Manhasset Bay, New York, is an
embayment in western
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
off
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), 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 (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
.
Description
Manhasset Bay forms the northeastern boundary of the
Great Neck Peninsula and the southwestern boundary of the
Cow Neck Peninsula (
Port Washington Peninsula or
Manhasset Neck), in
Nassau County,
New York. On the north side of the bay, there are three points, Barkers Point at the entrance, Plum Point coming the furthest into the Bay, and Tom's Point in the back bay. On the other side, Hewlett Point forms the entrance nearly a mile from
Barkers Point. Hart Island lies in the Sound just outside the mouth of Manhasset Bay.
The Manhasset Bay area was likely first inhabited in the 17th century by the Matinecock tribe of
Algonquin Indians. However, that view has been challenged. Then the
Dutch and the
English settled around the bay in the 17th century because of the proximity of
fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
. The Bay was called Schout's Bay by the Dutch, and then Howe's Bay by the English.
Subsequently, due to the presence of cattle raising, it came to be called Cow Bay, and the local neck, to the northeast, "Cow Neck". It finally became Manhasset Bay in 1907.
In the 1920s, the bay began to switch from the cow-and-fish industry to support services for commercial boating,
as it is considered to be one of the best harbors on Long Island Sound with little tidal current except at the entrance and average tidal displacement of only six feet. By the 1980s it was full of marinas and yacht clubs. The
Sands Point Seaplane Base on Manhasset Bay was at one time the main airport for passenger service between New York and Europe. At the beginning of the 21st century, it had about 16% of all the marinas and yacht clubs in the whole of
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), 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 (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
.
Sub-watersheds
Manhasset Bay's
watershed consists of many smaller sub-water sheds. These sub-watersheds are:
* Barkers Point
* Baxter and Mill Pond
* Eastern Shore
* Kings Point Pond
* Leeds Pond
* Mitchell Creek
* Sheets Creek
* Southeastern Shore
* Southwestern Shore
* Toms and Plum Points
* Whitney Pond
Gallery
File:Manhasset Bay West Side Sunset Fishing.jpg
File:Manhasset Bay East Side Easte by Leeds Pond.jpg
File:Manhasset Bay Moored Boat at Sunset 4.jpg
File:Manhasset Bay Moored Boat at Sunset 2.jpg
Notes
{{Commons category, Manhasset Bay
Bays of New York (state)
Bodies of water of Nassau County, New York
Long Island Sound
Town of North Hempstead, New York