Table 1 



Inlets Along the South Shore of Long Island 



Inlet 



Bay or Sound 



Island or 

 Beach to West 



Island or 

 Beach to East 



Distance from West 

 Tip of Coney Island 

 (km) 



Rockaway 



Jamaica 



Coney Island 



Rockaway Beach 



5.5 



East Rockaway 



Hempstead via 

 Reynolds Channel 



Rockaway Beach and City 

 of Far Rockaway 



Atlantic Beach (west end 

 of Long Beach Island) 



23 



Jones 



Hempstead 



Point Lookout (east end 

 of Long Beach Island) 



Short Beach (west end of 

 Jones Beach) 



38 



Fire Island 



Great South 



Cedar Island Beach (east 

 end of Jones Beach) 



Robert Moses State Park, 

 Fire Island 



61 



Moriches 



Moriches 



Fire Island 



Westhampton Beach 



111.5 



Shinnecock 



Shinnecock 



Tiana Beach 



Southampton Beach 



136 



Beach sand is primarily quartz and feldspar, although storm lag deposits of magnetite and 

 garnetiferous (heavy mineral) sands are often found on the beach face after storms. Along the 

 barrier shore, gravel is generally scarce, but accumulations are sometimes seen where the beaches 

 connect with the mainland, such as near Westhampton and Southampton (Fuller 1914). 



The marshes along the south coast are rich habitats for numerous species of birds and fish 

 and support the productive growth of marsh grasses. The most common salt-marsh species 

 include black grass (Juncus gerardi), various salt-marsh types, (Spartina patens association), salt 

 thatch (Spartina glabra Muhl.), and Eel grass (Zostera marina L.) (Fuller 1914). Submerged tree 

 stumps and peat beds in various parts of Long Island, indicators of a relative sea level rise, have 

 been described by many writers (e.g., Rampino and Sanders 1980). 



The beaches near Shinnecock Inlet provide nesting habitat for a number of bird species. The 

 common tern (Sterna hirundo) and the least tern (Sterno albifrons) are of particular importance. 

 In addition, the roseate tern (Sterna dougallii) has been sighted in the project area on Warner 

 Islands (USAE District, New York 1988). Another colonial shore bird, the black skinner 

 (Rynchops niger) also nests in the project area, as does the noncolonial piping plover 

 (Charadrius melodus). Nesting habitat for all of these species must be preserved, and thus may 

 place constraints on the times of the year when beach renourishment and other work can proceed. 



Barrier Island Migration and Sea Level Change 



One of the factors that affects shoreline position on sandy coasts is the rise or fall of relative 

 sea level (rsl). In this section, we summarize findings that the Long Island barriers have retreated 

 for thousands of years and evaluate the evidence that rsl is still rising in this area. 



Chapter 2 Geologic Setting and Morphologic Development 



