This mile-long sandbar, dubbed “Shelly Island” for its plethora of seashells and colorful pebbles, has been forming and growing since late spring. Instagram/@chadonka
New island appears off coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks
The secret’s out.
A new island has appeared off the coast of North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and unfortunately for locals, word is spreading — fast.
The mile-long sandbar, dubbed “Shelly Island” for its plethora of seashells and colorful pebbles, has been forming and growing since late spring. Residents and tourists alike are starting to take notice.
Reide Corbett, a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at East Carolina University and a scientist at UNC Coastal Studies Institute, advises people to enjoy exploring the tiny island while they still can.
“The thing about the Outer Banks — they are pretty dynamic. [The island] is kind of neat and interesting and provides new piece of land for people to explore, but it is a dynamic environment,” Reide told CBS News. “I wasn’t surprised to see it, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it disappear.”
Chad Koczera was one of the first people to explore the newly-formed island on May 31.
He was traveling with his fiancée from Connecticut to Cape Point, the place where they’d gotten engaged, when he stumbled upon an unfamiliar sight.
“This was our fifth time down to Hatteras. We like to return to the Point because that’s the same spot I proposed,” Koczera told CBS News. “We were driving to the Point after a storm to collect shells when we spotted an area we couldn’t get to by car.”
Confused, Koczera pulled out his drone camera to get a better look at the narrow island. When he looked at the footage, he was met with a stunning sight.
Read more… http://www.cbshw.org/news/new-island-appears-off-coast-of-north-carolinas-outer-banks/
