The Long Island Plains
Where are the Plains located?
The Plains are located across the center of Nassau County. It's western border began in the vicinty of Floral Park and continued eastward into the Pine Barrens communities of the Oak Brush Plains, near the Nassau/Suffolk county line. To the north it was bordered by hardwood forest covering the Ronkonkoma Moraine, and to the south by a belt of oak that extended to the bay.
Long Island Plains Facts
The Hempstead Plains once covered ten of thousands of acres with estimates from 17,00 to 60,000 acres. There are two preserves remaining: the rough areas surrounding the public golf courses at Eisenhower Park; and a lot east of Nassau Community College.
There is no definite explanation of the factors that created the Hempstead Plains. It is thought that several causes influenced its development. The poruous soil, regular wild fires and during colonial times, the grazing livestock all helped create this area.
The open treeless nature of the area with its flat landscape, made the Plains ideal for farming and later, during the 1940's, for home construction.
Today, less than one hundred acres remain.
Long Island Plains Flora
| Birds-foot violet | Dogbane | Goldenrod |
| Wild indigo | Colicroot | Cherry trees |
| American goat's-rue | Cinquefoils | Poison ivy |
| Blue toadflax | Milkweed | Japaneses honeysuckle |
Long Island Plains Fauna
| Sandpiper | Vesper sparrows |
| Grasshopper | Horned larks |
Under Construction
Long Island Plains Photo Gallery
Long Island Plains Links
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