The Buttermilk Channel, shown in red, in Upper New York Bay

Buttermilk Channel is a small tidal strait in New York City, approximately one mile long and one-fourth of a mile wide, separating Governors Island from Brooklyn in Upper New York Bay. A strait is a narrow navigable Channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water The City of New York This article is about Governors Island in New York For other uses see Governors Island (disambiguation Governors Island is a 172- Acre (69 ha island Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. See also Geography and environment of New York City Upper New York Bay, sometimes called Upper New York Harbor or the Upper Bay, is Although it's been said that, in the 19th Century, the channel could be crossed at low tide, and farmers would bring their cows over to Governors Island for grazing, this is nothing but Urban Legend, albeit one perpetuated since the mid-1800s. The name "Buttermilk" may have been a consequence.

In the late 19th Century the channel was dredged extensively by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. With current charted depths of 35 to 40 feet, the Buttermilk Channel is still a busy shipping lane and the most convenient access to the Brooklyn waterfront. Its heavy use was historically connected to the Erie Basin terminal to the south and the Brooklyn Navy Yard on the East River. Most recently, large cruise ships and ocean liners, such as the Queen Mary 2, have been tying up at the Red Hook side of the channel, where the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal has been built. A cruise ship or cruise liner is a Passenger ship used for pleasure voyages where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one Seaport to another along regular long-distance Maritime routes according to a schedule Characteristics The Queen Mary 2 is the current Cunard Flagship and makes regular Transatlantic crossings Red Hook is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is one of three terminals for ocean-going cruise ships in the metropolitan New York City area

The channel is marked by a number of navigation aids (green cans no. 5 and 7 at the NE entrance, and green gong no. 1 marking low water off the tip of Governors Island). Tidal currents on the channel are rather strong.