What is the name of the desolate area between West Egg and New York?

The desolate area between West Egg and New York is the Valley of Ashes.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, the Valley of Ashes is an industrial wasteland located between Long Island’s wealthy communities and Manhattan. Nick Carraway passes through it by train and automobile, and George and Myrtle Wilson live there above George’s failing garage.

The setting represents the human and environmental cost of the wealth celebrated in East Egg and West Egg. Its gray ashes, factories, and bleak landscape contrast sharply with Gatsby’s parties and the Buchanans’ privilege. The real-world inspiration is associated with the Corona Dumps in Queens, later transformed into the site of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park.

A common mix-up is confusing the Valley of Ashes with Long Island Sound. The Sound is the body of water separating Long Island from Connecticut, while the Valley of Ashes is the fictionalized industrial corridor on the route between the Eggs and New York City.