Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina Sep 20, 2024

Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina

Welcome to Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This secluded island, with 16 miles of beaches, can only be reached by ferry or small plane. The Ocracoke Lighthouse, seen in today"s image, stands out as a notable landmark. The lighthouse celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2023, making it the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in North Carolina. It boasts an 8,000-candlepower light, which can be seen up to 14 miles offshore.

© Chansak Joe/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Sep 20, 2018May we have this dance?
Sep 20, 2019Fall comes to Pando
Sep 20, 2020Celebrating sea otters
Sep 20, 2021Birds of a feather flocking together
Sep 20, 2022Sea Otter Awareness Week
Sep 20, 2023Aqueduct, Arkadia Park, Poland
Sep 20, 2025Oktoberfest begins!

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jul 12, 2023Nakupenda Beach Nature Reserve, Zanzibar, Tanzania
May 9, 2018Longtailed widowbird at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa
Jan 16, 2019Up on the glacier
Jul 7, 2021Back on the rise
Dec 12, 2020What are we looking at?
Oct 27, 2022Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy
Dec 4, 2019Protecting endangered giants
Jan 6, 2020Have fun storming the castle
Aug 25, 2019A desert arts pop-up, just popped up
Apr 15, 2018The ‘Living Forest’ in Biscay, Spain
Sep 12, 2025In the Red Sea for World Dolphin Day
Jun 7, 2024World Oceans Day
Jul 18, 2025Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida
Mar 21, 2021A glimpse of the Blue Forest
Jul 3, 2018To the 155th on the 155th
Jul 21, 2020Belgium celebrates its independence
Feb 27, 2023International Polar Bear Day
Mar 1, 2019Forward-thinking women of history
Aug 5, 2022Edinburgh festivals
Jan 4, 2019Observing World Braille Day in Bavaria
Dec 23, 2023Festivus
Apr 11, 2022Fiddlehead fern fronds
Dec 28, 2024Endangered Species Act
Oct 21, 2025Happy Diwali!
Nov 10, 2021Cumberland Island National Seashore
Jan 15, 2019A personal collection becomes an institution
Jun 2, 2020Falling for the Canadian Rockies
Dec 29, 2018When science looks like magic
Feb 4, 2022Winter Olympics in Beijing
May 5, 2019Celebrating Mexico in a Cultural Capital