MUST-SEE: Large sand pedestals spotted on Outer Banks

OUTER BANKS, N.C. — Environmentalists captured pictures that look like the surface of the moon but are in fact of the Outer Banks.

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Cape Lookout National Seashore posted pictures on Facebook of unusually large sand pedestals at the north end of North Core banks.

According to environmentalists, a sand pedestal is formed when the sand is not uniformly hardened and the wind blows away the loose sand, leaving domes or pedestals.

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Experts said the light and dark patterns seen in the pedestals are from layers of light-colored minerals, such as quartz, and heavy minerals, such as magnetite or ilmenite. The wind cuts through the layers, leaving the designs.

Cox Media Group