Outer Banks
Corolla NC
2020

In the 16th century, when explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano anchored on what was likely Hatteras Island, he believed the narrow barrier islands were the only land separating the Atlantic from the Pacific. The forested Outer Banks were lovely, but vulnerable; for centuries, the 200-mile island chain had weathered storm tides and hurricanes, acting as a shock absorber for the mainland.

Until recently, inhabitants of the islands never realized that the land underneath them was slowly moving west. The pummeling water and wind propelled sands across the island like waves, sealing off inlets. Over time, the ocean side eroded as the sound side grew. The sands created dunes that rolled over each other like a bulldozer’s tread.

As early as 1850, visitors noticed old cemeteries and “ghost forests” uncovered by the shifting sands. Elsewhere, the sands entombed more trees and structures. By the turn of the 20th century, the eroding beaches had become common knowledge. In 1908, a member of the U.S. Forest Service warned, “If prompt measures … are not taken, the destruction of the forest is certain. The lands will become a sand waste.”

https://www.ourstate.com/history-of-the-outer-banks-dunes/

Fences, sand, grass, and time
Around that time, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his New Deal. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was created to provide government money to put Americans to work. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) took over North Carolina’s sand-fixation project, with help from the National Park Service. The plan called for a line of man-made, vegetated dunes stabilized with fences.


The barrier islands of the Outer Banks were created thousands of years ago from a high ridge of sand dunes that survived the melting of the earth's glaciers. Barrier islands earn their name by shielding the coastal mainland from the ocean's surging waves and storms.

The Outer Banks (OBX) barrier dunes have a complex history, including the formation of the islands, the construction of a protective dune system, and the efforts to preserve the dunes:

Formation of the islands
The Outer Banks are a chain of barrier islands that formed thousands of years ago when glaciers melted and sea levels rose. The islands were created when water broke through the dunes, isolating them from the mainland.

Construction of the dune system
In the 1930s, the National Park Service, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and Works Progress Administration (WPA) built a protective dune system to protect a proposed road from the beach. The project involved building fences and planting grasses, shrubs, and trees along the dunes.

Preservation of Jockey's Ridge
In the 1960s, local environmental activist Carolista Baum led efforts to preserve Jockey's Ridge from developers who wanted to build a housing development on the dunes.

Sea level rise
The Outer Banks are constantly changing due to sea level rise. As sea levels rise, the islands move inland, exposing remnants of maritime forests.


The Outer Banks of North Carolina have a rich history that includes:

Early settlement
Native Americans fished and hunted along the Outer Banks for over 1,000 years before Europeans arrived in the early 1500s.

The Lost Colony
The English Roanoke Colony was established on Roanoke Island in 1585, but vanished in 1587. Virginia Dare, the first English person born in the Americas, was born on Roanoke Island.

The Wright Brothers' first flight
On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers flew the first powered, heavier-than-air vehicle in a controlled manner at Kill Devil Hills.

Shipwrecks
The Outer Banks are known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because of the hundreds of shipwrecks that have occurred there.

Piracy
In the early 1700s, Blackbeard and other pirates haunted the coast.

Fishing villages
Before the Civil War, the Outer Banks were home to fishing villages and ports of call for mariners.

Barrier dunes
The 14-foot barrier dunes along the eastern shore were stabilized with plantings of salt-resistant plants.


The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a 200 mi (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 line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean. A major tourist destination, the Outer Banks are known for their wide expanse of open beachfront and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The seashore and surrounding ecosystem are important biodiversity zones, including beach grasses and shrubland that help maintain the form of the land.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Banks

The Outer Banks were sites of early European settlement in the United States and remain important economic and cultural sites. Most notably the English Roanoke Colony vanished from Roanoke Island in 1587 and was the first location where an English person, Virginia Dare, was born in the Americas. The hundreds of shipwrecks along the Outer Banks have given the surrounding seas the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic. The Outer Banks were also home to the Wright brothers' first flight in a controlled, powered, heavier-than-air vehicle on December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills. During the 20th century the region became increasingly important for coastal tourism.