The Ronkonkoma Moraine, in the geography of Long Island, forms the southern of two ridges along Long Island's "backbone." [1]
The Ronkonkoma Moraine, in the geography of Long Island, forms the southern of two ridges along Long Island's "backbone." [1]
The Ronkonkoma Moraine, a terminal moraine, predates the Harbor Hill Moraine (which reached Long Island during the Wisconsin Glacial Episode); the Harbor Hill Moraine cut through the Ronkonkoma Moraine's western portions. [2]
The Ronkonkoma Moraine and the Harbor Hill Moraine intersect at Lake Success in western Nassau County. [2] Today, the moraine is most prominent in Suffolk County, where it traverses the center of Long Island and forms the South Fork. [3]
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. At New York Harbor, it begins approximately 0.35 miles (0.56 km) east of Manhattan Island and extends eastward over 100 miles (160 km) into the Atlantic Ocean. The island comprises four counties; Kings and Queens counties and Nassau County share the western third of the island, while Suffolk County occupies the eastern two thirds. More than half of New York City's residents live on Long Island, in Brooklyn and in Queens. However, people in the New York metropolitan area colloquially use the term Long Island to refer exclusively to Nassau and Suffolk counties, and conversely, employ the term the City to mean Manhattan alone. While the Nassau-plus-Suffolk definition of Long Island does not have any legal existence, it is recognized as a "region" by the state of New York.
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris, sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice sheet. It may consist of partly rounded particles ranging in size from boulders down to gravel and sand, in a groundmass of finely-divided clayey material sometimes called glacial flour. Lateral moraines are those formed at the side of the ice flow, and terminal moraines were formed at the foot, marking the maximum advance of the glacier. Other types of moraine include ground moraines and medial moraines.
Suffolk County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is located on the eastern end of Long Island. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,525,920 making it the fourth-most populous county in New York State, after New York City's Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Its county seat is Riverhead, though most county offices are in Hauppauge. The county was named after the county of Suffolk in England, from where its earliest European settlers came.
Farmingville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Suffolk County town of Brookhaven, New York, United States. The population was 15,481 at the 2010 census.
Holtsville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,714 at the 2010 census.
The Ice Age Trail is a National Scenic Trail stretching 1,200 miles (1,900 km) in the state of Wisconsin in the United States. The trail is administered by the National Park Service, and is constructed and maintained by private and public agencies including the Ice Age Trail Alliance, a non-profit and member-volunteer based organization with local chapters.
Long Island Sound is a tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, lying predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north, and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches 110 mi (180 km) from the East River in New York City, along the North Shore of Long Island, to Block Island Sound. A mix of freshwater from tributaries and saltwater from the ocean, Long Island Sound is 21 mi (34 km) at its widest point and varies in depth from 65 to 230 feet.
The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cordillera; the Innuitian ice sheet, which extended across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago; the Greenland ice sheet; and the massive Laurentide Ice Sheet, which covered the high latitudes of central and eastern North America. This advance was synchronous with global glaciation during the last glacial period, including the North American alpine glacier advance, known as the Pinedale glaciation. The Wisconsin glaciation extended from approximately 75,000 to 11,000 years ago, between the Sangamonian Stage and the current interglacial, the Holocene. The maximum ice extent occurred approximately 25,000–21,000 years ago during the last glacial maximum, also known as the Late Wisconsin in North America.
A kettle is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating glaciers, which become surrounded by sediment deposited by meltwater streams as there is increased friction. The ice becomes buried in the sediment and when the ice melts, a depression is left called a kettle hole, creating a dimpled appearance on the outwash plain. Lakes often fill these kettles; these are called kettle hole lakes. Another source is the sudden drainage of an ice-dammed lake. When the block melts, the hole it leaves behind is a kettle. As the ice melts, ramparts can form around the edge of the kettle hole. The lakes that fill these holes are seldom more than 10 m (33 ft) deep and eventually become filled with sediment. In acid conditions, a kettle bog may form but in alkaline conditions, it will be kettle peatland.
The North Shore of Long Island is the area along the northern coast of New York's Long Island bordering Long Island Sound. Known for its extreme wealth and lavish estates, the North Shore exploded into affluence at the turn of the 20th century, earning it the nickname the Gold Coast. Historically, this term refers to the coastline communities in the towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County and the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, although the town of Smithtown east of here is also known for its affluence. The easternmost Gold Coast mansion is the Geissler Estate, located just west of Indian Hills Country Club in Fort Salonga, within the Town of Huntington.
The Peconic River is a river within Suffolk County on Long Island, New York in the United States. The river is located in the eastern end of Long Island. The Peconic River drains an area between the Harbor Hill and Ronkonkoma terminal moraines, and flows into Flanders Bay which in turn connects to Peconic Bay east of Riverhead.
As part of New England, Connecticut has undergone much geologic change shaped by plate tectonics, volcanism, and glacial activity.
A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge of the ice, is driven no further and instead is deposited in an unsorted pile of sediment. Because the glacier acts very much like a conveyor belt, the longer it stays in one place, the greater the amount of material that will be deposited. The moraine is left as the marking point of the terminal extent of the ice.
Ronkonkoma is a major railroad station and transportation hub along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road in Ronkonkoma, New York. The station is the eastern terminus of the Ronkonkoma Branch and the western terminus of the Greenport Branch.
Long Island is in southeastern New York, United States, separated from the rest of the state by the East River and from Connecticut by Long Island Sound. Long Island contains four counties, of which the western two are boroughs of New York City, and the other two are mainly suburban.
Bald Hill, located in the hamlet of Farmingville, New York, part of the Town of Brookhaven, is one of the highest areas of elevation on Long Island. The highest elevation in the Bald Hill area is 331 feet (101 m). Though local residents often claim it to be the highest point on Long Island, that honor actually belongs to Jayne's Hill in the Town of Huntington at 401 feet (122 m). Also, nearby Telescope Hill, about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) WSW, is slightly higher at 334 feet (102 m). Bald Hill in Brookhaven should also not be confused with Bald Hill in Riverhead.
The Harbor Hill Moraine, in the geography of Long Island, forms the northern of two ridges along the "backbone" of Long Island.
Lake Success is a kettle lake in Lake Success, in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States.
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