This article is about the body of water in the Bronx. For other uses, see Pelham Bay (disambiguation)

Pelham Bay (disambiguation)

Pelham Bay may be:* Pelham Bay, a body of water in The Bronx, New York* Pelham Bay, Bronx, New York, a neighborhood* Pelham Bay Park* Pelham Bay Park , a subway station...

.

Pelham Bay is a small bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

, between City Island and Orchard Beach

Orchard Beach, New York

Orchard Beach is a public beach in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. The beach is part of Pelham Bay Park and is situated on the western end of Long Island Sound...

 in the Bronx

The Bronx

The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Technically, it is a sound

Sound (geography)

In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....

, not a bay

Headlands and bays

Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...

, since it is open to larger bodies of water at both ends. It connects to Eastchester Bay

Eastchester Bay

Eastchester Bay is a protected body of water between City Island and the mainland Bronx, New York. Technically, it is a sound, not a bay, since it is open to larger bodies of water at both ends. The northern end connects via a narrow channel to Pelham Bay...

 at the south, and opens onto Long Island Sound

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...

 and City Island Harbor

City Island Harbor

City Island Harbor is the protected body of water between City Island and Hart Island in New York, open to Long Island Sound at its northern and southern extremities. It is not a true harbor, but a Sound. Other minor islands in and around City Island Harbor include the Chimney Sweeps, The Blauzes,...

 at the east.

Pelham Bay was originally larger than it is today. Approximately one third of the original bay was filled in to create Orchard Beach

Orchard Beach, New York

Orchard Beach is a public beach in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. The beach is part of Pelham Bay Park and is situated on the western end of Long Island Sound...

in the 1930s.