By Cindy Mikel
North Carolina's Outer Banks is a 200-mile long stretch of barrier islands. The area is a popular vacation spot that includes
beaches, lighthouses, wildlife refuges and wild horses.
Weather
The Outer Banks has about 200 sunny days a year. The wind is always blowing.
Attractions
There are four lighthouses on the Outer Banks. Cape Hatteras is the tallest lighthouse in the country at 198 feet. Ocracoke Lighthouse is the second oldest lighthouse still under operation in the nation. The other two are Bodie Island Lighthouse and Currituck beach Lighthouse.
Significance
Wilbur and Orville Wright made the world's first successful sustained flight in 1903 at the Outer Banks' Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk.
Famous Ties
The pirate Blackbeard lived and died on Ocracoke Island.
Warning
Many of the area's restaurants, motels and stores close during the winter, especially on Ocracoke Island, which is only accessible by ferry boat.
About the Author:
Cindy Mikel has been writing about education and family issues for more than 25 years. As a newspaper reporter with a journalism degree and as the mother of two grown children, she shares her knowledge of those important subjects with readers on a regular basis. She is also a published photographer.
