Gardiners Bay is a small arm of 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#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

, approximately 10 mi (16 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 * '' ...

between the two flukelike peninsulas at the eastern end of Long Island. It is bounded on its eastern end, where it connects to

Block Island Sound Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island. On the west, it extends to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, as well as Plum Is ...

, by

Gardiners Island Gardiner's Island is a small island in the Town of East Hampton, New York, in Eastern Suffolk County. It is located in Gardiner's Bay between the two peninsulas at the east end of Long Island. It is long, wide and has of coastline. The is ...

and Promised Land. Adjoining harbors include Three Mile Harbor, Clearwater beach, Acabonack Harbor, and Lazy Point's Napeague harbor. Native fish include; Striped Bass, Bluefish, Fluke, Yellowtail, flounder, blackfish, weakfish, Porgy, sea Robbin, and sea skate. The area is fed by the nearby estuaries of Three mile Harbor, Acabonack Creek, and Napeague, which produce ideal environments for shellfish and crustaceans. Blue claw crab, oysters, and hard shell clams, scallops, and conch are abundant throughout these areas. It is bounded on the western end by Shelter Island. It connects by two channels at the north and south end of Shelter Island to Great Peconic Bay. During 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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

, the bay was controlled by the British, who used Gardiners Island to store provisions. The British fleet assembled in Cherry Harbor in the bay before sailing to

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

to attack Washington, D.C. and burn the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is form ...

. Gardiners Bay is part of the Peconic Estuary and received the designation as an Estuary of National Significance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1993.

Pop Culture References

Gardiners Bay is mentioned in the song ' The Downeaster "Alexa"' by Billy Joel.

References

External links

Nautical chart of Gardiners Bay
Bays of New York (state) East Hampton (town), New York Southold, New York Shelter Island (town), New York Bays of Suffolk County, New York {{SuffolkCountyNY-geo-stub