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TheOuter Barrier, also known as theLong Island and New York City barrier islands, refers to the string ofbarrier islands that divide thelagoons south ofLong Island, New York from theAtlantic Ocean. These islands includeLong Beach Barrier Island,Barnum Island,Jones Beach Island,Fire Island andWesthampton Island. The outer barrier extends 75 miles (121 km) along theSouth Shore of Long Island, from theRockaway Peninsula inNew York City to the east end ofShinnecock Bay inSuffolk County.
The lagoons enclosed by the barrier islands areJamaica Bay,Brosewere Bay,Hewlett Bay,Reynolds Channel,Middle Bay,East Bay,South Oyster Bay,Great South Bay, and arms of the Great South Bay that have their own geographic names: Great Cove, Nicoll Bay,Patchogue Bay, Bellport Bay, Narrow Bay,Moriches Bay, Quantuck Bay, Tiana Bay, and Shinnecock Bay.East Rockaway Inlet,Jones Inlet,Fire Island Inlet,Old Inlet,Moriches Inlet, andShinnecock Inlet pierce the barrier, forming the individual sandy islands. The resort communities ofAtlantic Beach,Long Beach, andWesthampton Beach; theFire Island National Seashore,Robert Moses State Park,Jones Beach State Park, and other recreational areas are found there. The low-lying islands are subject to wave erosion, and, during storms, they are sometimes inundated and cut through.[citation needed]
Coney Island,Plumb Beach,Barren Island, several smaller islands inJamaica Bay, and parts of what is now theRockaway peninsula formerly comprised the westernmost Outer Barrier islands. Of these, Coney Island was the westernmost island. Most of these islands were either connected to mainland Long Island or combined with each other in the early 20th century.[1]
Long Beach Barrier Island lies off thesouth shore ofLong Island. The island is shared by the hamlet ofAtlantic Beach to the west, the city ofLong Beach and the hamlet ofLido Beach in the central part of the island, and the hamlet ofPoint Lookout at the eastern end of the island. (The three hamlets — Atlantic Beach, Lido Beach, and Point Lookout — are part of the town ofHempstead, New York.)
Within its section of the barrier island, the city of Long Beach spans the entire north-south width of the island, fronting on bothReynolds Channel to the north and theAtlantic Ocean to the south. Adrawbridge, theLong Beach Bridge, connects it toIsland Park, a small island which lies between Long Beach and the mainland of Long Island. To the west, theAtlantic Beach Bridge connects the island toLawrence on Long Island. TheLoop Parkway, located to the east whereLido Beach andPoint Lookout border one another, connects the island toJones Beach.
Jones Beach Island is abarrier island off the southern coast ofLong Island in theU.S. state ofNew York. It is named for the father of historianThomas Jones. It is sometimes referred to as Oak Beach Island, and the former home of the infamousOak Beach Inn. It is separated from Long Island byGreat South Bay. The island straddles the county line betweenNassau andSuffolk counties and includes thecensus-designated places ofGilgo,Oak Beach, andCaptree.
The southern side of the island is known for its beaches that face the openAtlantic Ocean.Jones Beach State Park, on the western tip of the island is a summer recreational destination for theNew York City area.
It is accessible from Long Island on its western end by theMeadowbrook Parkway toMerrick, New York, theLoop Parkway toLong Beach, New York and theWantagh Parkway toWantagh, New York. Its eastern end is linked toBabylon, New York as well as toFire Island, New York by theRobert Moses Causeway via theGreat South Bay Bridge and theState Boat Channel Bridge. TheOcean Parkway connects all threecauseways and runs the length of the island, while TheFire Island Inlet Bridge continues on theRobert Moses Causeway finding its way to the New York's Fire Island on theAtlantic Ocean.
Fire Island is abarrier island, approximately 31 miles (50 km) long and varying between approximately 0.1 mile (160 m) to 0.25 mile (400 m) wide. Fire Island passes through southernSuffolk County, New York, and is southeast ofLong Island separated from the main land by theGreat South Bay in theU.S. state ofNew York, running approximately SW to NE. The land area is 8.687 sq. mi. (22.5 km2), and a permanent population of 491 people was reported as of the2000 census. (There are hundreds of thousands of summertime residents, groupers and daytrippers.) The island is composed of three communities, as defined by the Census Bureau. The largest of these isFire Island (CDP), which is unincorporated and stretches through the southern portion of the towns ofBabylon,Islip, andBrookhaven.
There are several ocean front communities such as,Davis Park andWatch Hill that are on the eastern side of theGreat south bay. Fire Island has a variety of ocean front communities that can be reached by private boat, or seasonalferry service fromLong Island's mainland.Fire Island has a 2000 census population of 310 inhabitants. There are also two villages in the Islip section of the island,Saltaire (pop. 43) andOcean Beach (pop. 138). In addition, a part of Fire Island CDP is not even on the island, but on a separate island adjacent toWest Hampton Dunes.
Fire Island Inlet is an inlet on the south shore of Long Island, New York. It connects the Great South Bay with theAtlantic Ocean, passing betweenRobert Moses State Park (the western end of Fire Island) on the south and Oak Beach andCaptree State Park (the eastern end of Jones Island) on the north. The stated land area and population figures result when this section is subtracted out.[2] The inlet is directly south of West Islip, the nearest town on the main part of Long Island.
The inlet has evolved over the years due to natural processes, especiallylongshore drift. Jones Island andFire Island at one time were connected. TheFire Island Light was at the mouth of the inlet when built in 1858, but is now six miles east of the inlet.
Westhampton Island[3] is the easternmost outer barrier island in theTown of Southampton. The barrier island was part ofFire Island until anor'easter in 1931 createdMoriches Inlet and made Fire Island a proper island. The1938 New England hurricane createdShinnecock Inlet and this Westhampton Island.Cupsogue Beach County Park is located on the western end of the island.
Moriches Inlet is aninlet connectingMoriches Bay and theAtlantic Ocean. The inlet created a geographic oddity whereby theTown of Brookhaven actually has jurisdiction on land immediately west of the village ofWest Hampton Dunes although Brookhaven land access to it involves a nearly 20 mile drive through Southampton.
Shinnecock Inlet is the easternmost of five major inlets[4] connecting bays to theAtlantic Ocean through the narrow 100-mile-longbarrier islands that stretch fromNew York City toSouthampton, New York on the south shore ofLong Island.
The inlet was formed by theGreat Hurricane of 1938 which killed several people when it permanently broke through the island inHampton Bays, New York.
The inlet is almost directly lined up with theShinnecock Canal between Shinnecock Bay and thePeconic Bay and saves miles for boaters going to the open Atlantic. Consequently, management has been geared to keep the inlet dredged and open. However, maintenance of the inlet has been controversial on grounds that it causesbeach erosion on Fire Island.
40°37′N73°16′W / 40.62°N 73.26°W /40.62; -73.26
