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. 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—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 Hills near the seafront 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.