We had the opportunity to use our NY
pass to take a three hour cruise on a full circuit of Long Island; off we went
from Pier 83
Long Island is an island located in the southeast of
New
York, just
east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains
four counties, two of which are boroughs (Queens and Brooklyn) of New York
City, and
two of which (Nassau and Suffolk) are mainly suburban or rural. The term "Long Island" sometimes refers only to Nassau and
Suffolk counties in order to differentiate them from New York City, though all
four counties on the island are part of the New York
metropolitan area.
In 1790 the population was 37,108. As
of the 2010
census,
Long Island had a population of 7,568,304, making it the most
populated
island in any U.S. state or territory. It is also the 17th most populous
island in the world, ahead of Ireland, Jamaica and the Japanese island of Hokkaidō. Its population density is 5,402 inhabitants per square mile. If it
were a state, Long Island would rank 13th in population (after Virginia) and
first in population density.
Both the longest and the
largest island in the contiguous United
States,
Long Island extends 118 miles eastward from New York
Harbor to
Montauk
Point, and
has a maximum north-to-south expanse of 23 miles between the northern
Long Island
Sound
coast and the southern Atlantic coast. With a land area of 1,401 square miles, Long Island is the
11th largest island in the United States, the 148th largest
island in the world. It has a larger area than the state of Rhode
Island
(1,214 square miles). Nine bridges and thirteen tunnels (including railway
tunnels) connect Brooklyn and Queens (and thus Long Island) to the three other
boroughs of New York City. Ferries connect Suffolk County northward across
Long Island
Sound to
the state of Connecticut. Two of New York
City's
major airports, LaGuardia
Airport
and JFK International
Airport, are located on Long Island, in
Queens.
Our departure was delayed for a few minutes while this lady pulled out
That didn’t bother this chap, or the
fellow sitting next to Bear
We left the dock and pulled
out into the channel, tour guide chatting away merrily
We went from skyscrapers to industrial
areas, trees, hospitals, bridges, the Cloisters and of course Beez Neez
in the marina, a real variety
