peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

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 * '' ...

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...

tines Tines (; also spelled tynes), prongs or teeth are parallel or branching spikes forming parts of a tool or natural object. They are used to spear, hook, move or otherwise act on other objects. They may be made of metal, wood, bone or other hard, ...

Peconic River The Peconic River is a river within Suffolk County on Long Island, New York.Town of Southold in the east and part of the Town of Riverhead in the west. The body of water north of this region is

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

. The southern water boundary comprises several connected bodies of water, including the

Great Peconic Bay The Peconic Bay is the parent name for two bays between the North Fork and South Fork of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is separated from Gardiners Bay by Shelter Island. Peconic Bay is divided by Robins Island into the Gr ...

, Little Peconic Bay, and

Gardiners Bay Gardiners Bay is a small arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 10 mi (16 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide in the U.S. state of New York between the two flukelike peninsulas at the eastern end of Long Island. It is bounded o ...

. Lying between the North Fork and the South Fork are several islands, including

Robins Island Robins Island is a island in Peconic Bay by the eastern end of Long Island off the coast of New Suffolk, New York. The island is privately owned and not accessible to the public and is within the jurisdiction of the Town of Southold in Suff ...

and the two large islands of Shelter Island and

Gardiners Island Gardiner's Island is a small island in the Town of East Hampton, New York, in Eastern Suffolk County. It is located in Gardiner's Bay between the two peninsulas at the east end of Long Island. It is long, wide and has of coastline. The isl ...

. Shelter Island lies between the North and South Forks, and ferries provide shuttle service between Greenport Village and Shelter Island Heights, as well as between Shelter Island and North Haven along The South Fork. The easternmost tip of the North Fork is Orient Point. Beyond that point are three additional significant parts of the Town of Southold, Plum Island,

Great Gull Island Great Gull Island is a island separating the Long Island and Block Island sounds, located approximately southwest of Little Gull Island. Both islands are located in the town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York, and lie roughly midway be ...

, and

Fisher's Island Fishers Island (Pequot: ''Munnawtawkit'') is an island that is part of Southold, New York, United States at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound. About long and wide, it ...

. These islands and the North Fork itself originated as the

Harbor Hill Moraine The Harbor Hill Moraine, in the geography of Long Island, forms the northern of two ridges along the "backbone" of Long Island. Description The Harbor Hill Moraine, skirting the North Shore, represents the terminal moraine of the most recen ...

. Agricultural industries include vineyards, apple orchards, potato farms, and sod farms. At the tip of the fork are Orient Point County Park and Orient Beach State Park as well as a ferry terminal connecting Long Island and eastern Connecticut. West to East, Wading River, Baiting Hollow, Calverton,

Aquebogue Aquebogue () is a census-designated place (CDP) roughly corresponding to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The CDP's population was 2,438 at the 2010 census. Aqu ...

, Jamesport,

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

, Mattituck,

Cutchogue Cutchogue ( ) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, on the North Fork (Long Island), North Fork of Long Island's East End (Long Isla ...

, New Suffolk, Peconic, Southold, Greenport, East Marion,

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

, and Orient Point are among the hamlets of the North Fork. The North Fork also has fishing and clamming industries on the Bay, Sound, and adjacent creeks and beaches.

Transportation

The North Fork is accessible via roadways from the west, most notably

New York State Route 25 New York State Route 25 (NY 25) is an east–west state highway in downstate New York in the United States. The route extends for just over from east midtown Manhattan in New York City to the Cross Sound Ferry terminal at Orient Poin ...

. The

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

provides limited weekday, and limited weekend service as far as Greenport on the Ronkonkoma Branch. The Hampton Jitney provides seven days per week, year-round

express bus service Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications ...

between Long Island's

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

and New York City.

Ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

connect the North Fork to Plum Island and

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. Ferries also connect the North Fork to the South Fork by means of Shelter Island roads. From the North Fork, visitors can access via ferry Shelter Island, which sits in the Peconic Bay. Ferry service is available on the bay side of the fork as well.

Tourism

The North Fork is currently home to more than 30

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s, many of which run tasting rooms for the public to sample and buy their wines. The first of the area's vineyards, Hargrave, was founded in 1973, and today continues as Castello De Borghese. The

North Fork of Long Island AVA The North Fork of Long Island AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in eastern Suffolk County, New York. Authored by winemaker Richard Olsen-Harbich in 1985, it includes the entire North Fork of Long Island and the townships of Riverh ...

was established in 1985, and its vineyards and wineries are now an important part of the area's economy. They stretch from Baiting Hollow in the west to Southold in the East, with new vineyards recently planted in Greenport and Orient. Many multi-generational family farms are still in operation throughout the region as well, and their farmstands are a popular attraction. During the fall harvest season many of the farms host pumpkin picking and other attractions revolving around the harvest theme, and have given rise to the term '' agritainment''. On fall weekends traffic backs up on both primary roads with many people making the drive from suburban areas of Long Island and NYC to participate in the harvest season activities. The North Fork lies east of the terminus of the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

(LIE), and is served by three primary east to west roads, Route 25, also called Main Road, Sound Avenue, and County Road 48 also called Middle Road. At the easternmost point, Cross Sound Ferry runs daily car and passenger ferries to and from New London, Connecticut. The Long Island Railroad provides daily service to the region.

Hamlets and villages of the North Fork

Riverhead Town

* Wading River — ''shared with the Town of Brookhaven, though the majority of the hamlet of Wading River is in Riverhead Town'' * Calverton — ''shared with the Town of Brookhaven, though the majority of the hamlet of Calverton is in Riverhead Town'' * Baiting Hollow * Riverhead * Northville *

Aquebogue Aquebogue () is a census-designated place (CDP) roughly corresponding to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The CDP's population was 2,438 at the 2010 census. Aqu ...

* Jamesport *

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

— ''shared with the Town of Southold''

Southold Town

*

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

— ''shared with the Town of Riverhead, though the majority of the hamlet of Laurel is in Southold Town'' * Mattituck *

Cutchogue Cutchogue ( ) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, on the North Fork (Long Island), North Fork of Long Island's East End (Long Isla ...

* New Suffolk *

Robins Island Robins Island is a island in Peconic Bay by the eastern end of Long Island off the coast of New Suffolk, New York. The island is privately owned and not accessible to the public and is within the jurisdiction of the Town of Southold in Suff ...

* Peconic * Nassau Point * Southold * Greenport (Village) * East Marion *

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

* Orient Point

References

External links

North Fork Chamber of Commerce
{{Coord, 40, 58, 03, N, 72, 37, 12, W, source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Peninsulas of New York (state) Long Island Sound Landforms of Suffolk County, New York Riverhead (town), New York Southold, New York

Geography

Transportation

Tourism

Hamlets and villages of the North Fork

Riverhead Town

Southold Town

See also

References

External links