the outer banks drifts west

The fascinating geologic history behind life on a sandbar.

The shifting sands of the Outer Banks are doing more than just shifting beneath our feet. This blog from Carolina Designs does a great job of telling the story behind the westward drift of the Outer Banks.

Aerial view of Knotts Island and the northern Currituck Banks. Fan shaped islands on the right side of the image indicate silt deposits after ocean overwash.
Aerial view of Knotts Island and the northern Currituck Banks. Fan shaped islands on the right side of the image indicate silt deposits after ocean overwash.

“As land masses go, the Outer Banks is a pretty recent addition to the earth’s geology. There are a number of theories about how and why they formed, but no consensus. There is consensus, however, on their age— estimates put their formation somewhere between 4000-5000 years ago.

Originally, they were farther east —that is something everyone agrees on—and the evidence of their migration is remarkable and fascinating.”

 

[box type=”bio”] Learn more from Carolina Designs about how the Outer Banks is moving west.[/box]