The Roanoke voyages marked the first attempts at English settlement in what is now the United States. In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh commissioned a scouting expedition led by Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe to the Americas. They discovered Roanoke Island, which is about 12 miles long and 3 miles wide and lies along the outer banks of present-day North Carolina. By 1590, the Roanoke colony had mysteriously vanished, but the voyages represent the beginnings of an English foothold in the Americas.