Shinnecock Inlet is the easternmost of five major inlets connecting bays to 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 ...
through the narrow
Outer Barrier
The Outer Barrier, also known as the Long Island and New York City barrier islands, refers to the string of barrier islands that divide the lagoons south of Long Island, New York from the Atlantic Ocean. These islands include Long Beach Barrier ...
that stretches from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
to
Southampton, New York
Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stret ...
on the south shore of
Long Island. It splits Westhampton Island from the peninsula extending from Southampton Village. 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 name comes from the
Shinnecock Indian Nation.
Maintenance of the inlet has been controversial. It saves boaters in
the Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...
several miles in access to the Atlantic Ocean. The inlet is almost directly lined up with the
Shinnecock Canal
The Shinnecock Canal (also known as the Shinnecock and Peconic Canal) is a canal that cuts across the South Fork at Hampton Bays, New York. At long, it connects Great Peconic Bay and the north fork of Long Island with Shinnecock Bay and the A ...
between Shinnecock Bay and the
Peconic Bay, which allows a shortcut to the ocean for boaters on the north fork of Long Island.
Consequently, management has been geared to keep the inlet dredged and open. However, the inlet has interrupted the flow of sand (which normally flows east to west) and consequently there has been major
beach erosion on the west side of the inlet including the November 1992
Nor'easter
A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use ...
that wiped out much of
West Hampton Dunes, New York. The phenomenon is called
longshore drift.
Efforts to prevent erosion with
groines have just pushed the problems further west resulting in serious beach erosion problems on
Fire Island. West Hampton Dunes was incorporated in 1993 specifically to have legal standing in the skirmishes with
Corps of Engineers regarding the practice. In 2010, the inlet was dredged and the sand deposited on the beach at Road K as part of the West of Shinnecock Inlet Interim Plan to replenish the sand.
In 1996, following the crash of
TWA Flight 800
Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy Internationa ...
off the coast of Long Island, Shinnecock Inlet, to the northeast of the debris field, served as the primary water access route for vessels transporting wreckage and human remains to shore for most of the recovery effort.
The other major inlets on the barrier beach are:
*
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 b ...
*
East Rockaway Inlet
*
Fire Island Inlet
*
Moriches Inlet
*
Jones Inlet
References
External links
USGS Page on 1992 Westhampton Nor'easterGoogle Satellite ImagePress Release for 2010 dredging{{coord, 40, 50, 33, N, 72, 28, 34, W, display=title
Southampton (town), New York
Fire Island, New York
Inlets of New York (state)
Bodies of water of Suffolk County, New York