Suffolk County

Location and Geography

Suffolk County covers the eastern two-thirds of Long Island, between Long Island Sound to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. East of Riverhead, its county seat, the island splits into two peninsulas: the North Fork, which ends at Orient Point, and the South Fork, with the Hamptons and Montauk at its tip.

Notable Features

Southampton and East Hampton, founded in the 1640s, combine historic villages with ocean beaches such as Main Beach and Georgica Beach, and the Montauk Point Lighthouse, completed in 1796, is the oldest lighthouse in New York State. Fire Island, a barrier island along the South Shore, is reached by ferry across the Great South Bay.

Natural Heritage and Conservation

The Fire Island National Seashore protects barrier beaches, dunes and the Sunken Forest, a rare maritime holly forest, and the Mashomack Preserve covers about a third of Shelter Island with woods, marshes and tidal creeks.