The East End of

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 ...

is constituted by the five

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

s at the eastern end of

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 * '' ...

's Suffolk County, namely Riverhead,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

(which includes Westhampton), Southold, Shelter Island, and East Hampton. Long Island's North Fork and South Fork are part of the East End. "The East End" is sometimes shortened as "The End", but this latter term is also applied only to Montauk, the most easterly

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of the contiguous land mass. The East End includes the best-known part of Long Island's Viticultural Area, as well as

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 ...

and related resort areas. While other Suffolk County communities have long been considered suburban to New York City, the more rural East End townships have traditionally relied more upon agriculture and recreation. Residents of the five eastern townships had occasionally advocated seceding from Suffolk County to form a proposed " Peconic County", named for the

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 ...

at the center of the East End's geography. The East End's North Shore is bounded by

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 ...

, while its east and south are bounded by

Block Island Sound Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island. On the west, it extends to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, as well as Plum Isl ...

and the Atlantic Ocean; the west is bounded by Brookhaven. The East End is also home to Gabreski Air Base, Plum Island's Animal Disease Center, and the Shinnecock Indian Nation's

Shinnecock Reservation Shinnecock Reservation is a Native American reservation for members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in the town of Southampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is the furthermost east of the two Native American reservations in Suff ...

Area and population

At the 2000 census, the five East End towns and the

had a land area of 900.581 km² (347.72 sq mi), or about 38.12 percent of Suffolk County's land area. Its total population was 125,442 inhabitants, or about 8.84 percent of the county's population. Its average

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 139.29/km² (360.76/sq mi). Suffolk County's five western townships (that is, Suffolk County without the East End) have a total land area of 1,462.001 km² (564.482 sq mi) and an adjusted 2000 census population of 1,293,927 inhabitants, for a population density of 885.04/km² (2,292.24/sq mi), more than six times that of the East End.

References

{{reflist Geography of New York (state) Geography of Suffolk County, New York