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 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 ...
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 Barrie ...
that stretches from
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 ...
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 stre ...
on the south shore of
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 ...
. It splits Westhampton Island from the peninsula extending from Southampton Village. The inlet was formed by the
1938 New England hurricane
The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great Long Island - New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike the United States. The storm formed near th ...
, which killed several people when it permanently broke through the island in
Hampton Bays, New York
Hampton Bays is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Southampton in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York. It is considered as part of the region of Long Island known as The Hamptons. The population was 13,603 at the ...
. The name comes from the
Shinnecock Indian Nation
The Shinnecock Indian Nation is a federally recognized tribe of historically Algonquian peoples, Algonquian-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans based at the eastern end of Long Island, New York. This tribe is headq ...
.
Maintenance of the inlet has been controversial. It saves boaters in
the Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End (Long Island), East End of Long Island, consist of the town (New York), towns of Southampton (town), New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork ...
several miles in access to the Atlantic Ocean. The inlet is almost directly lined up with the
Shinnecock Canal between Shinnecock Bay and the
Peconic Bay
The Peconic Bay is the parent name for two bays (Great Peconic Bay and Little Peconic Bay) between the North Fork, Suffolk County, New York, North Fork and South Fork, Suffolk County, New York, South Fork of Long Island in Suffolk County, New Yor ...
, 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
December 1992 Nor'easter
The December 1992 nor'easter produced record high tides and snowfall across the northeastern United States. It developed as a low pressure area on December 10 over Virginia, and for two days it remained over the Mid-Atlantic states befor ...
that wiped out much of
West Hampton Dunes, New York
West Hampton Dunes is an incorporated village in the Town of Southampton on Westhampton Island, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Located off the South Shore of Long Island, the village's population was 126 at the time of the 2020 ...
. The phenomenon is called
longshore drift
Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle, shells) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle of incoming w ...
.
Efforts to prevent erosion with
groines have just pushed the problems further west resulting in serious beach erosion problems on
Fire Island
Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy once again divided Fire Island into two islands. Together, these two isl ...
. 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 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
*
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