According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 28.54%, is water. The hamlet is surrounded by three bays, the Great Peconic Bay to the north, and Shinnecock and Tiana bays to the south. The two southern bays are a part of a greater bay system, called the Great South Bay system, which stretches from approximately Southampton Village to Jamaica Bay in New York City. The Shinnecock Canal, a man-made canal located in the eastern part of the hamlet, connects the Great Peconic Bay with the Shinnecock Bay. Shinnecock Inlet, which leads from the Shinnecock Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, is the easternmost inlet, making it very popular for commercial fishing. The inlet itself, which separates the barrier beaches of Hampton Bays from those of neighboring Southampton, was created in the New England Hurricane of 1938 when the forces of the hurricane washed over that area of barrier beach, connecting the waters of the Atlantic with the bay.