Lower New York Bay is a section of New York Bay south of the Narrows. The eastern end of the Bay is marked by two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens. The waterway between the spits connects the Bay to the Atlantic Ocean at the New York Bight. Traversing the floor of the Bay southeasterly from the Narrows to the Bight and beyond is Hudson Canyon.
View over the Lower New York Bay from Wolfe's Pond Park on Staten Island, New York
The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It has long been considered to be the maritime "gateway" to New York City and historically has been one of the most important entrances into the harbors of the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Brooklyn (bottom) and Staten Island (upper right), connected by the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge
A TERRA satellite image of New York Harbor with The Narrows (in red), connecting Upper New York Bay to Lower New York Bay
An 1832 view of The Narrows by Karl Bodmer with Fort Lafayette visible off the Brooklyn shore
The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, shown with USS Leyte Gulf passing underneath it, spans The Narrows