Jones Inlet is located at the westernmost end of the 17 miles (27.4 km) long Jones Beach

Jones Beach Island

Jones Beach Island is one of the outer barrier islands off the southern coast of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is named for the father of Thomas Jones. It is sometimes referred to as Oak Beach Island, and the former home of the infamous Oak Beach Inn. It is separated from Long...

 barrier island that runs along Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

's south shore. The inlet separates Jones Beach State Park

Jones Beach State Park

Jones Beach State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of New York. It is located in southern Nassau County, in the hamlet of Wantagh, on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island linked to Long Island by the Meadowbrook State Parkway, Wantagh State Parkway and Ocean Parkway .The park is renowned for...

's West End from the community of Point Lookout

Point Lookout, New York

Point Lookout is a hamlet located in the town Hempstead in Nassau County, New York. The population was 1,219 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...

 and connects South Oyster Bay

South Oyster Bay

South Oyster Bay is a natural harbor along the western portion of the south shore of Long Island in New York in the United States. The harbor is formed by Jones Beach Island, a barrier island on the southern side of Long Island. It is approximately 3 mi wide between the two islands, and...

 with the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. In 2006, the inlet handled approximately 10,000 tons of commercial tonnage.

Shifting sand bars and shallow waters have made the inlet treacherous for boaters to navigate, which prompted New York State to allocate $7.6 million of funding for the United States Army Corps of Engineers

United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

 to dredge the inlet in 2008. In addition to improving navigational safety for vessels, the sand dredged from the inlet was pumped onto the Point Lookout shoreline to help mitigate the effects of beach erosion. The inlet was previously dredged in 1995-1996.

The United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

Station Jones Beach is located near the east side of the inlet on Jones Beach Island.