1 Introduction 



Shinnecock Inlet is the easternmost of six openings in the barrier island chain along the south 

 shore of Long Island, New York (Figure 1). The barrier island chain encloses a series of coastal 

 bays and tidal marshes. Shinnecock Inlet is located in the town of Southampton, 153 km 1 by sea 

 east of the Battery, New York, and 60 km southwest of Montauk Point. The inlet is stabilized by 

 two rubble-mound jetties constructed in the mid-1950s (Figure 2). A Federal navigation channel 

 connects Shinnecock Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, through which boaters can access the Long 

 Island Intracoastal Waterway. Shinnecock Bay, an irregularly shaped body 14.5 km long (east- 

 west) and 0.6 to 4.5 km wide with water depths mostly less than 10 m, is connected by channels 

 to Moriches Bay to the west and by the Shinnecock Canal to Peconic Bay on the north. Several 

 small creeks drain into the northern side of the bay, including Penniman, Stone, Phillips, and 

 Weesuck. These creeks do not provide much freshwater input. The total water surface area of 

 Shinnecock Bay is about 4,100 hectares (10,240 acres). A fish-handling facility is located just 

 west of the inlet on the north side of the barrier. The commercial fishing fleet depends upon 

 Shinnecock Inlet for access to offshore fishing grounds because no convenient alternate access 

 exists. 



There are several ongoing shore protection studies being conducted by the U.S. Army 

 Engineer District, New York (NAN), along the south shore of Long Island. Shinnecock Inlet 

 falls within the largest effort, the "Fire Island to Montauk Point Reformulation Study" 

 (FTMPRS), which is examining coastal processes, shore protection, and flood damage reduction 

 alternatives from Fire Island Inlet eastward to Montauk Point. One part of the FEVIPRS is an 

 evaluation of inlet sand management alternatives at Shinnecock Inlet to address the interruption 

 of regional longshore transport. Since the jetties were constructed in 1952 and 1953, the beach 

 east of Shinnecock Inlet has accreted, while the area extending 600 m west of the inlet has 

 eroded. This report discusses the geomorphic history of the inlet and, using the results of a 

 coastal processes 



Units of measurement in the text of this report are shown in SI units, occasionally followed by non-SI (British) units in 

 parentheses. Maps have been plotted in state plane coordinate system in feet to be consistent with charts normally used by U.S. 

 Army Engineer District (USAED), New York. A table of factors for converting non-SI units of measurement to SI units is 

 presented on page x. 



Chapter 1 Introduction 1 



