Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

Ocean County Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Barnegat Bay Barnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is separated from the Atlantic by the long Island Beach State Park (colloquially called a "ba ...

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

summer colony The term summer colony is often used, particularly in the United States, to describe well-known resorts and upper-class enclaves, typically located near the ocean or mountains of New England or the Great Lakes. In Canada, the term cottage countr ...

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

Point Pleasant Beach Point Pleasant Beach is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,665,Bay Head,

Mantoloking Mantoloking is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 296,Lavallette, Ortley Beach,

Seaside Heights Seaside Heights is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,887,Seaside Park and the South Seaside Park section of Berkeley Township. The southern of the barrier island are preserved in their natural state as

Island Beach State Park Island Beach State Park is a New Jersey state park located just south of Seaside Park on the Barnegat Peninsula in Berkeley Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Pa ...

, New Jersey's longest stretch of undeveloped coastline.Zarine, Ali; Singh, Andrew; Khandaker, Nazrul I.; Schleifer, Stanley; And Kaur, Manpreet
"Sedimentology of Island Beach State Park"
2009 Portland GSA Annual Meeting,

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...

. Accessed September 23, 2013. "Island Beach State Park, at almost 10 miles in length, is the largest undeveloped stretch of barrier islands on the New Jersey coast, and one of the largest in the United States."

Geography

The peninsula divides the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

from

Barnegat Bay Barnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is separated from the Atlantic by the long Island Beach State Park (colloquially called a "ba ...

in

Ocean County, New Jersey Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Manasquan Inlet The Manasquan Inlet is an inlet that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Manasquan River, dividing the counties of Ocean County and Monmouth County in the state of New Jersey. Passage to Bay Head Harbor and the Barnegat Bay is possible via the ...

in

Point Pleasant Beach Point Pleasant Beach is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,665,Island Beach State Park Island Beach State Park is a New Jersey state park located just south of Seaside Park on the Barnegat Peninsula in Berkeley Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Pa ...

in the south. It is separated from Long Beach Island to the south by the treacherous

Barnegat Inlet Barnegat Inlet is a small inlet connecting the Barnegat Bay with the Atlantic Ocean in Ocean County, New Jersey. It separates Island Beach State Park and the Barnegat Peninsula from Long Beach Island. The Barnegat Lighthouse sits at the northe ...

. The area surrounding the peninsula were described by

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 160 ...

, in 1609, as "a great lake of water, as we could judge it to be ... The mouth of the lake hath many shoals, and the sea breaketh on them as it is cast out of the mouth of it." The name of the peninsula is derived from that of the adjacent inlet and bay, which were originally named in 1614 "Barendegat," or "Inlet of the Breakers," by

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

explorers of the coastline, referring to the waterway's turbulent channel. An analysis of the composition of sediments and sands on the peninsula shows that it has been little-changed for hundreds of years.

Communities

Communities on the peninsula include

Point Pleasant Beach Point Pleasant Beach is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,665,Bay Head,

Mantoloking Mantoloking is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 296,Lavallette, Ortley Beach, Normandy Beach,

Seaside Heights Seaside Heights is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,887,Seaside Park. Additionally, Brick Township Beaches I, II, and III, Dover Beaches North, and Dover Beaches South are located on the peninsula.

Point Pleasant Beach Point Pleasant Beach is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,665,boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridge ...

,

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

, and

fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including ...

. The town is also adjacent to the

Manasquan River The Manasquan River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 waterway in central New Jersey. It flows from western Monmouth County, beginning in Freehold T ...

and

Manasquan Inlet The Manasquan Inlet is an inlet that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Manasquan River, dividing the counties of Ocean County and Monmouth County in the state of New Jersey. Passage to Bay Head Harbor and the Barnegat Bay is possible via the ...

. Bay Head is noted for its quiet beaches, the Bay Head Yacht Club and its fine Shingle-style seashore houses. Bay Head was founded in 1886 and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Mantoloking, the second-wealthiest community in the state, is known for its Shingle-style houses overlooking the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and

Barnegat Bay Barnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is separated from the Atlantic by the long Island Beach State Park (colloquially called a "ba ...

. The Mantoloking Yacht Club has produced Olympic-champions. Normandy Beach, Lavallette, Dover Beaches North (Ocean Beach and Chadwick Beach); Ortley Beach; and Seaside Park are predominantly summer-only coastal towns with extremely small winter populations. They are popular for their fairly affordable housing stock, their ocean beaches and access to water activities on

Barnegat Bay Barnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is separated from the Atlantic by the long Island Beach State Park (colloquially called a "ba ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

.

Seaside Heights Seaside Heights is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,887,boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridge ...

and amusement piers lined with food stands, shops, games-of-chance, and amusement park rides. Seaside Heights has a winter population of 5,000 and a summer population of close to 40,000, swelled by vacationers from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and New Jersey. In the summers of 1998 and 2002,

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

hosted their summer-broadcast in Seaside Heights. The main thoroughfare connecting these shore towns is Route 35. Connections to the mainland include the Mathis and Tunney Bridges in Toms River connecting

Seaside Heights Seaside Heights is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,887,Point Pleasant Beach Point Pleasant Beach is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,665,Manasquan over the

Manasquan River The Manasquan River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 waterway in central New Jersey. It flows from western Monmouth County, beginning in Freehold T ...

, Bridge Avenue between Point Pleasant and Bay Head, and the Mantoloking Bridge linking Mantoloking with Brick Township. Since the

Point Pleasant Canal The Point Pleasant Canal is a canal in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. It was completed in 1925 to connect the Manasquan Inlet and Manasquan River with Bay Head Harbor on the northern end of Barnegat Bay. The canal is part of the Intracoastal Waterwa ...

was built in 1925 connecting the Manasquan Inlet with the Barnegat Bay, the peninsula is technically an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

. It is sometimes referred to as Barnegat Beach Island, or more commonly, "the barrier island."

Effects of Hurricane Sandy

On October 29, 2012, an inlet opened between Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at the bay's north end, when

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

wiped out a section of the peninsula at the base of the Route 528 bridge in Mantoloking. Much of that borough was destroyed along with the east end of the bridge. The bridge as well as the entire stretch of Route 35 up and down the peninsula have since reopened .

References

External links

Island Beach State Park
{{authority control Landforms of Ocean County, New Jersey Peninsulas of New Jersey