Oats and native Cordgrass at sunset. Most of Ocracoke Island in North Carolina is part of the Hatteras National Seashore which is why it’s miles of dunes and native vegetation have been left untouched.
Ocracoke island, (also known as the pearl of the outer banks), can only be reached by way of ferry, private boat or plane. It wasn’t always the case. For a period of about 82 years, Ocracoke Island was joined to Hatteras Island. Before 1764 the two islands had been separated by Old Hatteras Inlet, which was located midway between Ocracoke Village and the location of the present inlet.
When Old Hatteras Inlet closed for good in 1764, Hatteras and Ocracoke were one island and it was possible to travel by land between the settlements. That was all changed September 7, 1846, when a storm blew open a deep and wide inlet that became known as Hatteras Inlet. Today, the lack of a bridge lends the Ocracoke a remote feel, even though it’s only a few miles from Hatteras.
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