Outer Banks, North Carolina Essay Example for Free

Outer Banks, North Carolina Essay Outer Banks is located in North Carolina. It is a narrow chain of barrier stretching 175 miles long. The area is frequented by high winds and storms. It is basically made up of sand dunes. Sand dunes are formed due to the prevailing winds. The winds come from opposite direction, northeast and southwest. Because of the natural occurrence, sand dunes were formed. The tallest active sand dune in Outer Banks is Jockeys Ridge. Some interesting features about the Outer Banks is that it housed the talled lighthouse. It also has the tallest san dune, Jockeys Ridge. Duck Beach is named one of the top beaches in America. Animals especially birds and horses are actively seen the area. Outer Banks 3 Outer Banks, North Carolina Outer Banks in North Carolina is a narrow chain of barrier islands. It is one mile wide or 1. 6 km. It stretches more than 175 miles along the coast. Main islands are Bodie, Roanoke, Hatteras, Ocracoke, Portsmounth and Core Banks. The area is prone to severe storms and high winds (Outer Banks, 2007). Outer Banks natural processes evolved from a predetermined conditions. Outer Banks can be well describe by its sand dunes. Migration of sand dunes is an important process on the Outer Banks. It is basically formed by two prevailing winds, northeast and southwest. Due to the different directions of the wind, volume of sand build up. With its sand dunes, Nags Head Woods were developed. It was inherited from what used to be sand dune and swale or a depression found between dunes and beach ridges more than 100,000 years ago. In some areas, the swales were internally drained and now contain freshwater ponds (Frankenberg Tormey, 2000). The Jockey Ridge is the most tallest active sand dune in Outer Banks. The sand is mostly quartz rock which comes from the mountains million of years ago (Ecology, 2006). Some very interesting features can be provided by the Outer Banks (Interesting Facts about the Outer Banks, 2006) ? Wild Ponies, descendants of Spanish Mustangs, still travel the coast. As per record, they run wild North Carolina since 1523 until present time. Tallest lighthouse in America, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is located in Outer Banks. It Outer Banks 4 is 198 feet tall. It has 257 steps. Beacon light can be seen as far as 20 miles out the to sea. ? Duck Beach is one of the Top Beaches in America. This was named because of the number of waterfowls that flocked during migration. ? Jockeys Ridge is the largest active sand dune in East Coast. Outer Banks 4 References Frankenberg, Dirk Tormey, Blair. (2000). The Northern Outer Banks. Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations pp. 3. Retrieved January 22, 2008 from http://www. learnnc. org/lp/editions/cede_nobx/3 Infoplease. (2005). Outer Banks. Retrieved January 22, 2008, from http://www. infoplease. com/ce6/us/A0921656. html Jockeys Ridge Sate Park. (2006). Ecology. Retrieved January 22, 2008 from http://www. jockeysridgestatepark. com/ecology. html Outer Banks Vacation Guide. (2006). Interesting Facts About the Outer Banks. Retrieved January 22, 2008 from http://www. visitob. com/outer_banks/trip/facts. htm