6. Chimney Sweep Islands and High Island

Chimney Sweeps Islands and High Island are part of a collection of 20 islands on the border of Bronx County known as the “Devil’s Stepping Stones.” This name finds its origin in Native American folklore, which stated that a land mass formed whenever the Devil set his foot on the water. The name of these islands also references how barren they are, composed of a significant amount of bedrock and little vegetation.

The Chimney Sweep islands have never actually been inhabited by people, but instead bird populations such as seagulls and blue herons. High Island once had a short-lived human dwelling, before they were displaced for the construction of a radio transmission tower in 1962, which had to be reconstructed a few years later when a small plane crashed into the tower in 1967.