The Narrows is the

tidal strait A tidal strait is a strait through which a tidal current flows. Tidal currents are usually unidirectional but sometimes are bidirectional. Tidal straits, though they are narrow seaways, are technically not rivers. They are frequently of tectonic ...

separating the

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It connects the

Upper New York Bay New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay ...

and Lower New York Bay (of larger

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, New Jersey, Sandy Hook and Rockaway Point. Geogr ...

) and forms the principal channel by which the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

flowing south from upstate New York and the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

regions, empties into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. It has long been considered to be the maritime "gateway" to New York City and the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

on the East Coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and historically has been one of the most important entrances into the

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

harbor A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

s 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 metropolitan area, New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the sy ...

History

Pre-history

The Narrows was most likely formed after deposition of the Harbor Hill Moraine about 18,000 years prior to the end of the last prehistoric

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

. Previously,

and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

/ (

) were connected and the

emptied into the

through the

Raritan River The Raritan River is a river of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its Drainage basin, watershed drains much of the mountainous areas in the North Jersey, northern and Central Jersey, central sections of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay near ...

, taking then a more westerly course through parts of present-day northern New Jersey, along the eastern side of the Watchung Mountains ridge to the area around

Bound Brook, New Jersey Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located along the Raritan River. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,988, an increase of 1,586 (+15.2%) from the 2010 census coun ...

, and then on into the Atlantic via the

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 b ...

. A build-up of water in the

allowed the river to eventually break through to form current The Narrows less than 12,000 to 13,000 years ago as it exists today.

Post-European contact

The first recorded European entrance into The Narrows off the East Coast of

, was in 1524 by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Florentine explorer

Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , ; often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1491–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, who led most of his later expeditions, including the one to America, in the service of King Francis I of ...

(1485–1528), who was in the employ of and sailing for the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

and its monarch, King Francis I, who set anchor off-shore in the strait and was greeted by a group of

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

natives, who paddled out to meet him onboard his new strange huge sailing vessel in the strait. Two and a half centuries later, in July and August 1776, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

naval and land forces under commanding

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

William Howe (1729–1814), in their campaign to take

and destroy the colonial American patriots' year-old

rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

, had already landed on nearby undefended

the previous month of early July 1776, undertook an amphibious operation moving northeast across The Narrows and

and landed south of and near the village of

on the South Shore at the western end of

. There they soon routed General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's dug-in defending

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

by a long sweeping end-run flank attack at the famous

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at and near the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn ...

(a.k.a. the Battle of Brooklyn) of August 27, 1776, before they made their escape, evacuating at night by barge / rowboats across the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is 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 Long Island, ...

back to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, during the decisive

New York and New Jersey campaign The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of New York and New Jersey, Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between Kingdom ...

of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

(1775–1783). The Staten Island Tunnel, carrying the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

system line under and across The Narrows, was partially built during the 1920s but was never completed. The subsequent prominent landmark of a suspension-style span Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge was completed across The Narrows four decades later in November 1964. Designated then as the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, it is still the longest

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

existing in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(by length of the main span). File:Karl Bodmer Travels in America (33).jpg, An 1832 published view of The Narrows and

by the Swiss/French artist

Karl Bodmer Johann Carl Bodmer (11 February 1809 – 30 October 1893) was a Switzerland, Swiss-France, French printmaker, etcher, lithographer, zinc engraver, draftsman, draughtsman, painter, illustrator, and hunter. Known as Karl Bodmer in literature and p ...

(1809–1893), drawn during his American travels in the 1830s. Pictured with the early 19th century to mid-20th century military post of Fort Lafayette (1815–1960, originally named Fort Diamond) on Hendricks Reef, visible off the

eastern shore of the Narrows / Bay. File:USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.jpg, The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, shown with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

warship (CG-55) passing underneath it, spans The Narrows File:Wpdms nysgis thenarrows.jpg, A satellite view of The Narrows with

(on the west / left) and Brooklyn / Long Island (on the east / right) connected by the prominent landmark Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

References

Notes Bibliography * Merguerian, Charles
"The Narrows, Flood – Post-Woodfordian Meltwater Breach of the Narrows Channel, NYC"
(2003) * Waldman, John. ''Heartbeats in the Muck'' The Lyons Press; (2000).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Narrows Bodies of water of Staten Island Straits of Kings County, New York Straits of Richmond County, New York

History

Pre-history

Post-European contact

See also

References

External links