Lower New York Bay
| Lower New York Bay shown in pink |
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| Great Egret on the southern shore of Staten Island on Lower New York Bay. Coney Island, Brooklyn is visible in the background. |
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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.
Roughly triangular in shape, it is bounded on the north by
Staten Island and
Long Island and on the south by mainland
New Jersey. Besides the
Hudson River (which empties in to the Lower Bay through the Narrows), the bay is fed by the
Arthur Kill and the
Raritan River, as well as by several smaller streams.
The section of the bay near the confluence of the Arthur Kill and the Raritan is called
Raritan Bay. The bay opens out to the ocean between two spits of land,
Sandy Hook in
New Jersey and
Rockaway Point, Queens on
Long Island.
Historically, the Lower Bay has been the primary means of marine access to New York Harbor, and more recently to
Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal.
Since the time of the
Lenape Native Americans, the Lower Bay has provided a rich fishing ground, but in the
20th century it was restricted due to pollution. In the
19th century, the shallow shoals on the south shore of Staten Island were a rich
oyster bed.
The bay contains several popular beaches at
Brighton Beach on
Coney Island in
Brooklyn, as well as at
Gateway National Recreation Area on Staten Island.
*
Raritan Bay*
Upper New York Bay*
Hudson River*
Hudson Canyon
