The remote beach of North Carolina's Ocracoke Island has been selected by 'Dr. Beach' as the top beach in the US.
Dr. Beach, actually Florida International University professor Stephen Leatherman, makes a list of top ten beaches on a complex scale based on fifty different criteria at the start of the summer season.
Only swimming beaches enter consideration, and past winners are retired from competition, so this will be Ocracoke's last year at the top.
The beach had come in at No. 3 and No.2 in previous editions.
Offering 14 miles of undisturbed barrier beach, according to Dr. Leatherman, the island of Ocracoke has been left fairly undisturbed due to its difficult access, making it an attractive place without much touris that scored highly on the environmental scale.
The island has barely 800 residents and can only be reached by boat or private plane.
It also boasts an interesting history, as it is where the pirate Blackbeard met his death at the hands of the Royal Navy.
Ocracoke Island was an unusual choice, as the top prize usually goes to beaches in Florida or Hawaii, both these places placing two spots in the top ten this year.
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