Jamaica Bay

Protected inlet of the Atlantic Ocean at the southwestern end of Long Island, in the Brooklyn and Queens boroughs of New York City. Covering an area some 11 km/7 mi long (from east to west) by 7 km/4.5 mi wide, the marshy, island-filled bay is bordered on the south by the Rockaway Peninsula, and enters the ocean at Rockaway Inlet. Jamaica Bay is a major recreational area and wildlife refuge. On its northeastern shore lies New York's main commercial airport, John F Kennedy International.

Jamaica Bay can be reached by a bridge across Rockaway Inlet connecting the Rockaways with Brooklyn. The bay is also spanned by a causeway running across the Broad Channel from Howard Beach in Queens. Most of the bay and its islands are part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, which has its headquarters at Floyd Bennett Field, on the southwestern shore. Large numbers of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds have made their home in Jamaica Bay or use it as a resting point on their migration.