Long Island is separated from Staten Island by the Narrows, from Manhattan and the Bronx by the East River and from Connecticut by the Long Island Sound. On the south is the Atlantic Ocean. Long Island comprises the four counties of Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk. Kings, coextensive with Brooklyn and Queens are part of New York City. Eastern Long Island has two fluke-like peninsulas that are separated by Peconic Bay. The northern fluke terminates in Orient Point. It follows part of the Harbor Hill moraine, a hilly ridge that extends west along northern Long Island to the Narrows and was deposited by melting ice during the last stage of the Pleistocene period. The southern fluke terminates in Montauk Point. It follows the Ronkonkoma moraine, a somewhat older moraine ridge that extends west to join the Harbor Hill moraine at Lake Success. Low, wooded hills, capped by glacial deposits lie north of the moraines and contrast with a broad, low-lying outwash plain to the south. The highest point on Long Island is 120 m (400 feet) above sea level. Long beaches, backed by dunes and shallow lagoons, fringe the south shore, while the north shore has low cliffs and is deeply indented by bays.
Both the Dutch and the English established farming, whaling and fishing settlements on Long Island, but it remained sparsely settled until railroads, bridges and highways provided easy access to New York City. The Long Island Expressway is particularly high-trafficked. Industrial and residential growth occurred rapidly after World War II and in the 1970's and 1980's development further intensified. Farming has declined in importance in eastern Long Island. Sand and gravel are quarried from the island's glacial deposits. Sport and commercial fishing is important on the south and east coasts. The south shore is a popular recreational area and includes Fire Island National Seashore, Robert Moses and Jones Beach state parks, Coney Island and parts of Gateway National Recreation Area. The Hamptons are an affluent residential and beach community.
Long Island has no large streams, so water supply is limited and is obtained from groundwater or from reservoirs on the mainland. Large recharge basins catch surplus rainwater to replenish underground supplies and strict conservation measures have been imposed to prevent further contamination of groundwater from sewage disposal and detergents and from encroachment by seawater.
In 1995 a state law was signed resolving the highly contentious issue of development of the 40,500 hectares (100,000 acres) large Pine Barrens on eastern Long Island. A forest preserve was established, with a core of 21,260 hectares (52,500 acres) in which development would cease or be severely limited and a surrounding area in which development would be regulated and assisted. In 1997 an agreement was reached to preserve the remains of fort built by Cutchogue Indians in the late 1500's.
Long Island is the fourth-largest island of the United States and the largest outside Alaska and Hawaii. It covers 4,463 km² (1,723 sq miles) and is 190 km (118 miles) long and between 19 and 32 km (12-20 miles) wide. La Guardia and John F. Kennedy International airports are on western Long Island, while the scientific research center of Brookhaven National Laboratory is in the east. Among the many higher-education institutions are the State University of New York campuses at Stony Brook and Westbury, Long Island University, Adelphi University, Hofstra University and branches of New York City universities.
Accommodation, bars and restaurants are widely available on Long Island. The island is in the southeast of New York, about 200 km south from Albany and 350 km northeast from Washington D.C.
Find a flight to Long Island