Long Island

Long Island is a densely populated island in southeastern New York State, constituting a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in terms of both population and land area. With over eight million inhabitants as of 2020, it is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th-most populous island in the world. The island begins at New York Harbor and extends eastward into the North Atlantic Ocean with a maximum north-south width of . Long Island's land area of makes it the largest island in the contiguous United States. Long Island is divided among four counties, with Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, and Nassau occupying its western third, and Suffolk its eastern two-thirds. As of 2020, more than half (58.4%) of New York City residents live geographically on Long Island in the boroughs of Brooklyn and in Queens, although in common parlance, the term "Long Island", locally "the Island", refers exclusively to the counties of Nassau and Suffolk. Conversely, locally, the term "the City" refers to Manhattan alone. The Nassau-Suffolk-only definition of Long Island is recognized as a region by the State of New York. Although geographically an island, the Supreme Court of the United States has held that given the island's extensive ties to the mainland, it should be treated as a peninsula, giving the state jurisdiction over its maritime boundaries. Long Island may refer both to the main island and the surrounding outer barrier islands. To its west, Long Island is separated from Manhattan and the Bronx by the East River tidal estuary. North of the island is Long Island Sound, across which lie Westchester County, New York, and the state of Connecticut. Across the Block Island Sound to the northeast is the state of Rhode Island. Block Island—which is part of Rhode Island—and numerous smaller islands extend further into the Atlantic. To the extreme southwest, Long Island, at Brooklyn, is separated from Staten Island and the state of New Jersey by Upper New York Bay, the Narrows, and Lower New York Bay.