Long Island

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Long Island is an island approximately 100 miles long, and 40 miles wide (at its widest point), in the North Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island. To the north of the island is Long Island Sound; to the south are a number of small barrier islands.

The western part of Long Island is the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens; east of them are Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Geologically, the island is glacial morraine, consisting largely of sand and loose soil and rock, rather than bedrock. The eastern end of the island is still partly agricultural, including many vineyards as well as truck farming. Fishing also continues to be an important industry.

Since World War II, however, Long Island has become increasingly suburban and even urban. Levittown was only the first of many new suburbs, and businesses followed residential development eastward. In the 2000 census, the population of Suffolk, the easternmost county on the island, was over a million; the total population of Long Island, including Brooklyn and Queens, was more than 8 million.