Jamaica Bay

Jamaica Bay is a bay that lies in the shadow of New York City's skyscrapers and is adjacent to one of the nation's busiest airports. The salt marshes of Jamaica Bay offer prime habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. The marshes have been protected since 1972, as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. Pollution is a problem and the marshlands are vanishing.

Related Topics:
Bay - New York City - Salt marsh - Habitat - Migratory bird - Wildlife - 1972 - Gateway National Recreation Area

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Jamaica Bay is located on the southwestern tip of Long Island in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, and the town of Hempstead, New York. The bay connects with Lower New York Bay to the west through Rockaway Inlet and is the westernmost of the coastal lagoons on the south shore of Long Island. Maps of the city as late as 1910 identify the bay as Grassy Bay.

Related Topics:
Long Island - Brooklyn - Queens - Hempstead, New York - New York Bay - Rockaway Inlet - Lagoon

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The location of Jamaica Bay combined with the rich food resources found there make it a regionally important fish, wildlife, and plant habitat complex. Jamaica Bay is located adjacent to the confluence of the New York Bight and New York Bay, and is at the turning point of the primarily east-west oriented coastline of New England and Long Island and the north-south oriented coastline of the mid-Atlantic coast. This geographic location acts to concentrate marine and estuarine species migrating between the New York Bight portion of the North Atlantic and the Hudson-Raritan Estuary. Shorebirds, raptors, waterfowl, landbirds, and various migratory insects are concentrated by the coastlines in both directions. These migratory species are further concentrated by the surrounding urban development into the remaining open space and open water of Jamaica Bay. Jamaica Bay and nearby Breezy Point support seasonal or year-round populations of 214 species of special emphasis and listed species, incorporating 48 species of fish and 120 species of birds, and including the following federally listed and state-listed species.

Related Topics:
Food - Fish - Plant - New York Bight - New England - Atlantic - Estuarine - North Atlantic - Hudson-Raritan Estuary - Shorebird - Raptor - Waterfowl - Landbird - Insect - Species - Breezy Point

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