You could drive the Sound’s 100-mile length in about two hours, but tracing all 971 miles of shoreline would be like driving from the Bronx to Jacksonville, Florida.
More shoreline means more habitat. The places where the coastline bends inward – bays, harbors, coves, and inlets – are known as embayments. These typically shallow, nearshore areas are partly sheltered from the open waters of Long Island Sound and provide calm conditions that are especially important for fish and other aquatic life.
Protected waters serve as nurseries for juvenile fish and invertebrates and provide food and shelter for species ranging from menhaden and winter flounder to horseshoe crabs, coastal birds, and migratory waterfowl. Together, embayments support a rich mosaic of habitats, including tidal rivers, eelgrass meadows, salt marshes, and shellfish reefs.
The same features that provide refuge for wildlife also benefit people. Embayments help absorb floodwaters, buffer coastal communities from storms, and filter pollutants before they reach the open Sound.
These sheltered waters are also places where people connect with Long Island Sound. Hundreds of embayments create opportunities for beaches, ports, marinas, shellfishing grounds, paddling routes, and other recreational activities. Some of the region’s most popular destinations – including Mystic Harbor and New Haven Harbor in Connecticut and Oyster Bay and Huntington Bay in New York – are embayments of Long Island Sound.
From wildlife nurseries to working waterfronts, these winding shores are one reason why Long Island Sound supports such a remarkable diversity of life and ways for people to enjoy and benefit from the estuary.
Here are some web links to help you explore coastal Long Island Sound:
The 971 miles of Long Island Sound shoreline does not include the additional coastlines of its islands, which add even more places where land and water meet.
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