Blackbeard Island is one of the uninhabited barrier islands located along the Georgia Coastline. Likely given its name due to the famous pirate Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, Blackbeard Island was bought by the Navy Department in 1800 as a source of oak for their ships. While currently uninhabited, the island used to be a quarantine station from 1880 to 1910 before the vaccination for Yellow Fever became available. Today, the island is a National Wildlife Refuge, overseen by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, with maritime forest, salt and freshwater marshes, and a beach habitat being preserved. The island is open to visitors, but only by personal or charter boats, and provides activities such as hiking, fishing, and birdwatching.
Image Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Blackbeard Island likely formed during either the Pleistocene or Holocene Epoch, due to several cycles of glacial melting and freezing. As the sea level rose and fell as the glaciers melted and refroze, sediment was deposited on sand dunes that were above sea level. There is a possibility that river sedimentation also aided in the formation of Blackbeard Island, as the rivers often produced mud for the formation of salt marshes, which are found on Blackbeard Island. Just like most islands and coasts, Blackbeard Island is threatened today by rising sea levels. While ocean currents are slowly eroding away at Blackbeard Island, larger storms, such as hurricanes have an extreme impact on the erosion of the island. As a lot of the island is composed of sand, these larger storms easily erode or manipulate the island. After Hurricane Irma, a new island was formed from Blackbeard Island, now known as Little Blackbeard Island.
Sources:
Berson, S. (2018, January 29). Hurricane Irma created a whole new island off the Georgia coast. Ledger-Enquirer. https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/state/georgia/article197172749.html
Olsen, M. (n.d.). Georgia’s Barrier Islands. Georgia Department of Natural Resources – Coastal Resources Division. https://coastalgadnr.org/georgia-barrier-islands
Sullivan, B. (2003). Blackbeard Island. In New Georgia Encyclopedia. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/geography-environment/blackbeard-island/
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. (2015, May 26). Blackbeard Island – About the Refuge. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Blackbeard_Island/about.html
Wilderness Connect. (n.d.). Blackbeard Island Wilderness. https://wilderness.net/visit-wilderness/?ID=60