McCormick (1971) concluded that sand in the ebb and flood shoals had the correct textural and 

 size properties to be used for beach nourishment. 



On most beaches, sediment size varies, with dunes being fine and the swash zone coarse. 

 Sands generally get finer in the surf zone. Therefore, reporting an "average" d 50 may mask a 

 wide range of grain sizes. At Shinnecock, a value of d 50 = 0.40 mm should be suitable as an 

 "average grain size" to use in engineering calculations. 



Shinnecock Inlet History 



Charts of Long Island and the approaches to New York Harbor and historical documents note 

 the irregular existence of openings in the barrier between Shinnecock Bay and the Atlantic 

 Ocean. Since there was little urban development in eastern Long Island before the mid-1800's, 

 records are discontinuous, and it is impossible to chart the exact times and locations where inlets 

 have existed. Before the middle of the 20th century, little scientific study had been devoted to 

 the geology and dynamic processes of beaches, and even Fuller's (1914) highly detailed U.S. 

 Geological Survey (USGS) Professional Paper 82, The Geology of Long Island, devoted only 

 three pages to beaches and marine deposits. Limited evidence suggests that these old inlets 

 opened as the result of major storms and then closed naturally. Some appear to have remained 

 open for decades, while others closed within months. Details from various geologic studies are 

 chronologically summarized in Appendix A. 



USC&GS charts from 1889 and 1890 (Leatherman and Joneja 1980) provide evidence of 

 several inlets into Shinnecock Bay, but all had closed by 1891 (Figure 5). One of the former 

 openings was opposite Shinnecock Neck. Another was slightly west of Ponquogue Point, while 

 two others were east and west of Gull Island, opposite East Quogue. The USGS maps of 1903 

 and 1904 (Sag Harbor Quandrangle) show no inlets into either Moriches or Shinnecock Bays 

 (Leatherman and Joneja 1980). Fuller (1914) stated that at the time of writing, Shinnecock Bay 

 had no direct connection with the ocean. He also provided an interesting historical note, 

 unfortunately not documented: "An artificial cut made to the ocean was soon closed by the 

 waves." In the late 1930's, the barrier adjacent to Shinnecock Bay was continuous, and a paved 

 road crossed the site of the present inlet. A shoal area about 1 ,000 m wide paralleled the exposed 

 beach except for a narrow channel which connected deep water in the bay with an indentation in 

 the barrier beach (Nersesian and Bocamazo 1992). Possibly the location of a former inlet, the 

 island breached at this spot during the 1938 hurricane. 



The present Shinnecock Inlet was formed as a result of waves and extremely high water 

 during the Great New England Hurricane of 21 September 1938. This hurricane, one of the most 

 destructive storms to strike New England, killed 600 people and devastated coastal communities 

 in Long Island, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts (Allen 1976; Minsinger 1988) 

 (Figure 6). Four openings formed as a result of the storm: one near Warner's Islands, 0.8 km 

 east of Ponquogue Point; a second opposite Cormorant Point; a third opposite the Shinnecock 



Chapter 2 Geologic Setting and Morphologic Development 1 1 



