Outer Barrier

The Outer Barrier, also known as the Long Island and New York City barrier islands, refers to the string of

The lagoons enclosed by the barrier islands are

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}

]

The islands

New York City islands

Rockaway 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

Long Beach Barrier Island lies off the

Hempstead, 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 both Reynolds Channel to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. A drawbridge, the Long Beach Bridge, connects it to Island Park, a small island which lies between Long Beach and the mainland of Long Island. To the west, the Atlantic Beach Bridge connects the island to Lawrence on Long Island. The Loop Parkway, located to the east where Lido Beach and Point Lookout border one another, connects the island to Jones Beach.

Jones Beach Island

Jones Beach Island is a barrier island off the southern coast of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is named for the father of historian Thomas Jones. It is sometimes referred to as Oak Beach Island, and the former home of the infamous Oak Beach Inn. It is separated from Long Island by Great South Bay. The island straddles the county line between Nassau and Suffolk counties and includes the census-designated places of Gilgo, Oak Beach, and Captree.

The southern side of the island is known for its beaches that face the open Atlantic Ocean. Jones Beach State Park, on the western tip of the island is a summer recreational destination for the New York City area.

It is accessible from Long Island on its western end by the

Fire Island, New York by the Robert Moses Causeway via the Great South Bay Bridge and the State Boat Channel Bridge. The Ocean Parkway connects all three causeways and runs the length of the island, while The Fire Island Inlet Bridge continues on the Robert Moses Causeway finding its way to the New York's Fire Island on the Atlantic Ocean

.

Fire Island

Fire Island is a

Islip, and Brookhaven

.

Distorted panoramic view of western Fire Island from the top of Fire Island Lighthouse

There are several ocean front communities such as,

Great south bay. Fire Island has a variety of ocean front communities that can be reached by private boat, or seasonal ferry service from Long 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) and Ocean Beach (pop. 138). In addition, a part of Fire Island CDP is not even on the island, but on a separate island adjacent to West Hampton Dunes

.

Robert Moses State Park (the western end of Fire Island) on the south and Oak Beach and Captree 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 Lighthouse at the Fire Island National Seashore

The inlet has evolved over the years due to natural processes, especially

Fire Island Light

was at the mouth of the inlet when built in 1858, but is now six miles east of the inlet.

Westhampton Island

Town of Southampton. The barrier island was part of Fire Island until a nor'easter in 1931 created Moriches Inlet and made Fire Island a proper island. In 1938, Shinnecock Inlet created this fourth barrier island. Cupsogue Beach County Park

is located on the western end of the island.

Moriches Inlet is an inlet connecting Moriches Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The inlet created a geographic oddity whereby the Town of Brookhaven actually has jurisdiction on land immediately west of the village of West Hampton Dunes although Brookhaven land access to it involves a nearly 20 mile drive through Southampton.

Southampton, New York on the south shore of Long Island

.

The inlet was formed by the

Great Hurricane of 1938 which killed several people when it permanently broke through the island in Hampton Bays, New York

.

The inlet is almost directly lined up with the Shinnecock Canal between Shinnecock Bay and the Peconic 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 causes beach erosion on Fire Island.

References

^ Cody, Sarah K.; Auwaerter, John; Curry, George W. (2009). "Cultural Landscape Report for Floyd Bennett Field" (PDF). nps.gov. State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry: 16.
^ "U.S. Census website". Retrieved March 29, 2020.
^ "GNIS Detail - Westhampton Island".
^ "ADCIRC Example, Shinnecock Inlet". www.nd.edu. Archived from the original on January 3, 2005.

External links

40°37′N 73°16′W / 40.62°N 73.26°W / 40.62; -73.26

[1] Cody, Sarah K.; Auwaerter, John; Curry, George W. (2009). "Cultural Landscape Report for Floyd Bennett Field" (PDF). nps.gov. State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry: 16.

[2] "U.S. Census website". Retrieved March 29, 2020.

[3] "GNIS Detail - Westhampton Island".

[4] "ADCIRC Example, Shinnecock Inlet". www.nd.edu. Archived from the original on January 3, 2005.

[1]

[2]