Roanoke

Island of North Carolina, USA, 20 km/12 mi long and 5 km/3 mi wide. Situated in the mouth of Albermarle Sound, behind the coastal sandbar of Cape Hatteras, it is linked by bridge to the mainland and bar. The principal town is Manteo; population (1996 est) 1,300. Tourism is among the chief industries on the island. First explored in 1584, Roanoke was the site of the first English colony in North America, established at Fort Raleigh in 1585 by the English adventurer Walter Raleigh.

John White brought a further 100 settlers in 1587, but a follow-up expedition of 1590 found no trace of the colonists, and their fate has remained a mystery.

A reconstruction of the fort, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, was erected in 1941. Since 1937 a symphonic drama entitled The Lost Colony has been performed each summer at the outdoors Waterside Theatre.