The
Outer Banks (OBX) is a 200-mile-long (320 km) string of
barrier islands and
spits off the coast of
North Carolina and southeastern
Virginia, on the east coast of the
United States. They cover most of the North Carolina coastline, separating the
Currituck Sound,
Albemarle Sound, and
Pamlico Sound from the
Atlantic Ocean. The Outer Banks are a major tourist destination and are known around the world for their subtropical climate and wide expanse of open
beachfront. The
Cape Hatteras National Seashore has four campgrounds open to visitors.
[1] 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 a
United States Coast Guard facility and the Hatteras ferry.
The English
Roanoke Colony—where
Virginia Dare was born
[2]—vanished from
Roanoke Island in 1587.
The Lost Colony, written and performed to commemorate the original colonists, is the second longest running outdoor drama in the United States and its theater acts as a cultural focal point for much of the Outer Banks.
The
Wright brothers' first flight in a controlled, powered, heavier-than-air vehicle took place on the Outer Banks on December 7, 1903, at
Kill Devil Hillsnear the seafront town of
Kitty Hawk.
[3] The
Wright Brothers National Monument commemorates the historic flights, and
First Flight Airport is a small, general-aviation airfield located there.
