, but both portions colloquially retain their historical names.

From the southern tip at Oregon Inlet, the peninsula stretches largely northwest out of North Carolina and into Virginia Beach, Virginia to join the mainland near the north shore of Back Bay. The entire peninsula is approximately 72 miles in length, following the shoreline.

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[edit] Places of interest

The peninsula is home to two lighthouses, Bodie Island Light and Currituck Beach Light. The Wright Brothers National Monument also has a beacon and is found on the peninsula. Jockey's Ridge is the tallest sand dune in on the East Coast and is found on the peninsula as well. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore protects the southernmost part of Bodie Island and Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park protect portions of the Virginia part of the peninsula.

[edit] History

Bodie Island was originally known as Bodies Island or Body's Island since the area was originally settled by the Body family. Folklore, however, attributes the naming of the island to the dead "bodies" of the ships that ran aground and sunk off the Outer Banks in what is now known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

Inlets frequently open and close along the Outer Banks, making landform naming inconsistent. Bodie Island, when it was an island, extended more south than it does today. The island was originally formed around 1738, when New Inlet opened, separating Bodie Island from Hatteras Island to the south. The opening of Oregon Inlet in 1846 truncated the southern portion of Bodie Island, forming a new island situated between Bodie and Hatteras. The new barrier island was given the name Pea Island, but the wider, more powerful Oregon Inlet led to the eventual closure of New Inlet around 1933. Pea Island had thus become a part of Hatteras Island.

Near the North Carolina-Virginia state line, the Currituck Inlet once existed, which made the Currituck Banks an island of its own. This inlet served as the boundary between the two states in the early 1700s. [1]

[edit] Localities

The following is a list of places found on the peninsula, listed from south to north.

[edit] References

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The Outer Banks of North Carolina
Landforms
Places
Waterways
Lighthouses
Protected areas
Transportation
History