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The Outer Banks are a 100-mile (160-km) long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina , on the East Coast Of The United States . They cover approximately the northern half of North Carolina's coastline, separating the Albemarle Sound and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean . The Outer Banks are a major tourist destination, and are known for temperate weather and wide expanses of wide open beachfront. The Wright Brothers ' first flights in a powered, heavier-than-air vehicle took place on the Outer Banks on December 17 , 1903 , at Kill Devil Hills, near the sea-front 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. An English colony—where the first person of English descent, in 1587. 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 the United States Coast Guard facility and Hatteras ferry. GEOGRAPHY The Outer Banks are a series of islands: from north to south—Bodie Island, Roanoke Island, Hatteras Island, and Ocracoke Island. The northern part of the Outer Banks, from Oregon Inlet northward, is usually considered part of the North America n mainland, although it is technically separated by the Intracoastal Waterway , which passes through the Great Dismal Swamp occupying much of the mainland west of the Outer Banks. Road access to the northern Outer Banks ends in Corolla, North Carolina , with communities such as Carova Beach accessible only by Four-wheel Drive vehicles. North Carolina State Highway 12 links most of the popular Outer Banks communities. The easternmost point is Cape Point at Cape Hatteras on Hatteras Island , site of the famous candy-striped Cape Hatteras Lighthouse . The Outer Banks are not anchored to offshore Coral Reef s like some other barrier islands, and as a consequence often suffer significant beach Erosion during major storms. In fact, their location jutting out into the Atlantic makes them the most Hurricane -prone area north of Florida , for both landfalling storms and brushing storms offshore. Hatteras Island was cut in half on September 18 , 2003 , when Hurricane Isabel washed a 3000 feet (900 m) wide and 30 feet (9 m) deep channel called Isabel Inlet through the community of Hatteras Village on the southern end of the island. The tear was subsequently repaired and restored by sand dredged by the Army Corps Of Engineers . CULTURE Recognizing the popular abbreviation "OBX" for the Outer Banks, residents petitioned for Automobile License Plates with an OBX prefix. After this was done in 2001, the complete run of plates (OBX-0000 through OBX-9999) was quickly exhausted. Since North Carolina plates can include eight characters, locals protested and were rewarded with an extended series of plates beginning with OBX10000. Although the "OBX" plates are available to any NC resident, they are only available at the Dare County License plate agency. The islands are home to colonies of wild horses, sometimes called "banker ponies", which according to local legend are descended from Spanish Mustangs washed ashore centuries ago in shipwrecks. Colonies exist near Corolla and on Ocracoke Island . Ocracoke was also the home base of Pirate Edward Teach , better known as Blackbeard . COMMUNITIES Towns and communities along the Outer Banks include (listed from north to south): Bodie Island Roanoke Island Hatteras Island Ocracoke Island Cape Lookout National Seashore
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