The Outer Banks - North Carolina, USA
N 35° 15.042 W 075° 31.739
18S E 451877 N 3900973
From wild horses to lighthouses, there's plenty to see and experience along the world's longest system of barrier islands.
Waymark Code: WM720W
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 08/21/2009
Views: 50
Wild Banker ponies. The Birthplace of Modern Flight. The shipwreck-strewn Graveyard of the Atlantic. Blackbeard's haunted lair. Hatteras National Seashore.
North Carolina's Outer Banks is a 200-mile long chain of narrow islands considered to be the world's largest set of barrier islands. They cover approximately half the northern North Carolina coastline, separating the Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean.
This major tourist destination is known for its temperate climate and wide expanse of open beachfront. 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—vanished from Roanoke Island in 1587. The Lost Colony, written and performed to commemorate the original colonists, is the longest running outdoor drama in the United States and its theater acts as a cultural focal point for much of the Outer Banks.
Pirate history rules the southern island of Ocracoke where Edward Teach, also known as the infamous Blackbeard the Pirate made his lair, and where some believe his treasure may still lie buried.
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.
Name of Source Book: 1000 Places To See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List
Page Location in Source Book: 691
Type of Waymark: Site (Chain of Islands)
Location of Coordinates: Historic Hatteras Lighthouse
Cost of Admission (Parks, Museums, etc.): 0.00 (listed in local currency)
List Available Hours, Dates, Season:
NA
Official Tourism Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Because of the vastness of many of the "non-localized" sites (Gobi Desert, Great Wall of China), waymark owners are encouraged to allow visits that reflect different perspectives and experiences.
Localized waymark sites (Structures, Landmarks, Businesses) should reflect standard waymarking visit criteria (Logs & photos).