New Haven Harbor
Encyclopedia
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
in the state of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The harbor area is an inlet carved by the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
approximately 13,000 years ago.
The city of New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
and its neighborhoods of City Point, Long Wharf
Long Wharf (New Haven)
Long Wharf is a waterfront district and neighborhood of the city of New Haven, Connecticut, United States.-Location:Its location can be defined as the area stretching inland from the west side of New Haven Harbor northwest to Union Avenue, west to Hallock Avenue and Cedar Street, and north to the...
, The Annex
The Annex (New Haven)
The Annex is a residential neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut. It is located on the eastern side of New Haven Harbor across from Long Wharf...
, and East Shore
East Shore (New Haven)
East Shore, also known as Morris Cove, is a neighborhood of the city of New Haven, Connecticut. Its name is derived from its geographic location on the east side of New Haven Harbor. It is bordered on the north by Upson Terrace, on the east by the town of East Haven, on the west and south by Long...
lie on the northern and eastern sides. West Haven
West Haven, Connecticut
West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 52,721.-History:...
is on the west. The Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac River
The Quinnipiac River is a river in the New England region of the United States, located entirely in the state of Connecticut.It rises in west central Connecticut from Dead Wood Swamp west of the city of New Britain...
and Mill rivers converge and empty into the inlet on its north end. The Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge
Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge (Connecticut)
-Bridge plans bring controversy:The existing Q-Bridge opened with a design capacity of 90,000 vehicles per day , but as of 2006 more than 150,000 vehicles cross the span daily...
crosses here. The West River
West River (Connecticut)
The West River is a freshwater stream in southern Connecticut. It flows through the towns of Bethany, Woodbridge, and New Haven before discharging into the West Haven Harbor....
empties into the western end of the harbor (also known as West Haven Harbor).
Five Mile Point
Five Mile Point Light, also known as Five Mile Point Lighthouse or Old New Haven Harbor Lighthouse, is a lighthouse in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, on the harbor entrance to Long Island Sound, five miles from Downtown New Haven...
Lighthouse. This lighthouse was replaced for navigation in 1877 by the offshore Southwest Ledge Light
Southwest Ledge Light
Southwest Ledge Light is a lighthouse in New Haven, Connecticut.United States, on the reef at main entrance to New Haven Harbor. It was one of the first to be built on a cylindrical iron foundation, an innovation by Maj. George H...
. Sperry Lighthouse (1899–1933) also served the harbor.
In July 1779, during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, the peninsula was the scene of an amphibious landing by British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
troops.
The harbor is circumnavigable via the partially completed "Harborside Greenway" bicycle and pedestrian trail, which is part of the East Coast Greenway
East Coast Greenway
The East Coast Greenway, or ECG, is a project to create a nearly urban path linking the major cities of the Atlantic coast of the United States, from Calais, Maine, to Key West, Florida, for non-motorized human transportation...
system.