The Inner Banks is a neologism made up by developers and tourism promoters to describe the inland coastal region of eastern North Carolina. Without historical precedent, the term "Inner Banks" is an early 21st-century construct that is part of an attempt to rebrand the mostly agrarian coastal plain east of I-95 as a more attractive region for visitors and retirees.
Historic Columbia, NC.
Historic Edenton, NC.
Historic Hertford, NC.
View of Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge from Plymouth, NC.
The Outer Banks are a 200 mi (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 line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean. A major tourist destination, the Outer Banks are known for their wide expanse of open beachfront and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The seashore and surrounding ecosystem are important biodiversity zones, including beach grasses and shrubland that help maintain the form of the land.
The Outer Banks, separating the Atlantic Ocean (east) from Currituck and Albemarle Sounds (north) and Pamlico Sound (south)
View from the International Space Station in 2019 (north is in the lower left of the photo)
Aerial view of Outer banks (looking north), with sound on the left and ocean on the right
Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, Hatteras, North Carolina, June 2007