The Great South Bay is a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the

State of New York New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...

. It is about long and has an average depth of 4 feet 3 inches and is 20 feet at its deepest. It is protected from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

by Fire Island, a

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from ...

, as well as the eastern end of

Jones Beach Island Jones Beach Island is one of the outer barrier islands off the southern coast of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. Etymology It is named for Major Thomas Jones, who first came to Long Island in 1692, where he proceeded to build the ...

and Captree Island. Robert Moses Causeway adjoins the Great South Bay Bridge, which leads to Robert Moses State Park. Setting sun over Great South Bay

The bay is accessible from the ocean through Fire Island Inlet, which lies between the western tip of Fire Island and the eastern tip of Jones Beach Island. The bay adjoins

South Oyster Bay South Oyster Bay or East Bay is a lagoon

on its western end, and Patchogue and Moriches bays at the east end.

History

In the early 17th century, European settlers first encountered the native Montaukett Indian Nation. Among the earliest British families were the Smith, Carman and Hewlett families. Long Island's South Shore, which includes Lindenhurst, Babylon, Islip, Oakdale, Sayville, Bayport, Blue Point, Patchogue,

Bellport Bellport is a village in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 2,084 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of Bellport is named after the Bell family, ...

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...

, and Mastic Beach.

Environmental concerns

In the late nineteenth century Great South Bay provided many of the

clams Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two ...

consumed throughout the region and even the country. The first oysters to be exported from the US to Europe came from Great South Bay. By the latter 20th century, a significant percentage of the habitat was lost.

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

, the largest storm to affect the region since 1938, made landfall with devastating impact to Fire Island sea shores, including multiple breaches, the largest of which formed just south of Bellport. This was formerly known as

Old Inlet Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, ...

. Residents were concerned it would have effects on tidal increases and potential flooding, when in actuality it has allowed the bay to relieve some of its captive water, which has changed the salinity and nitrogen levels in the bay. After roughly 75 years, the bay begun flushing itself out which may improve the water condition within the bay. Regulations set forth by the US Government National Wildlife Preserve, which has a seven-mile stretch of land (The Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness) prohibit any unauthorized parties from performing any kind of man made changes, thus the inlet has remained open. There have been a number of ongoing public meeting discussing the future of the Inlet. All the other breaches were closed by the Army Corps of Engineers. In 2012, The Save the Great South Bay (STGSB) not-for-profit organization was formed in order to work towards better conservation of the water and its beachfronts. Save The Great South Bay has increased concerns about boat sewerage pumpouts in The Great South Bay as a serious ecological concern.

References

External links

United By Water
- It is no coincidence that The Great South Bay and the New York–New Jersey Harbor estuaries are home to one of the most vibrant and economically important metropolitan areas in the country and the world.
Back To Baysics
- Great South Bay environmental awareness campaign
Peconic Baykeepers
The Waterkeeper Alliance Member for the Great South Bay
NOAA target="_blank" class="mw-redirect" title="">
chart 12352] {{Authority control Babylon (town), New York Lagoons of New York (state) Brookhaven, New York Bays of Suffolk County, New York Islip (town), New York Southampton (town), New York Oyster Bay (town), New York

History

Environmental concerns

See also

References

External links