Penfield Reef is a partially submerged reef

Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....

 that extends a mile into 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...

 from the coast of Fairfield, Connecticut

Fairfield, Connecticut

Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...

. The reef is one of the most dangerous areas of Long Island Sound and continues to menace boaters despite the presence of the Penfield Reef Light

Penfield Reef Light

Penfield Reef Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Connecticut,United States, on Penfield Reef at the south side of Black Rock Harbor entrance on the Long Island Sound, off the coast of Fairfield, Connecticut. Constructed in 1874, it was one of the last offshore masonry lights...

house. The area was a peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

 a few centuries ago, gradually worn down to a series of islands and eventually to a shoal. Sand and stones collected from the reef for use as ballast on ships contributed to the rapid erosion. Cows once grazed on the peninsula, and two of the groups of rocks were later named "Cows" and "Calves" in recognition of the early history. The reef is known as an ideal fishing spot for bluefish

Bluefish

The bluefish , called tailor in Australia, is a species of popular marine gamefish found in all climates. It is the sole species of the Pomatomidae family....

, flounder

Flounder

The flounder is an ocean-dwelling flatfish species that is found in coastal lagoons and estuaries of the Northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.-Taxonomy:There are a number of geographical and taxonomical species to which flounder belong.*Western Atlantic...

 and striped bass

Striped bass

The striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire...

.