The New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary, also known as the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, is in the

northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

states of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

. The system of waterways of the

Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the system of navigable water ...

forms one of the most intricate natural harbors in the world and one of the busiest ports of the United States. The harbor opens onto the

New York Bight The New York Bight is the geological identification applied to a roughly triangular indentation, regarded as a bight, along the Atlantic coast of the United States that extends northeasterly from Cape May Inlet in New Jersey to Montauk Point on ...

in 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 ...

to the southeast and

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

to the northeast. Although the overall form of the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

remains unchanged from the time of

Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , , often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1485–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France. He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlantic ...

's visit in 1524, all parts have changed at least a little, and some parts, such as

Hell Gate Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City. It separates Astoria, Queens, from Randall's and Wards Islands. Etymology The name "Hell Gate" is a corruption of the Dutch phrase ''Hellegat'' (it first appeared on ...

and

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

, have been almost completely altered. In the greatest hidden change, the navigational channels have been deepened from the natural depth to . In some places this required blasting of

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...

. There is an extremely complex system of tides and currents. Both the Bight and the Sound are essentially

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

bodies with

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...

s and

saltwater Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...

, but the Sound compared to the Atlantic is about 20–30% less saline (as an estuary), and the tide is about 3 hours later with as much as 70% more variation. Rivers add a

fresher A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

, non-tidal inflow although the tide and

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

ness extend well up rivers throughout the extended hydrologic system from Albany to

Montauk Point Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318. The ...

to the

Hudson Canyon The Hudson Canyon is a submarine canyon that begins from the shallow outlet of the estuary at the mouth of the Hudson River. It extends out over seaward across the continental shelf finally connecting to the deep ocean basin at a depth of 3 to 4 ...

region of the New York Bight. The New York Harbor Observing and Prediction System (NYHOPS) utilizes information from sensors, weather forecasts, and environment models to provide real-time forecasts of meteorological and oceanographic conditions in the area. Since the

Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash is ...

beaches along the shores of the East Coast have been regularly replenished with sand pumped in from off-shore. The

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

(USACE) coordinates the projects. In 2016 the USACE and the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...

produced a comprehensive restoration plan for the

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

region, with proposals to mitigate the effects of

sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...

through projects to restore natural areas. In September the USACE released the New York New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Study (HATS).

Features of the harbor estuary

The lists below includes features of the

with a waterborne emphasis, starting with natural features. Where possible the list proceeds from the Lower Bay entrance approximately clockwise around the Harbor. The alternative sorting is by jurisdiction. Official references are the

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

Coastal pilot,Chapter 11
New York Harbor and Approaches

35th Edition, 2006
Office of Coast Survey

. NOAA

nautical chart A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a sea area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land (topographic map), natural features of the seabed, details of the coa ...

s,NOAA nautical charts
12327
''New York Harbor'' (1:40,000 scale)
12324
''Sandy Hook to Little Egg''
12350
''Jamaica Bay and Rockaway Inlet''
1240212401
''New York Lower Bay''
12331
''Raritan Bay and southern part of Arthur Kill''
12332
''Raritan River''
12333
''Kill van Kull and northern part of Arthur Kill''
12334
''New York Harbor (Upper Bay and Narrows''
12337123351233812341

12339

12366
''Long Island Sound and East River'', found on page

Nautical chart A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a sea area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land (topographic map), natural features of the seabed, details of the coa ...

Atlantic Coast charts online
, Office of Coast Survey,

. and

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

topographic maps. USGS topographic maps, 1:24,000 scale, listed from west to east (in a row), then north to south: *Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Mamaroneck; *Orange, Weehawken, Central Park Flushing, Seacliff; *Elizabeth, Jersey City, Brooklyn, Jamaica, Lynbrook; *Perth Amboy, Arthur Kill The Narrows, Coney Island, Far Rockaway; *South Amboy, Keyport, Sandy Hook West, Sandy Hook East. Many jurisdictional issues appear in U.S. law.Title 33. Navigation and Navigable Waters
USC. See Section 59.

Rivers and streams

Bi-state *

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the subur ...

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

(lowest section also called the North River) New Jersey *

Berrys Creek Berry's Creek (sometimes referred to as ''Berrys Creek'' or ''Berry Creek'') is a tributary of the Hackensack River in the New Jersey Meadowlands in Bergen County, New Jersey. The creek watershed contains a diverse array of wetlands, marshes, and ...

Dwars Kill The Dwars Kill (also known as Dwarskill or Dwarskill Creek) is a tributary of the Hackensack River (Oradell Reservoir) in Bergen County, New Jersey, in the United States. The name is taken from the Dutch language and can be translated as "Cross Cr ...

* Elizabeth River *

Overpeck Creek Overpeck Creek is a tributary of the Hackensack River, approximately long, in Bergen County in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The lower broad mouth of the creek is part of the extended tidal estuary of the lower Hackensack and of t ...

Navesink River The Navesink River is an estuary, approximately 8 mi (12 km) long in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. It is surrounded by the communities of Middletown, Red Bank, Fair Haven and Rumson. Known officially as the North Shre ...

Passaic River Passaic River ( ) is a river, approximately long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, ...

First River The First River, in the state of New Jersey in the United States, is a subterranean river and the first main tributary of the Passaic River encountered while travelling upstream from its mouth at Newark Bay Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the c ...

(a.k.a. Mill Brook) ** Second River ** Third River *

Rahway River The Rahway River is a river in Essex, Middlesex, and Union Counties, New Jersey, United States, The Rahway, along with the Elizabeth River, Piles Creek, Passaic River, Morses Creek, the Fresh Kills River (in Staten Island), has its river m ...

Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its Drainage basin, watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Rar ...

Shrewsbury River The Shrewsbury River is a short stream and navigable estuary. The stream is approximately 8 mi (13 km) long and is located in Central New Jersey. It extends east-northeast from its head of navigation at Oceanport to its confluence with ...

Morses Creek The Morses Creek, is a perennial stream of the North-East Murray catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the alpine region of Victoria, Australia. It flows from the northern slopes of the Mount Buffalo National Park in the Australi ...

Piles Creek Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are sinusoid (blood vessel), vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with Human feces, stool control. They become a disease when swelling (m ...

Woodbridge River The Woodbrige River (also known as Woodbridge Creek) is a river in Woodbridge Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The river is an important waterway, which frequently floods due to extreme weather caused by climate change, an ...

New York * Alley Creek *

Bronx River The Bronx River (), approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States and drains an area of . It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. Besides the Hutchinson River, the Bronx River is the only fresh water river i ...

Byram River The Byram River is a river approximately in length,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in southeast New York and southwestern Connecticut in the United States ...

Coney Island Creek Coney Island Creek is a tidal inlet in Brooklyn, New York City. It was created from a series of streams and inlets by land filling and digging activities starting in the mid-18th century which, by the 19th century, became a continual strait an ...

Flushing River The Flushing River, also known as Flushing Creek, is a waterway that flows northward through the borough of Queens in New York City, mostly within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, emptying into the Flushing Bay and the East River. The river run ...

Fresh Kills Fresh Kills (from the Middle Dutch word '' kille'', meaning "riverbed" or "water channel") is a stream and freshwater estuary in the western portion of the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is the site of the Fresh Kills Landfill, forme ...

Gerritsen Creek Gerritsen Creek is a short watercourse in Brooklyn, New York City, that empties into Jamaica Bay. The creek has been described as one of the "fingers" that formed the original shoreline of Jamaica Bay. The creek lies just beyond the maximum exten ...

Gowanus Canal The Gowanus Canal (originally known as the Gowanus Creek) is a canal in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, on the westernmost portion of Long Island. Once a vital cargo transportation hub, the canal has seen decreasing use since the mid-20 ...

(formerly Gowanus Creek) *

Hawtree Creek Hawtree Creek is a small saltwater creek that empties into Jamaica Bay in Queens, New York. The creek separates the neighborhoods of Hamilton Beach and Howard Beach Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York C ...

* Hook Creek *

Hutchinson River The Hutchinson River is a freshwater stream located in the Bronx, and Southern Westchester County, New York. The river forms in Scarsdale at Brookline Road and flows 10 miles (16 km) south until it empties into Eastchester Bay in th ...

* Luyster Creek *

Main Creek Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...

Mamaroneck River The Mamaroneck River is a freshwater stream located in Southern Westchester County, New York. The river forms in White Plains and Harrison and flows south through Mamaroneck Town and Village, where it empties into Mamaroneck Harbor and Lon ...

Mianus River The Mianus River is a river in Westchester County, New York, and Fairfield County, Connecticut, in the United States. It begins in the town of North Castle, New York (east of Armonk) in a series of ponds at about altitude. Flowing northeast i ...

Newtown Creek Newtown Creek, a long tributary of the East River, is an estuary that forms part of the border between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, in New York City. Channelization made it one of the most heavily-used bodies of water in the Port of N ...

Dutch Kills Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

English Kills Newtown Creek, a long tributary of the East River, is an estuary that forms part of the border between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, in New York City. Channelization made it one of the most heavily-used bodies of water in the Port of N ...

** Maspeth Creek **Whale Creek *

Nissequogue River The Nissequogue River is an long river flowing from Smithtown, New York into the Long Island Sound. Its average discharge of is the most of any of the freshwater rivers on Long Island. The river, like all other freshwater rivers on the island, is ...

* Richmond Creek * Sherman Creek * Smith Creek * Springville Creek *

Tibbetts Brook Tibbetts Brook, originally Tippett's Brook or Tibbitt's Brook, is a stream in the southern portion of mainland New York, flowing north to south from the city of Yonkers in Westchester County into the borough of the Bronx within New York City. Or ...

Tidal straits

Inter-state *

Arthur Kill The Arthur Kill (sometimes referred to as the Staten Island Sound) is a tidal strait between Staten Island (also known as Richmond County), New York and Union and Middlesex counties, New Jersey. It is a major navigational channel of the Port of ...

Kill Van Kull __NOTOC__ The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait between Staten Island, New York and Bayonne, New Jersey in the United States. It is approximately long and wide and connects Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay. The Robbins Reef Light marks the ...

New York *

Bronx Kill The Bronx Kill is a narrow strait in New York City delineating the southernmost extent of the Bronx. It separates the Bronx from Randalls Island. It connects the Harlem River to the East River. History Originally, the Bronx Kill was a sizeab ...

Buttermilk Channel 300px, The Buttermilk Channel, shown in red, in Upper New York Bay Buttermilk Channel is a small tidal strait in Upper New York Bay in New York City, approximately long and wide, separating Governors Island from Brooklyn. The channel is marke ...

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

* Grass Hassock Channel *

Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York, United States, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the New York mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyte ...

The Narrows __NOTOC__ The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson Riv ...

* Pumpkin Patch Channel *

Rockaway Inlet Rockaway Inlet is a strait connecting Jamaica Bay, wholly within New York City, with the Atlantic Ocean. It separates the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens from the Floyd Bennett Field (formerly Barren Island) in Brooklyn. Rockaway Inlet is bounded ...

* Spuyten Duyvil

Bays, inlets and coves

New York Bay New York Bay is the large tidal body of water in the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary where the Hudson River, Raritan River, and Arthur Kill empty into the Atlantic Ocean between Sandy Hook and Rockaway Point. Geography New York Bay is usu ...

Lower New York Bay Lower New York Bay is a section of New York Bay south of the Narrows (the strait between Staten Island and Brooklyn). The eastern end of the Bay is marked by two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens. The waterway b ...

Gravesend Bay Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is the ...

** Great Hills Harbor **

Jamaica Bay Jamaica Bay is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural. The bay connects with Lower New York Bay to the west, ...

*** Bergen Basin *** Fresh Creek Basin *** Grassy Bay *** Head of Bay **** Thurston Basin ***

Mill Basin Mill Basin is a residential neighborhood in southeastern Brooklyn, New York City. It is on a peninsula abutting Jamaica Bay and is bordered by Avenue U on the northwest and the Mill Basin/Mill Island Inlet on its remaining sides. Mill Basin is ...

*** Norton Basin ***

Paerdegat Basin Paerdegat Basin is a channel that connects to Jamaica Bay between the neighborhoods of Bergen Beach and Canarsie in southeast Brooklyn, New York, United States. It connects to Jamaica Bay to the south, and the north end of the basin is adjacent to ...

** Leonardo Harbor ** Prince's Bay **

Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by P ...

***

Sandy Hook Bay The Raritan Bayshore region of New Jersey is a subregion of the larger Jersey Shore. It is the area around Raritan Bay from The Amboys to Sandy Hook, in Monmouth and Middlesex counties, including the towns of Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, ...

**Rockaway Inlet ***

Dead Horse Bay Dead Horse Bay is a small body of water off Barren Island, Brooklyn, Barren Island, between the Gerritsen Inlet and Rockaway Inlet in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, New York, Brooklyn. History From the ninetee ...

***

Sheepshead Bay Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to: Fish * ''Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean * Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central Am ...

* Upper New York Bay (New York Harbor) **Atlantic Basin **

Communipaw Communipaw is a neighborhood in Jersey City in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It is located west of Liberty State Park Liberty State Park (LSP) is a park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City ...

**Erie Basin **

Gowanus Bay Gowanus ( ) is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community District 6. Gowanus is bounded by Wyckoff Street on ...

Harsimus Cove Harsimus (also known as Harsimus Cove) is a neighborhood within Downtown Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The neighborhood stretches from the Harsimus Stem Embankment (the Sixth Street Embankment) on the north to Christophe ...

** John's Cove **Long Canal **

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a common carrier anthracite coal canal across northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals at Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its western terminus at Phillipsburg, New Jers ...

Basin **

Newark Bay Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jersey, t ...

Weehawken Cove Weehawken Cove is a cove on the west bank of the Hudson River between the New Jersey municipalities of Hoboken to the south and Weehawken to the north. At the perimeter of the cove are completed sections the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, of ...

Bowery Bay Bowery Bay is a bay off the East River in New York City. It is located near the Steinway neighborhood of Queens and is bordered on the west by the Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant and on the south and east by LaGuardia Airport. Before ...

Bushwick Inlet Bushwick Inlet Park is a public park in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The park currently consists of two non-contiguous sections along the East River and is eventually planned to reach into Greenpoint at Quay Street ...

Flushing Bay Flushing Bay is a tidal embayment in New York City. It is located on the south side of the East River and stretches to the south near the neighborhood of Flushing, Queens. It is bordered on the west by LaGuardia Airport and the Grand Central Parkw ...

Little Bay Little Bay is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Little Bay is located 14 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Randwic ...

*Hallets Cove *

* Powell's Cove *

Wallabout Bay Wallabout Bay is a small body of water in Upper New York Bay along the northwest shore of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, between the present Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges. It is located opposite Corlear's Hook in Manhattan, acros ...

(Navy Yard Basin) *

Westchester Creek Westchester Creek (also known as Frenchman's Creek) is a tidal inlet of the East River located in the south eastern portion of the Bronx in New York City. It is 2.1 miles (3.39 km) in length. The creek formerly traveled further inland, to wha ...

City Island Harbor City Island Harbor is the protected body of water between City Island and Hart Island in the Bronx, New York City, open to Long Island Sound at its northern and southern extremities. It is not a true harbor, but a sound. Other minor islands in ...

Eastchester Bay Eastchester Bay is a sound between City Island and the mainland Bronx in New York City, New York. Technically, it is not a bay, since it is open to larger bodies of water at both ends. The northern end connects via a narrow channel to Pelham ...

Hempstead Harbor Hempstead Harbor (also known as Hempstead Bay) is a bay hugging the northern coast of Long Island, New York. Located off of the Long Island Sound, it forms the northernmost portion of the political border between the Nassau County towns of Oyst ...

Little Neck Bay Little Neck Bay is an embayment in western Long Island, New York, off Long Island Sound. Little Neck Bay forms the western boundary of the Great Neck Peninsula, the eastern boundary of which is Manhasset Bay. The political boundary between Nassa ...

Manhasset Bay Manhasset Bay, New York, is an embayment in western Long Island off Long Island Sound. Description Manhasset Bay forms the northeastern boundary of the Great Neck Peninsula and the southwestern boundary of Cow Neck (Port Washington Peninsula ...

Pelham Bay Pelham Bay Park is a municipal park located in the northeast corner of the New York City borough of the Bronx. It is, at , the largest public park in New York City. The park is more than three times the size of Manhattan's Central Park. The par ...

* Port Chester Harbor

Islands

Bi-state

—All of the landfill portion of Ellis Island beyond its 1834 waterfront is in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.All of the landfill portion of Ellis Island beyond its 1834 waterfront is in Hudson County, NJ. All water surrounding Liberty and Ellis Islands is in Hudson County. *

Liberty Island Liberty Island is a federally owned island in Upper New York Bay in the United States. Its most notable feature is the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''), a large statue by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi that was dedicated in ...

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

within surrounding waters of Jersey City *

Shooters Island Shooters Island is a uninhabited island at the southern end of Newark Bay, off the North Shore of Staten Island in New York City. The boundary between the states of New York and New Jersey runs through the island, with a small portion on the ...

at head of Kill Van Kull in Newark Bay, part in New Jersey and part in New York

New Jersey

*Plum Island, Sandy Hook Bay * Robbins Reef

New York

Bronx County *

Pelham Islands The Pelham Islands are a group of islands in western Long Island Sound that belonged to Thomas Pell in the 17th century. The islands, and most of the surrounding area, were purchased from the Siwanoy Indians by Pell in 1654, creating Pelham Man ...

The Blauzes The Blauzes are two small New York City islands in City Island Harbor which are part of a reef extending 600 yards northwest of the northern tip of Hart Island. They are composed of Manhattan schist bedrock with a slightly bluish tint and are s ...

Chimney Sweeps Islands The Chimney Sweeps Islands are a pair of small islands located within New York City in the northern part of City Island Harbor in the borough of The Bronx. The islands, along with High Island, New York, divide City Island Harbor from Pelham Bay. ...

** City Island ** Hart Island **

High Island Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

** Hunters Island ** Rat Island **

Travers Island Travers Island is a former island in Long Island Sound, located in the city of New Rochelle, New York. The island, originally united by a causeway to the mainland, comprises a tract of thirty acres in the Lower Harbor of New Rochelle, situated be ...

** Twin Island * North Brother Island * South Brother Island *

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

Kings County *

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

Jamaica Bay islands * The Canarsie Pol *

Ruffle Bar Ruffle Bar is a island located in Jamaica Bay in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, off the coast of Canarsie. The island is part of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, and lies just east of the former Barren Island, where Floyd Bennett F ...

New York County *

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Upper Bay islands *

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...

East River islands * Mill Rock Island *

Randalls and Wards Islands Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in New York County, New York City,

Roosevelt Island Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. Running from the equivalent of East 46th to 85 ...

U Thant Island U Thant Island (officially Belmont Island) is a small artificial island or islet in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The island, created during the construction of the Steinway Tunnel directly underneath, is the smallest island in Manh ...

Queens County *

Jamaica Bay islands *Rulers Bar Hassock Richmond County *

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

Hoffman Island Hoffman Island is an artificial island in the Lower New York Bay, off the South Beach of Staten Island, New York City. A smaller, artificial island, Swinburne Island, lies immediately to the south. Created in 1873 upon the Orchard Shoal by the ...

(formerly "Orchard Shoals") *

Isle of Meadows Isle of Meadows is a uninhabited island in the New York City borough of Staten Island in the United States. It is located along the western side of Staten Island, where Fresh Kills empties into the Arthur Kill. The island is owned by the cit ...

Prall's Island Prall's Island is an uninhabited island in the Arthur Kill between Staten Island, New York, and Linden, New Jersey, in the United States. The island is one of the minor islands that are part of the borough of Staten Island in New York City. T ...

Swinburne Island Swinburne Island is a artificial island in Lower New York Bay, east of Staten Island in New York City. It was used for quarantine of immigrants. Swinburne Island is the smaller of two nearby islands, the other being Hoffman Island to the nort ...

Westchester County *

** Davids Island ** Goose Island

Land features

New Jersey *

Bergen Neck Bergen Neck is the peninsula between the Upper New York Bay and the Newark Bay in the Hudson County, New Jersey municipalities of Bayonne and Jersey City. Its southernmost tip, Bergen Point, is separated from Staten Island by the Kill van Kull, ...

Bergen Point Bergen Point is a point of land that lends its name to the adjacent neighborhood in Bayonne in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The point is located on the north side of Kill van Kull at Newark Bay. It is the section of the city c ...

Constable Hook Constable Hook is a cape located on the north side of the outlet of Kill van Kull into Upper New York Bay in Bayonne, New Jersey. The cape has long been an important site of marine transfer operations in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Just o ...

* Droyer's Point *

Kearny Point Kearny may refer to: People *Cresson Kearny (1914–2003, American author and researcher **Kearny fallout meter ** Kearny air pump *Eleanor Kearny Carr (1840–1912), American planter and political hostess, First Lady of North Carolina *Jillian K ...

New Barbadoes Neck New Barbadoes Neck is the name given in the colonial era for the peninsula in northeastern New Jersey, US between the lower Hackensack and Passaic Rivers, in what is now western Hudson County and southern Bergen County. The neck begins in the ...

Paulus Hook Paulus Hook is a community on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City, New Jersey. It is located across the river from Manhattan. The name Hook comes from the Dutch word "hoeck", which translates to "point of land." This "point of land" ...

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

New York *

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

(formerly an island) *Fort Washington Point * Red Hook *

Rockaway Point Breezy Point is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, located on the western end of the Rockaway peninsula, between Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. The community is run by t ...

Rodman's Neck Rodman's Neck (formerly Ann Hook's Neck) refers to a peninsula of land in the New York City borough of the Bronx that juts out into Long Island Sound. The southern third of the peninsula is used as a firing range by the New York City Police Depart ...

Throgs Neck Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and east, Westchester Creek on ...

Ward's Point Ward's Point is the southernmost point in the U.S. state of New York and lies within Tottenville, Staten Island, New York City. It is located at the mouth of Arthur Kill, across from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, at the head of Raritan Bay. The sit ...

* Willets Point

Banks and shoals

Lower Bay *East Bank *False Hook *Flynns Knoll *Old Orchard Shoal *Romer Shoal *West Bank Upper Bay *Bay Ridge Flats *Dimond Reef *Gowanus Flats *Jersey Flats East River *College Point Reef *Hog Back *Holmes Rock *Lawrence Point Ledge *Mill Rock *Rhinelander Reef *South Brother Ledge * Ways Reef

Navigational channels

Lower Bay *

Ambrose Channel Ambrose Channel is the only shipping channel in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The channel is considered to be part of Lower New York Bay and is located several miles off the coasts of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Breezy Point, ...

*Atlantic Highland Anchorage *Chapel Hill South Channel *Coney Island Channel *Gravesend Bay Anchorage *Raritan Bay East Reach *Rockaway Inlet *Sandy Hook Channel *Swash Channel *Terminal Channel Raritan Bay *Red Bank Reach *Great Beds Reach *Raritan Bay West Reach *Raritan River Cutoff **Perth Amboy Anchorage **South Amboy Reach *Seguine Point Bend *Ward Point Bend (East & West) *Ward Point Secondary Channel Jamaica Bay *Beach Channel *Island Channel *Runway Channel Arthur Kill *Fresh Kills Reach *Elizabeth Port Reach *Gulfport Reach *Outerbridge Reach *Port Reading Reach *Port Socony Reach *Pralls Island Reach *South of Shooters Island Reach *Tremley Point Reach Newark Bay *Elizabeth Channel *Newark Bay Middle Reach *Newark Bay North Reach *Newark Bay South Reach *North of Shooters Island Reach *Port Newark Branch Channel *Port Newark Pierhead Channel *South Elizabeth Channel Kill van Kull *Bergen East Point Reach *Bergen West Point Reach *Constable Hook Reach Upper Bay * Anchorage ChannelReports of Channel Conditions
, USACE, Nov. 2004: "Partial Anchorage Channel: Starts approximately 3,990 Ft. seaward of Red Gas #2; Ends approximately 1,660 Ft. landward of Red Light & Bell #21. Authorized project: Width: 2000 ft, Length: 2.34 nmiles, Depth 45 ft.... Shoaling exists and begins approximately 2,230 Ft. seaward of Red Gas #2 and proceeds landward with a length of approximately 600 Ft. and a width of approximately 60 Ft."Simplified ma
Bayonne Peninsula
Chap. 6, CPIP Toolkit, PANYNJ. *Bayridge Channel *

*Claremont Terminal Channel *Port Jersey Channel *Greenville Channel *Pierhead Channel *Red Hook Channel *Red Hook Flats Anchorage Hudson River * Weehawken Edgewater Channel East River * East Channel * South Brother Channel * West Channel

Port facilities

One of the many duties of the

is to develop trade interests in the New York-New Jersey area. The Port Authority operates most of the containerized port facilities listed here, and also collaborates with the Army Corps of Engineers to maintain shipping channels in the harbor. New Jersey (numerous privately operated bulk facilities, especially petroleum, are not listed)
Auto Marine Terminal

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

and

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Global Marine Terminal

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Port Jersey Port Jersey, officially the Port Jersey Port Authority Marine Terminal and referred to as the Port Jersey Marine Terminal, is an intermodal freight transport facility that includes a container terminal located on the Upper New York Bay in the P ...

Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal, a major component of the Port of New York and New Jersey, is the principal container ship facility for goods entering and leaving New York metropolitan area and the northeastern quadrant of North Amer ...

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

and

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

—Port Authority New York *Brooklyn **

Red Hook Container Terminal The Red Hook Marine Terminal is an intermodal freight transport facility that includes a container terminal located on the Upper New York Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The maritime facility in Red Hook section of Brooklyn, New York ...

—Port Authority **

South Brooklyn Marine Terminal The South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) is an intermodal shipping, warehousing, and manufacturing complex in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is located along the Upper New York Bay, between 29th and 39th Streets in the Sunset Park and ...

—City of New York *Staten Island **

Howland Hook Marine Terminal The Howland Hook Marine Terminal, operating as ‘’’GCT New York,’’’ is a container port facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey located at Howland Hook in northwestern Staten Island, New York City. It is situated on the east ...

—Port Authority

Lights and lighthouses

For lists seeInventory of Historic Light Stations: New Jersey Lighthouses
an

NPS lists. and.New York Lighthouses
an
New York Lighthouses
Lighthouse Friends 2001-2005. Active unless noted. New Jersey *

Conover Beacon The Conover Beacon is a lighthouse in Leonardo section of Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, that functioned as the front light of the now-discontinued Chapel Hill Range. History The Chapel Hill Channel provides ...

(Chapel Hill Front Range) *

Great Beds Light Great Beds Light is a sparkplug lighthouse in Raritan Bay, about from South Amboy of Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Over the years the lighthouse has become the symbol for the city of South Amboy. Named as Great Beds Light Station, ...

* Old Orchard Shoal Light *

Robbins Reef Light The Robbins Reef Light Station is a sparkplug lighthouse located off Constable Hook in Bayonne, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, along the west side of Main Channel, Upper New York Bay. Note that although the light is clearly shown on the ...

* Romer Shoal Light *

Sandy Hook Light __NOTOC__ The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about one and a half statute miles (2.4 km) inland from the tip of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States. It was designed and built on June 11, 1764 by Isa ...

West Bank Light West Bank Light, officially West Bank Front Range Light, is a lighthouse in Lower New York Bay, within New York City, and acts as the front range light for the Ambrose Channel. It is currently active and not open to the public. The tower was built ...

(Range Front) New York *

Ambrose Light Ambrose Light, often called Ambrose Tower, was the light station at the convergence of several major shipping lanes in Lower New York Bay, including Ambrose Channel, the primary passage for ships entering and departing the Port of New York and ...

* Lightship ''Ambrose'' (to Scotland Station, NJ, 1933; decommissioned 1968) *

Blackwell Island Light Blackwell Island Lighthouse, now known as Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, also was known as Welfare Island Lighthouse, is a stone lighthouse built by the government of New York City in 1872. See also: It is within Lighthouse Park at the northern ti ...

(decommissioned 1934) *

Coney Island Light Coney Island Light (also Nortons Point Light) is a lighthouse located in Sea Gate, on the west end of Coney Island, Brooklyn, in New York City, east of New York Harbor's main channel. The lighthouse was first established in 1890. The current ...

(Nortons Point) * Execution Rocks Light * Fort Wadsworth Light (decommissioned 1965) * Jeffreys Hook Light * Kings Point Light *

New Dorp Light The New Dorp Lighthouse is a decommissioned lighthouse located in the New Dorp, Staten Island, New Dorp section of Staten Island, New York City. Funds for the lighthouse were approved by United States Congress on August 31, 1852 and the structure w ...

(Swash Channel Range Rear, decommissioned 1964) * Prince's Bay Light (decommissioned 1922) * Staten Island Range Light *

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

(discontinued 1902) *Stepping Stones Light *Throgs Neck Light *Whitestone Point Light

Waterfront jurisdictions

Government and other agencies

*Immigration and Customs Enforcement *National Park Service *New Jersey Meadowlands Commission *

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

*United States Coast Guard *U.S. Customs and Border Protection *United States Park Police *Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor

State, county, municipal

*Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County **Waterwitch Highlands **Atlantic Highlands **Leonardo **Belford **Port Monmouth **Keansburg **Port Comfort **Union Beach **Keyport *Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County **Laurence Harbor **Morgan **South Amboy **Perth Amboy **Sewaren **Port Reading **Chrome **Carteret *Union County, New Jersey, Union County **Tremley Point **Grasselli **Linden **

***Elizabethport *Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County **

*Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County **

***Port Johnson, New Jersey, Port Johnson **Liberty State Park **Jersey City **Hoboken, New Jersey, Hoboken **Weehawken **West New York **North Bergen **Edgewater, New Jersey, Edgewater

*New York City **

, New York CountyBoundaries extend to mid-Hudson on the west, into the Upper Harbor south of Governors Island, to the far pierhead line of the East River, Harlem River and Spuyten Duyvil. The exceptions are the additional areas of Marble Hill, Manhattan, Marble Hill section included north of the Harlem River (bounded approximately by Johnson Avenue, West 230 Street) and Liberty and Ellis Islands to their original 1834 waterfront. River **Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, Kings County ***Floyd Bennett Field ***Manhattan Beach ***Brighton Beach ***Coney Island ***Gravesend ***Bensonhurst ***Fort Hamilton ***Bath Beach ***Bay Ridge ***Red Hook ***South Brooklyn ***Brooklyn Heights **Queens, Queens County, New York, Queens County **:Lower Bay ***Far Rockaway ***Rockaway Point ***Breezy Point **:East River ***Flushing ***Willets Point ***La Guardia Airport **The Bronx, Bronx County ***City Island **

, Richmond County, New York, Richmond County ***Port Richmond ***Elm Park ***Mariners Harbor ***West New Brighton ***Sailors Snug Harbor ***New Brighton ***Tottenville ***Charleston ***Port Socony ***Travis ***Chelsea ***St. George ***Tompkinsville

References

External links

New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program
partnership to protect and restore the Harbor Estuary
New York and New Jersey Harbor
US Army Corps of Engineers

* Video explaining formation of estuary
EPA Water Quality

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Port of New York and New Jersey Geography of New York City Geography of New Jersey Estuaries of New Jersey Estuaries of New York (state)