South Fork, Suffolk County, New York
The
South Fork of
Suffolk County,
New York is a
peninsula in the southeast part of the county on the
South Shore of
Long Island. All of the South Fork is an area known as the
Hamptons. A shorter, more northerly peninsula is known as the
North Fork.
The South Fork is composed of all of the
Town of East Hampton and a substantial part of the
Town of Southampton. The body of water to the south is the
Atlantic Ocean.
The South Fork and North Fork split at
Riverhead, New York where the
Peconic River empties into the Peconic Bay. It has long been noted that Long Island resembles a fish with the forks forming a tail. The native name for this is Paumanok.
The separation between the South Fork and the North Fork is formed by the
Great Peconic Bay, the
Little Peconic Bay, and
Gardiners Bay. Between the two forks lie several islands, including
Gardiners Island and
Shelter Island.
The eastern end of the South Fork,
Montauk Point State Park, is the easternmost point in the State of New York, as well as Suffolk County. The eastern end of the North Fork is
Orient Point, New York.
The South Fork is most commonly reached by roadways from the west, but the
Long Island Rail Road provides service as far as Montauk.
Ferry service connects the South Fork to
Connecticut and to the North Fork across Shelter Island.
