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SEEING IS BELIEVING, and every year hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Outer Banks to relax by the shore and take in the sights…because this area is nothing if not picturesque. But sometimes you’ve simply visited every local monument enough that it just starts to feel like second nature – and that’s when it’s time for a fresh perspective.
From shifting sands to bygone beacons and modern marvels, here are three legendary landmarks like you’ve never seen them before…
THE CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE Although the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse didn’t receive its famed black-and-white daymark pattern until three years after it was completed a second time in 1870, it’s a monument that’s launched a thousand postcards – and its numbers add up to make it more than just a pretty face.
SPEED DEMON When its famous move was completed in July 1999, the lighthouse had travelled 2,900 feet over the course of 23 days. That’s good for an average speed of 0.001 mph.
2900 FT
FAMOUS FRIENDS At an official height of 198.49 feet, the lighthouse nearly passes some other well-known international landmarks in terms of height. 160FT
185FT
HIT THE BRICKS It is unknown exactly how many bricks make up the structure, which is the tallest brick lighthouse in the country. However,
1,250,000 bricks
were ordered for its construction, and manufactured on the James River in Virginia.
189FT 198FT
ARC DE TRIOMPHE Paris, France LEANING TOWER OF PISA Pisa, Italy CINDERELLA’S CASTLE Orlando, FL CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE Buxton, NC
CROWDED HOUSE In 2019, the lighthouse welcomed nearly 99,000 climbers. That’s roughly equivalent to a full crowd at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
NO LIGHT WEIGHT There are 269 steps up to the lens room. These are broken up into nine flights of steps. Each flight weighs about 5,000 pounds, as much as a large black rhinoceros.
LIGHTING UP THE PACIFIC The original lighthouse was deactivated in 1870 before being replaced by the current structure. In 1871, the first order Fresnel lens from the original was shipped across the country and installed in the lighthouse at
Pigeon
Point,
California, south of San
Francisco.
THE MARC BASNIGHT BRIDGE It was a race to the finish, but the Marc Basnight Bridge opened to traffic only three years after ground was broken on the project in 2016. As a replacement for the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, which opened in 1963, it became the second Oregon Inlet bridge named after a former state legislator – and its engineering prowess is just as impressive as its illustrious namesake. CHOO CHOO! While the bridge’s 2.8-mile
pricey, but it was actually built for over 25 million dollars less than the NCDOT’s initial cost estimate. UNOBSTRUCTED VIEWS At a height of more than 60 feet, Jockey’s Ridge is about as tall as a six-story building. Once at the top, you’ll always be looking out over rooftops, as the building code in the town of Nags Head doesn’t allow for buildings taller than 42 feet. length is impressive, long-haul freight trains in the U.S. and Canada have begun operating at that length (and longer). Imagine being stuck at a crossing waiting for a train the length of the Basnight
A GOOD DEAL With a cost of $252,000,000, the bridge is certainly
JOCKEY’S RIDGE STATE PARK
Bridge to slowly pass.
DRY SAND
The sands of time have been good to the Atlantic coast’s tallest living sand dune. Though it was once part of a back-barrier dune system that stretched to False Cape, Virginia, Jockey’s Ridge is still a National Natural Landmark that covers a majestic 426 acres – and it’s got plenty of stats to prove its might.
WET SAND
WATER TABLE UP AND AWAY On a good day, a hang glider at Jockey’s Ridge will travel a couple of hundred feet. In 2012 in Zapata, Texas, the current world record for distance travelled by hang glider was set at 475 miles!
STAYING IN SHAPE What keeps the dunes from just blowing away? The sands at Jockey’s Ridge act like a massive sponge, pulling water up from the water table. Only about the top six inches dry out, allowing the wet sand beneath to hold its shape for longer.
BOOMING POPULATION
More than 2 million people cross Oregon Inlet annually. If those travelers represented a city, it would be the 5th largest in the country (somewhere between Houston and Phoenix).
LONG LIFE The old Bonner Bridge outlived its planned 30-year lifespan by more than 20 years. The Basnight Bridge is the first bridge in the state designed to last 100 years.
DON’T GET ANY IDEAS The signature elements of the bridge are its nine 350-foot wide spans, constructed from hollow concrete box girders. With a wingspan of 225 feet, a 747 would be able to pass beneath a span with room to spare. OREGON INLET
2119 25 FEB
PEA ISLAND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
NOT GOING ANYWHERE Erosion is a constant problem at Oregon Inlet, where shifiting sands were a problem for the Bonner Bridge due to its single channel and shorter pilings. The Basnight Bridge was designed and engineered using erosion simulations based on 100,000 storms dating back 160 years. Its pilings can handle erosion to a depth of 84 feet.
THE OLDEST LOCAL The dunes are estimated to have formed between 3,000-4,000 years ago. That means sand would have started collecting when woolly mammoths roamed the Earth, and the finishing touches were being put on Stonehenge.
STANDING UP FOR THE DUNES There might not be a Jockey’s Ridge State Park if not for the efforts of Carolista Baum, who famously stood in the way of a developer’s bulldozer to halt construction on the site in 1973.
WORD OF THE DAY The three peaks at the park are known as médanos, which are collections of shifting sand that lack vegetation. SHIFTING SANDS On average, Jockey’s Ridge moves about six feet per year. After a couple years of increased movement towards Soundside Road along the park’s southern boundary, crews recently relocated about 200,000 tons of sand to the northern end of the park.
