40°48′N73°18′W / 40.8°N 73.3°W /40.8; -73.3
TheOuter Lands is the prominentterminal morainearchipelagic region off the southern coast ofNew England in the United States. This eight-county region ofMassachusetts,Rhode Island, andNew York comprises the peninsula ofCape Cod and the islands ofNantucket,Martha's Vineyard, theElizabeth Islands,Block Island, andLong Island, as well as surrounding islands and islets.
Though the existence of an arc or chain of islands[1][2] in this archipelago is widely acknowledged by geographers, it is rarely given a specific name; occasionally a descriptive term such assouthern New England islands[3][4][5][6] or a technical term such asCape Cod/Long Island ecoregion[7] orLong Island–Cape Cod Coastal Lowland[8] is used. TheIsles of Stirling was the name granted in 1635 when the islands came into the possession ofWilliam Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling. "Outer Lands" is a term popularized by authorDorothy Sterling in her 1967 natural history guide of the same name,[9] and used by later natural history authors such asPatrick J. Lynch.[10]
The Massachusetts section is often called the "Cape and Islands", with the "Islands" subregion very specifically referring to Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and other smaller islands inDukes andNantucket counties.
Long Island is often informally considered a part of the "New York islands" alongsideStaten Island andManhattan. These islands are geographically contiguous with the broader region. (The insular Massachusetts sections were actually part of theProvince of New York for most of the late 17th century.)
Other islands inLong Island Sound andRhode Island Sound (Narragansett Bay Islands) are also often included in the region.
More rarely,Sandy Hook in New Jersey is included.
The Outer Lands forms the insular northeasternmost extension of North America'sAtlantic coastal plain. The islands of the Outer Lands were formed ofterminal moraines deposited on a series ofcuestas by the recession of theLaurentide Ice Sheet during theWisconsin glaciation.[11][12]
Some of the islands are included in the archipelago due to proximity, despite key geological differences, such asManhattan, which is instead part of theManhattan Prong.
The islands are separated from the mainland by a series of bays and sounds that used to make upLake Connecticut,Lake Narragansett, and other glacial lakes.
For eastern Long Island and areas east, the region is designatedEnvironmental Protection Agency ecoregion 84 for theAtlantic coastal pine barrens, with the majority 84a for "Cape Cod/Long Island", and along the Long Island south shore 84c for "Barrier Islands/Coastal Marshes". Western Long Island and along the north shore is largely 59g for "Long Island Sound Coastal Lowland", a part of the broader Northeastern Coastal Zone.[13][14][7]
The region is designated the "Long Island-Cape Cod Coastal Lowland",Major Land Resource Area 149B, by the United States Department of Agriculture, which also includes Staten Island.[8]
The region has historically had a strong maritime culture, with an emphasis on fishing. From eastern Long Island east, much of the region has in recent decades taken on asummer colony character.[15]