Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Potinack

Potinack is a Montauk placename for a hole or deep depression in the Hither Plains and Hither Woods landscape, with related watering-place references at Montauk and Amagansett. The Algonquian place name Potinack, designating a deep, water-filled depression in the hills near present-day Napeague, highlights how Indigenous terms functioned as highly specific ecological maps. Recognizing these traditional names allows modern park visitors to appreciate the deep, intimate knowledge Native peoples possessed about Long Island's unique geological features. Potinack names a set of holes or depressions in the Montauk and Amagansett landscape, including a primary place near Hither Plains and the south-side cliffs. Potinack belongs to the Hither Plains and Hither Woods topographic landscape on Montauk. Interpretation and earlier publication details appear in the historic moments below. The name is...