Shinnecock Inlet is the easternmost of five major inlets[1] connecting bays to the Atlantic Ocean through the narrow 100-mile-long (160 km) Outer Barrier that stretches from New York City to Southampton, New York on the south shore of Long Island.
The inlet was formed by the 1938 New England hurricane, which killed several people when it permanently broke through the island in Hampton Bays, New York.
[clarification needed] It saves boaters in the Hamptons several miles in access to the Atlantic Ocean.
West Hampton Dunes was incorporated in 1993 specifically to have legal standing in the skirmishes with Corps of Engineers regarding the practice.
[3] In 1996, following the crash of TWA Flight 800 off the coast of Long Island, Shinnecock Inlet, 18 mi (29 km) to the northeast of the debris field, served as the primary water access route for vessels transporting wreckage and human remains to shore for most of the recovery effort.