page_title: Staten Island
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Staten Island / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial view of Staten Island at night in 2018
context_page_description: Staten Island is a borough of New York City, coterminous with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the southwest portion of the city, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With an estimated population of 476,143 in 2019, Staten Island is the least-populated of the boroughs but is the third-largest in land area at 58.5 sq mi. The borough also contains the southern-most point in the state, South Point. If each borough were ranked as a city, Staten Island would rank as the 39th most-populous in the U.S.
  Staten Island joined New York City in 1898, and was referred to as the Borough of Richmond until 1975. Staten Island has sometimes been called "the forgotten borough" by inhabitants who feel neglected by the city government.
  The North Shore—especially the neighborhoods of St. George, Tompkinsville, Clifton, and Stapleton—is the most urban part of the island; it contains the designated St. George Historic District and the St. Paul's Avenue-Stapleton Heights Historic District, which feature large Victorian houses. The East Shore is home to the 2.5-mile F.D.R.
context_section_description: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Richmond County has a total area of 102.5 square miles (265 km²), of which 58.5 square miles (152 km²) is land and 44.0 square miles (114 km²) (43%) is water. It is the third-smallest county in New York by land area and fourth-smallest by total area.
  Although Staten Island is officially an administrative borough of New York City and its coterminous Richmond County is an administrative county of New York State, Staten Island is topographically and geologically a part of New Jersey. Staten Island is separated from Long Island by the Narrows and from mainland New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull. Staten Island is positioned at the center of New York Bight, a sharp bend in the shoreline between New Jersey and Long Island. The region is considered vulnerable to sea-level rise. On October 29, 2012, the island experienced severe damage and loss of life along with the destruction of many homes during Hurricane Sandy.
  In addition to the main island, the borough and county also include several small uninhabited islands:
  The Isle of Meadows (at the mouth of Fresh Kills)
  Prall's Island (in the Arthur Kill)
  Shooters Island (in Newark Bay; part of it belongs to New Jersey)
  Swinburne Island (in Lower New York Bay)
  Hoffman Island (in Lower New York Bay)
  The highest point on the island, the summit of Todt Hill, elevation 410 ft (125 m), is also the highest point in the five boroughs, as well as the highest point on the Atlantic coastal plain south of Great Blue Hill in Massachusetts and the highest point on the coast proper south of Maine's Camden Hills. Ward's Point in the neighborhood of Tottenville is the southernmost point in the state of New York.
  Staten Island is the only borough in New York City that does not share a land border with another borough (Marble Hill in Manhattan is contiguous with the Bronx). The borough has a land border with Elizabeth and Bayonne, New Jersey, on uninhabited Shooters Island.
caption: Aerial view of Staten Island from the east at night
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