Long Island

Long Island, NY is the biggest island in the continental United States. About 8 million people live there. The majority live in the western part, in Brooklyn and Queens. The other people live in two counties. Nassau County is in the central area, and Suffolk County fills approximately the eastern half. To the north is Long Island Sound and to the south is the Atlantic Ocean. There are almost 200 Long Island Towns on Long Island, NY. While the areas closest to New York City are urban with a high population density, the central and eastern parts of Long Island are more rural with a lower population density. The East River separates Long Island from Manhattan island and the Bronx mainland. The Narrows separates it from Staten Island. Long Island is a terminal moraine left by glaciers during the ice ages. The 2020 census counted 8,063,232 people living on Long Island, making it by far the most populated island in all of the United States, and more populated than Ireland, Sicily or Puerto Rico. Long Island is in the Eastern Time Zone. The term "Long Island" often refers only to the mostly suburban counties of Nassau and Suffolk because Brooklyn and Queens are part of New York City.