Geography of New York Harbor

This article provides a brief introduction to both natural and manmade geographic features of New York Harbor

New York Harbor

New York Harbor, a geographic term, refers collectively to the rivers, bays, and tidal estuaries near the mouth of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City. This is sometimes construed in the sense "the ports of New York and New Jersey"...

 from a maritime or aquatic perspective, followed by a catalogue by type of features.
The system of waterways surrounding Upper New York Bay

Upper New York Bay

Upper New York Bay, sometimes called Upper New York Harbor or the Upper Bay, is the northern area of New York Harbor inside The Narrows...

 forms one of the most intricate natural harbors in the world, a fact that is reflected in the diversity of place names. Although the overall form of the Harbor remains unchanged from the time of Giovanni da Verrazzano, no part of it remains unaffected by human activity, and some parts, such as Hell Gate and Ellis Island have been almost completely altered. In the greatest hidden change, the navigational channels have been deepened from the natural 17 feet depth to 45 feet, in some places requiring blasting of schist

Manhattan schist

The Manhattan schist is a formation of mica schist rock that underlies much of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is well suited for the foundations of tall buildings and the two large concentrations of skyscrapers on the island occur where the formation is close to the...

, marble

Marble

Marble is a non foliated metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite . It is extensively used for sculpture, as a building material, and in many other applications...

 or gneiss

Gneiss

Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneissic rocks are usually medium to coarse foliated and largely recrystallized but do not carry large...

 bedrock

Bedrock

In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...

.

New York Harbor lies at the confluence of three major bodies of water.
The harbor opens onto the New York Bight

New York Bight

The New York Bight is a large gulf on the Atlantic Ocean along the coast of North America in the northeastern United States. It is formed by the coastal indentation between New Jersey and Long Island around the mouth of the Hudson River at New York Harbor...

 (Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...

) to the southeast and the Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean and various rivers in the United States that lies between the coast of Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound...

 to the northeast. Both of these are essentially marine

Ocean

An ocean is a large body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 75% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...

 bodies with both tides and saltwater

Seawater

Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5%. This means that every of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts...

, but the Sound compared to the Atlantic is about 20-30% less saline (as an estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are thus subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of...

), and the tide is about 3 hours later with as much as 70% more variation.
The Hudson River

Hudson River

The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. It rises at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains, flows past Albany, and finally forms the border between New York City and New Jersey at its mouth before emptying into...

 adds a fresher

Fresh Water

Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...

, non-tidal inflow from the north, although the tide and brackishness extend well up river.

These three combine to generate an extremely complex system of tides and currents throughout the extended hydrologic system from Albany

Albany, New York

Albany is a city in the United States of America; it is the capital of the state of New York and the county seat of Albany County. Albany is roughly 136 miles north of the city of New York, and slightly south of the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The city sits on the Hudson River and...

 to Montauk Point

Montauk, New York

Montauk is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name located in the town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 3,851...

 to the Hudson Canyon

Hudson Canyon

The Hudson Canyon is a submarine canyon that begins from the shallow outlet of New York Harbor and extends out over 400 nautical miles seaward across the continental shelf, finally connecting to the deep ocean basin at a depth of 3 to 4 km below sea level...

 region of the New York Bight. The New York Harbor Observing and Prediction System (NYHOPS) utilizes information
from sensors, weather forecasts, and environment models to provide real-time forecasts of meteorological and oceanographic conditions in the area.

Features of the Harbor

The lists below includes features of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...

 and neighboring New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...

 that are part of the Harbor with a waterborne emphasis starting with natural features. Where possible the list proceeds from Lower Bay entrance approximately clockwise around Harbor. The alternative sorting is by jurisdiction.

Official references are the NOAA Coastal pilot, NOAA nautical chart

Nautical chart

A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land , natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations of natural and man-made aids...

s, and USGS topographic maps.
Many jurisdictional issues appear in U.S. law.

Rivers and streams

Bi-state Hudson River Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. It rises at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains, flows past Albany, and finally forms the border between New York City and New Jersey at its mouth before emptying into... lowest section also called the North River North River (New York-New Jersey) North River is an alternate name for the southernmost portion of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City. The colonial name for the entire Hudson given to it by the Dutch in the early seventeenth century, the term fell out of general use for most of the river's 300+ mile course during the... New Jersey Shrewsbury River Shrewsbury River The Shrewsbury River is a short stream and navigable estuary, approximately 8 mi long, in central New Jersey in the United States.... Hackensack River Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 mi long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,... Passaic River Passaic River The Passaic River is a river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, called the Great... Elizabeth River Elizabeth River (New Jersey) The Elizabeth River is a tributary of the Arthur Kill in Union County, New Jersey in the United States.The Elizabeth River begins at the border between the Union and Essex counties near exit 142/142 A on the Garden State Parkway in Hillside. However, that part of the river bed may be dried-out most... Rahway River Rahway River The Rahway River is a river, approximately 24 mi long, in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The river drains part of the suburban and urbanized area of New Jersey west of New York City. Part of the extended area of New York Harbor, the river empties into the Arthur Kill. In its... Raritan River Raritan River The Raritan River is a major river of central New Jersey in the United States. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean.-Description:...

New York Alley Creek Bronx River Bronx River The Bronx River, approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States. It is named after Colonial settler Jonas Bronck.It originally rose in what is now the Kensico Reservoir, in Westchester County north of New York City... Coney Island Creek Coney Island Creek Coney Island Creek encompasses two sea inlets in Brooklyn, New York City, one separating Coney Island from the neighborhoods of Gravesend and Bath Beach, the other separating the neighborhoods of Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach... Fresh Kills Fresh Kills Fresh Kills is a stream and freshwater estuary in the western portion of the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is the site of the Fresh Kills Landfill, formerly New York City's principal landfill... Gowanus Canal Gowanus Canal The Gowanus Canal, also known as the Gowanus Creek Canal, is a canal in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, geographically on the westernmost portion of Long Island...  (formerly Gowanus Creek) Hook Creek Hutchinson River Luyster Creek Main Creek Newtown Creek Newtown Creek Newtown Creek, is a estuary that forms part of the border between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, in New York City, New York, United States. It derives its name from New Town , which was the name for the Dutch and British settlement in what is now Elmhurst, Queens... Dutch Kills English Kills Maspeth Creek Whale Creek Richmond Creek Richmond Creek (Fresh Kills) Richmond Creek is a stream in Staten Island, a borough of New York City in the United States. Its upper watershed includes the remote forested hills in the center of the island... Sherman Creek Sherman Creek Sherman Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Perry County, Pennsylvania in the United States.Sherman Creek joins the Susquehanna River just downstream of Duncannon. While the official name according to the United States Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System is "Sherman... Smith Creek Smith Creek -Streams:Smith Creek is the name of at least 417 named streams in the United States . Among these are:*Smith Creek , a tributary of San Tomas Aquino Creek... Springville Creek

Tidal straits

Inter-state Arthur Kill Arthur Kill The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York from mainland New Jersey, USA. Kill is from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel"... Kill Van Kull Kill Van Kull The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait approximately long and wide separating Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey, USA. The name kill comes from from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel."... Long Island Sound Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean and various rivers in the United States that lies between the coast of Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound...

New York Bronx Kill Bronx Kill The Bronx Kill is a narrow strait in New York City delineating the southernmost extent of the Bronx and separating it from Randall's Island. It connects the Harlem River to the East River.... Buttermilk Channel Buttermilk Channel In New York City, Buttermilk Channel is a small tidal strait in Upper New York Bay, approximately one mile long and one-fourth of a mile wide, separating Governors Island from Brooklyn. Origins of the name are mysterious but it is almost certainly a reference to the dairy farmers who used to cross... East River East River The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland... Grass Hassock Channel Harlem River Harlem River The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, USA that flows 8 miles between the Hudson River and the East River, separating the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx... Hell Gate Hell Gate Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City in the United States. It separates Astoria, Queens from Randall's Island / Ward's Island .... The Narrows The Narrows The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. It connects the upper and lower sections of New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson River empties into the Atlantic Ocean... Pumpkin Patch Channel Rockaway Inlet Rockaway Inlet Rockaway Inlet is a strait connecting Jamaica Bay, wholly within New York City, with the Atlantic Ocean. It separates the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens from the Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.-Description:... Spuyten Duyvil Spuyten Duyvil Creek Spuyten Duyvil Creek is a channel connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal, and on to the Harlem River in New York City, separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx and the rest of the mainland. The neighborhood named Spuyten Duyvil lies to the north of the creek.Spuyten...

Bays, inlets and coves

Lower New York Bay Lower New York Bay Lower New York Bay is the section of New York Bay outside of The Narrows that flows directly into the Atlantic Ocean via Hudson Canyon, an underwater channel that flows southeast from Lower New York Bay for hundreds of miles into the Atlantic Ocean.... Leonardo Harbor Prince's Bay Raritan Bay Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the confluence of the Raritan River and the Arthur Kill between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey. The bay, which is just south of the important New York Harbor, is bounded on the north by New York's Staten Island and Lower New York Bay, on the west by Perth... Gravesend Bay Great Kills Harbor Rockaway Inlet Dead Horse Bay Dead Horse Bay Dead Horse Bay is a small water body off Barren Island between the Gerritsen Inlet and Rockaway Inlet in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.... Sheepshead Bay Jamaica Bay Jamaica Bay Jamaica Bay is a lagoon that lies in the shadow of New York City's skyscrapers and is adjacent to John F. Kennedy International Airport.- Location :... Mill Basin Paerdegat basin Paerdegat basin Paerdegat Basin is a channel that connects to Jamaica Bay on the southern end of Brooklyn, New York. It is located on the west side of the Canarsie area... Fresh Creek Basin Bergen Basin Bergen Basin Bergin Basin is an inlet off Jamaica Bay in Queens, New York, located near the western edge of John F. Kennedy International Airport..... Grassy Bay Head of Bay Thurston Basin Norton Basin

Upper New York Bay Upper New York Bay Upper New York Bay, sometimes called Upper New York Harbor or the Upper Bay, is the northern area of New York Harbor inside The Narrows... Communipaw Communipaw Communipaw refers to an area on Bergen Neck in Jersey City located on the Upper New York Bay. It gives its name to the avenue which runs from its eastern end in Liberty State Park west through the neighborhoods of Bergen-Lafayette and the West Side designated CR 612 that becomes Lincoln Highway... Newark Bay Newark Bay Newark Bay is a tidal back bay of New York Harbor formed at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in New Jersey.-Geography:... Morris Canal Morris Canal The Morris Canal was an anthracite-carrying canal that incorporated a series of water-driven inclined planes in its course across northern New Jersey in the United States. It was in existence for about a century -- from the late 1820s to the 1920s....  Basin Long Canal Weehawken Cove Harsimus Cove Harsimus Harsimus is a neighborhood within Downtown Jersey City. The neighborhood stretches from the Harsimus Stem Embankment in the north to Columbus Avenue in the south between Monmouth Street and Grove Street or more broadly, to Marin Boulevard... Gowanus Bay Erie Basin Atlantic Basin

East River East River The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland... Wallabout Bay Wallabout Bay Wallabout Bay is small body of water in Upper New York Bay along the northwest shore of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, between the present Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges, opposite Corlear's Hook on Manhattan to the west, across the East River...  (Navy Yard Basin) Newton Creek Bushwick Inlet Hallets Cove Westchester Creek Westchester Creek Westchester Creek is a tidal inlet of the East River located in the south eastern portion of The Bronx. It is 2.1 miles in length. The Hutchinson River and Pugsley's Creek empty into Westchester Creek.... Bowery Bay Bowery Bay Bowery Bay is a bay off the East River in the New York City. It is located near the Steinway neighborhood of Queens and is bordered on the west by the Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant and on the south and east by LaGuardia Airport.... Powell's Cove Flushing Bay Little Bay Long Island Sound City Harbor Eastchester Bay Eastchester Bay Eastchester Bay is a protected body of water between City Island and the mainland Bronx, New York.Technically, it is a sound, not a bay, since it is open to larger bodies of water at both ends. The northern end connects via a narrow channel to Pelham Bay... Pelham Bay Pelham Bay Pelham Bay is a small bay, between City Island and Orchard Beach in the Bronx, New York.Technically, it is a sound, not a bay, since it is open to larger bodies of water at both ends. It connects to Eastchester Bay at the south, and opens onto Long Island Sound and City Island Harbor at the... Little Neck Bay Little Neck Bay Little Neck Bay is an embayment in western Long Island, New York, off Long Island Sound. Little Neck Bay forms the western boundary of the Great Neck Peninsula, the eastern boundary of which is Manhasset Bay. The political boundary between Nassau County and the borough of Queens runs through the bay...

New Jersey

• Robbins Reef
  Robbins Reef Light, New Jersey
  The Robbins Reef Light Station is a sparkplug lighthouse located off Constable Hook in Bayonne, New Jersey along the west side of Main Channel, Upper New York Bay. The tower and integral keepers quarters were built in 1883. It replaced an octagonal granite tower built in 1839. The U.S. Coast Guard...
  
  
• Plum Island, Sandy Hook Bay
• Ellis Island
  Ellis Island
  Ellis Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor, is the location of what was from January 1, 1892, until November 12, 1954 the main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States; the facility replaced the state-run Castle Garden Immigration Depot in Manhattan...
  
  
• Shooters Island
  Shooters Island
  Shooters Island is a uninhabited island at the southern end of Newark Bay, along the north shore of Staten Island. The boundary between the states of New York and New Jersey runs through the island, with a small portion on the north end of the island belonging to the cities of Bayonne and...
  
  

New York

Bronx County Pelham Islands The Blauzes Chimney Sweeps Islands Chimney Sweeps Islands The Chimney Sweeps Islands are a pair of small islands located within New York City in the northern part of City Island Harbor in the borough of The Bronx. The islands, along with High Island, New York, divide City Island Harbor from Pelham Bay. The islands are entirely made out of bedrock... City Island Hart Island High Island Hunters Island Rat Island Travers Island Twin Island Twin Island, New York Twin Island is part of Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, and also part of the Hunter Island Marine Sanctuary. It is located east of Hunters Island and north of Orchard Beach.It is wooded with exposed bedrock with glacial grooves.... North Brother Island North Brother Island North Brother Island is an island in the East River situated between the Bronx and Riker's Island. Its companion, South Brother Island, is a short distance away. The island was uninhabited until 1885, when Riverside Hospital moved there from the island now known as Roosevelt Island... South Brother Island South Brother Island South Brother Island is one of a pair of small islands in the East River situated between the Bronx and Riker's Island, New York City and containing of land. The other island, larger and better known, is North Brother Island. It is uninhabited. As late as the 1960s, South Brother Island was... Rikers Island Rikers Island Rikers Island is New York City's jail facility, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of Queens...

Kings County Long Island Long Island Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, United States, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City, and two of which are mainly suburban... Jamaica Bay islands The Canarsie Pol Canarsie Pol, Brooklyn The Canarsie Pol is an uninhabited island south off of Canarsie in Jamaica Bay, and is part of Brooklyn. It has a latitude of 40.62093 and a longitude of -73.87124... Ruffle Bar Ruffle Bar Ruffle Bar is the name of a small island located in the Jamaica Bay of New York City, just east of Floyd Bennett Field, bordering Brooklyn and Long Island. It was once the place of a successful clam and oyster industry, but closed down when the water was deemed by the Department Of Health to be too... New York County Manhattan Manhattan Manhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795... Upper Bay islands Ellis Island Ellis Island Ellis Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor, is the location of what was from January 1, 1892, until November 12, 1954 the main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States; the facility replaced the state-run Castle Garden Immigration Depot in Manhattan... Governors Island Governors Island Governors Island is a 172-acre island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one-half mile from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel. It is legally part of the borough of Manhattan in New York City... Liberty Island Liberty Island Liberty Island, formerly called Bedloe's Island, is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty. The name Liberty Island has been in use since the early 20th century, although the name was not officially changed until 1956... East River islands Mill Rock Island Mill Rock Mill Rock is a small unpopulated island between Manhattan and Queens in New York City, in the U.S. state of New York. It lies about off Manhattan's East 96th Street, south of Randall's and Ward's Island where the East River and Harlem River converge. The island forms Census Block 9000 of Census... Randall's Island Randall's Island Randall's Island is situated in the East River in New York City, part of the borough of Manhattan . It is separated from Manhattan island on the west by the river's main channel, from Queens on the east by the Hell Gate, and from the Bronx on the north by the Bronx Kill. It is joined to Ward's... Roosevelt Island Roosevelt Island Roosevelt Island, formerly known as Welfare Island , and before that Blackwell's Island, is a narrow island in the East River of New York City. It lies between the island of Manhattan to its west and the borough of Queens to its east... U Thant Island U Thant Island U Thant Island is a tiny 100 x 200 foot artificial island in New York City's East River, just south of Roosevelt Island. It lies across from United Nations Headquarters at 42nd Street, and is legally considered part of the Borough of Manhattan and New York County... Ward's Island Ward's Island Ward's Island is situated in the East River in New York City. Administratively it is part of the borough of Manhattan. It is bridged by rail to the borough of Queens by the Hell Gate Bridge and it is joined to Randall's Island to the north by landfill...

Queens County Long Island Long Island Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, United States, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City, and two of which are mainly suburban... Jamaica Bay islands Rulers Bar Hassock Richmond County Staten Island Staten Island Staten Island is a borough of New York City in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay... Hoffman Island Hoffman Island Hoffman Island is one of two small artificial islands in the Lower New York Bay, off South Beach, Staten Island. The island was created in 1873...  (Formerly Orchard Shoals) Isle of Meadows Prall's Island Prall's Island Prall's Island is an uninhabited island in the Arthur Kill between Staten Island, New York, and Linden, New Jersey, in the United States. It is one of the minor islands that are part of the borough of Staten Island in New York City... Shooters Island Shooters Island Shooters Island is a uninhabited island at the southern end of Newark Bay, along the north shore of Staten Island. The boundary between the states of New York and New Jersey runs through the island, with a small portion on the north end of the island belonging to the cities of Bayonne and... Swinburne Island Swinburne Island Swinburne Island is the smaller of two artificial islands located in the Lower New York Bay east of South Beach, Staten Island.-History:The island was created in 1860. Along with Hoffman Island, it was used to quarantine immigrants to the United States in the early 20th century who were found to be... Westchester County Pelham Islands Davids' Island Davids' Island (New York) Davids' Island is a island off the coast of New Rochelle, New York, in Long Island Sound. Currently uninhabited, in the past it was the site of Fort Slocum. Plans are to preserve the island as public parkland under the Westchester County Parks system. The island is home to a variety of plants,... Goose Island Goose Island (New York) Goose Island is the name of a town and two uninhabited islands in New York State.One Goose Island is a small rocky island in Westchester County, New York, just north of Hunter and Twin islands. It is part of the Pelham Islands. There is also a small island called Goose Island in the Hutchinson...

Land features

New Jersey

• Bergen Neck
  Bergen Neck
  Bergen Neck is a name for the peninsula between the Upper New York Bay and the Newark Bay in the Hudson County, New Jersey municipalities of Bayonne and Jersey City...
  
  
• Paulus Hook
• New Barbadoes Neck
  New Barbadoes Neck
  New Barbadoes Neck was an area of colonial New Jersey between the Hackensack River and Passaic River, in what now makes up western Hudson County and southern Bergen County. Today it is the communities of North Arlington, Kearny and Harrison....
  
  
• Sandy Hook
• Bergen Point
  Bergen Point, New Jersey
  Bergen Point, is a point of land located on the north side of the outlet of Kill van Kull into Newark Bay, and the neighborhood which radiates from it in the southwestern part of Bayonne, New Jersey, closest to the Bayonne Bridge. Historically the term has been used more broadly as synonymous...
  
  
• Constable Hook
  Constable Hook, New Jersey
  Constable Hook also called Constable's Hook, is a short cape located on the north side of the outlet of Kill van Kull into Upper New York Bay . It forms the eastmost extent of the industrial Port Johnson in southeast Bayonne...
  
  
• Kearny Point
  South Kearny, New Jersey
  South Kearny is an industrial district and distinct area of Hudson County, New Jersey at the northern end of Newark Bay in the town of Kearny, New Jersey. It is on larger peninisula once called New Barbadoes Neck, which also include the other Kearny districts of the Uplands and the Kearny Meadows...
  
  
• Droyer's Point

New York

• Coney Island
  Coney Island
  Coney Island is a peninsula, formerly an island, in southernmost Brooklyn, New York City, USA, with a beach on the Atlantic Ocean. The neighborhood of the same name is a community of 60,000 people in the western part of the peninsula, with Seagate to its west; Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to...
  
   (formerly an island)
• Fort Washington Point
• Red Hook
• Rockaway Point
  Rockaway, Queens
  The Rockaway Peninsula, also known as The Rockaways, is the name of a peninsula of Long Island, most of which is located within the borough of Queens in New York City. A popular summer resort area since the 1830s, Rockaway — or, as it is informally known, "The Rockaways" — has become a...
  
  
• Rodman's Neck
  Rodman's Neck
  Rodman's Neck refers to a peninsula of land in the Bronx, New York jutting out into Long Island Sound.The southern third of the 'neck' is used as a firing range by the New York Police Department; the remaining wooded section is part of Pelham Bay Park...
  
  
• Throgs Neck
  Throgs Neck
  Throggs Neck is a narrow spit of land in the southeastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It demarcates the passage between the East River and Long Island Sound...
  
  
• Wards Point
  Wards Point
  Wards Point is the southernmost point of New York State in Tottenville, Staten Island, across Arthur Kill from Perth Amboy, New Jersey at the head of Raritan Bay....
  
  
• Willets Point

Banks and shoals

Lower Bay East Bank False Hook Flynns Knoll Old Orchard Shoal Romer Shoal West Bank

Upper Bay Bay Ridge Flats Jersey Flats Gowanus Flats Dimond Reef

East River Ways Reef Rhinelander Reef Mill Rock Holmes Rock Hog Back Lawrence Point Ledge South Brother Ledge College Point Reef

Navigational channels

Lower Bay Ambrose Channel Ambrose Channel Ambrose Channel is the main shipping channel in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The channel is considered to be part of Lower New York Bay and is located several miles off the coasts of Sandy Hook in New Jersey and Breezy Point, Queens in New York... Swash Channel Sandy Hook Channel Terminal Channel Atlantic Highland Anchorage Chapel Hill South Channel Coney Island Channel Rockaway Inlet Gravesend Bay Anchorage Raritan Bay East Reach Raritan Bay Raritan Bay West Reach Seguine Point Bend Red Bank Reach Ward Point Bend (East & West) Raritan River Cutoff Perth Amboy Anchorage South Amboy Reach Ward Point Secondary Channel Great Beds Reach Jamaica Bay Runway Channel Island Channel Beach Channel

Arthur Kill Outerbridge Reach Port Socony Reach Port Reading Reach Fresh Kills Reach Tremley Point Reach Pralls Island Reach Gulfport Reach Elizabeth Port Reach South of Shooters Island Reach Newark Bay North of Shooters Island Reach Newark Bay South Reach Newark Bay Middle Reach Newark Bay North Reach Port Newark Branch Channel Port Newark Pierhead Channel Elizabeth Channel South Elizabeth Channel

Kill van Kull Bergen East Point Reach Bergen West Point Reach Constable Hook Reach Upper Bay Pierhead Channel Anchorage Channel Red Hook Channel Red Hook Flats Anchorage Bayridge Channel Greenville Channel Claremont Terminal Channel Buttermilk Channel Buttermilk Channel In New York City, Buttermilk Channel is a small tidal strait in Upper New York Bay, approximately one mile long and one-fourth of a mile wide, separating Governors Island from Brooklyn. Origins of the name are mysterious but it is almost certainly a reference to the dairy farmers who used to cross... Hudson River Weehawken Edgewater Channel East River East Channel West Channel South Brother Channel

Port facilities

One of the many duties of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a bi-state port district, established in 1921 through an interstate compact, that runs most of the regional transportation infrastructure, including the bridges, tunnels, airports, and seaports, within the New York–New Jersey Port District...

 is to develop trade interests in the New York-New Jersey area. The PA operates most of the containerized port facilities listed here, and also collaborates with the Army Corps of Engineers to maintain shipping channels in the harbor.

New Jersey numerous privately operated bulk facilities, especially petroleum, not listed

• Global Marine Terminal, Jersey City
  Jersey City, New Jersey
  Jersey City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population of Jersey City was 240,055, making it New Jersey's second-largest city, behind Newark. As of the Census Bureau's 2007 estimate, the population had grown to 242,389...
  
  — privately operated
• Auto Marine Terminal, Bayonne
  Bayonne, New Jersey
  Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, south of Jersey City. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 61,842. The Census Bureau's 2006 population estimate for Bayonne is 57,886, a decrease of 6.4% from 2000.According to tradition, the city...
  
   and Jersey City
  Jersey City, New Jersey
  Jersey City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population of Jersey City was 240,055, making it New Jersey's second-largest city, behind Newark. As of the Census Bureau's 2007 estimate, the population had grown to 242,389...
  
  — Port Authority
• Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal
  Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal
  Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal is the name for the port facility in Newark Bay that serves as the principal container ship facility for goods entering and leaving the metropolitan region of New York City and the northeastern quadrant of North America...
  
  ,Newark
  Newark, New Jersey
  Brick City redirects here. For the township in Ocean County, see Brick Township, New Jersey.Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, and the county seat of Essex County. Newark has a population of 281,402, making it the largest municipality in New Jersey and the 65th largest city in the U.S...
  
   and Elizabeth
  Elizabeth, New Jersey
  Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 120,568, making it New Jersey's fourth largest city . The population of Elizabeth was 126,179 as of the Census Bureau's 2006 estimate...
  
  — Port Authority

New York

• Brooklyn
  • Red Hook Container Terminal— Port Authority
  • South Brooklyn Marine Terminal— City of New York

• Staten Island
  • Howland Hook Marine Terminal
    Howland Hook Marine Terminal
    The Howland Hook Marine Terminal is a container port facility located in northwestern Staten Island in New York City. It is situated on the east side of the Arthur Kill, at the entrance to Newark Bay, just north of the Goethals Bridge and Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge...
    
    — Port Authority

Lights and lighthouses

For lists see and .
Active unless noted.

New Jersey

• Sandy Hook Lighthouse
  Sandy Hook Lighthouse
  The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about one and a half statute miles inland from the tip of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States.It was designed and built in 1764 by Isaac Conro....
  
  
• Conover Beacon
  Conover Beacon
  The Conover Beacon is a lighthouse which functioned as the front light of the now-discontinued Chapel Hill Range.-History:The Chapel Hill Channel provides a north-south connection between the Ambrose Channel and Sandy Hook Channel, which continues west into Raritan Bay...
  
   (Chapel Hill Front Range)
• Romer Shoal Light
• Great Beds Light
• West Bank Light
  West Bank Light
  West Bank Light is in the New York Bay as acts as the Front Range light for the Ambrose Channel. It is currently active and not open to the public.The tower was heightened in 1908...
  
   (Range Front)
• Old Orchard Shoal Light
  Old Orchard Shoal Light
  Old Orchard Shoal Light is a lighthouse in the lower New York Bay that was the front range for the Waackaack Range Lights that marks the Gedney Channel, named after Thomas Gedney, the naval Captain who was in charge of Coast Survey that discovered the channel in 1835.The Fresnel lens was removed in...
  
  
• Robbins Reef Light
  Robbins Reef Light, New Jersey
  The Robbins Reef Light Station is a sparkplug lighthouse located off Constable Hook in Bayonne, New Jersey along the west side of Main Channel, Upper New York Bay. The tower and integral keepers quarters were built in 1883. It replaced an octagonal granite tower built in 1839. The U.S. Coast Guard...
  
  

New York

• Ambrose Light
  Ambrose Light
  Ambrose Light, often called Ambrose Tower, was a light station at the convergence of several major shipping lanes in Lower New York Bay, including Ambrose Channel, the primary passage for ships entering and departing the ports of the New York Metropolitan Area.The tower, which was owned and...
  
  
• Coney Island Light
  Coney Island Light
  Coney Island Light is a lighthouse located in Sea Gate, on the west end of Coney Island, Brooklyn, in New York City, east of New York Harbor's main channel....
  
   (Nortons Point)
• Statue of Liberty (discontinued 1902)
• Ambrose Lightship (to Scotland Station, NJ, 1933; decommissioned 1968)
• Prince's Bay Light (decommissioned 1922)
• New Dorp Light
  New Dorp Light
  New Dorp served as the rear range with Elm Tree Light as the front to mark Swash Channel. The channel is now marked by Staten Island Light and West Bank Light....
  
   (Swash Channel Range Rear, decommissioned 1964)
• Staten Island Range Light
• Fort Wadsworth Light (decommissioned 1965)
• Jeffreys Hook Light
  Little Red Lighthouse
  The Little Red Lighthouse is a small lighthouse located on the Hudson River in New York City...
  
  
• Blackwell Island Lighthouse (decommissioned 1934)
• Throgs Neck Light
• Kings Point Light
  Kings Point Light
  The Kings Point Light is a private lighthouse owned and operated by the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. It is the lighthouse on top of the chapel that shines as a way to bring wayfaring sailors back home from at sea and students back from Long Island Sound, also...
  
  
• Execution Rocks Lighthouse
  Execution Rocks Lighthouse
  Execution Rocks Lighthouse is a large lighthouse located in the middle of Long Island Sound between Davids' Island in New Rochelle, New York and Sands Point, New York on Long Island. It stands 55 feet tall, with a flashing white light interval of 10 seconds. Built of granite, the tower is painted...
  
  
• Stepping Stones Light
  Stepping Stones Light
  Stepping Stones Light is a Victorian-style lighthouse in Long Island Sound, in Nassau County, New York. The lighthouse is square-shaped and made of red brick, standing one-and-a-half stories high. The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is a virtual twin of this structure. The light is in current use,...
  
  
• Whitestone Point Light
  Whitestone Point Light
  Whitestone Point Light in Whitestone, Queens is listed as number 27215 in ....
  
  

Waterfront jurisdictions

• New Jersey
  New Jersey
  New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
  
  
  • Monmouth County
    • Waterwitch Highlands
    • Atlantic Highlands
    • Leonardo
    • Belford
    • Port Monmouth
    • Keansburg
    • Port Comfort
    • Union Beach
    • Keyport
  • Middlesex County
    Middlesex County, New Jersey
    Middlesex County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population was 750,162. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area and its county seat is New Brunswick. The center of population for New Jersey is located in Middlesex County, in the...
    
    
    • Laurence Harbor
    • Morgan
    • South Amboy
    • Perth Amboy
    • Sewaren
    • Port Reading
    • Chrome
    • Carteret
  • Union County
    Union County, New Jersey
    Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 522,541. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 92nd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...
    
    
    • Tremley Point
    • Grasselli
    • Linden
    • Elizabeth
      Elizabeth, New Jersey
      Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 120,568, making it New Jersey's fourth largest city . The population of Elizabeth was 126,179 as of the Census Bureau's 2006 estimate...
      
      
      • Elizabethport
  • Essex County
    Essex County, New Jersey
    Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population was 793,633, ranking it second in the state after Bergen County; Essex County's population had declined to 786,147 as of the bureau's 2006 population...
    
    
    • Newark
      Newark, New Jersey
      Brick City redirects here. For the township in Ocean County, see Brick Township, New Jersey.Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, and the county seat of Essex County. Newark has a population of 281,402, making it the largest municipality in New Jersey and the 65th largest city in the U.S...
      
      
  • Hudson County
    Hudson County, New Jersey
    Hudson County is in New Jersey, United States. Its county seat is Jersey City.-Geography and topography:According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 62 square miles , of which, 47 square miles is land and 16 square miles is water...
    
    
    • Bayonne
      Bayonne, New Jersey
      Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, south of Jersey City. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 61,842. The Census Bureau's 2006 population estimate for Bayonne is 57,886, a decrease of 6.4% from 2000.According to tradition, the city...
      
      
      • Port Johnson
    • Liberty State Park
      Liberty State Park
      Liberty State Park is located on the Upper New York Bay opposite the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in Jersey City, New Jersey. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations and is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.-Geography and...
      
      
    • Jersey City
    • Hoboken
      Hoboken, New Jersey
      Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city's population was 38,577. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
      
      
    • Weehawken
    • West New York
    • North Bergen
    • Edgewater
      Edgewater
      Edgewater is a common name used throughout the world as a place name. It is often found in English-speaking countries such as Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States...
      
      

• New York
  New York
  New York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
  
  
  • New York City
    New York City
    New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
    
    
    • Manhattan
      Manhattan
      Manhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
      
      , New York County
    • Brooklyn
      Brooklyn
      Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
      
      , Kings County
      • Floyd Bennett Field
        Floyd Bennett Field
        Floyd Bennett Field, now defunct as an active airfield, was New York City's first municipal airport. Located in Brooklyn, it was created by connecting Barren Island to a number of smaller marsh islands by filling the channels between them with pumped sand from the water's bottom, and it is now...
        
        
      • Manhattan Beach
      • Brighton Beach
      • Coney Island
      • Gravesend
      • Bensonhurst
      • Fort Hamilton
      • Bath Beach
      • Bay Ridge
      • Red Hook
      • South Brooklyn
      • Brooklyn Heights
    • Queens
      Queens
      Queens is the largest in area, the second-largest in population, and the easternmost of the Five Boroughs which form New York City. The Borough of Queens' boundaries are identical to those of the County of Queens , a subdivision of the State of New York in the Northeastern United States.Located on...
      
      , Queens County

      Lower Bay

      • Far Rockaway
      • Rockaway Point
      • Breezy Point

      East River

      • Flushing
      • Willets Point
      • La Guardia Airport
    • The Bronx
      The Bronx