The
Maurice River is a river that empties into the
Delaware BayDelaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
in southern
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The Maurice River, pronounced "Morris", is approximately 39.2 miles (63.1 km) long and is the second longest and largest tributary to
Delaware BayDelaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
. Its watershed includes an extensive southern portion of the coastal forested
wetlandA wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s known as the
Pine BarrensThe Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands, is a heavily forested area of coastal plain stretching across southern New Jersey. The name "pine barrens" refers to the area's sandy, acidic, nutrient-poor soil, to which the crops originally imported by European settlers didn't take well...
. Its mouth on Delaware Bay is surrounded by extensive
salt marshA salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es and has provided an historically important
oysterThe word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
ing ground.
It is born at the confluence of Still Run and
Scotland RunScotland Run is a tributary of the Maurice River in southern New Jersey in the United States. It flows in a generally southern direction through southern Gloucester County.-References:...
, beneath the waters of Willow Grove Lake in
PittsgrovePittsgrove Township is a Township in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 9,393....
,
Salem County-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 64,285 people, 24,295 households, and 17,370 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile . There were 26,158 housing units at an average density of 77 per square mile...
and flows generally south-southeast, passing 2 miles (3 km) west of
VinelandVineland is a city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 60,724...
. At
MillvilleMillville is a city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city population was 26,847. Millville, Bridgeton and Vineland are the three principal New Jersey cities of the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
it is impounded to form the Union Lake reservoir, approximately 3 miles (5 km) long. South of Millville it becomes navigable, forming a 10 miles (16.1 km)
estuaryAn estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
that empties into Maurice River Cove on Delaware Bay. The estuary is joined from the northeast by
Manantico CreekManantico Creek, spelled Menantico on federal maps, is an tributary of the Maurice River in southern New Jersey in the United States.Menantico Creek begins in Cumberland County at the confluence of Cedar and Panther Branches, north of Hances Bridge...
, the
Manumuskin RiverThe Manumuskin River is a tributary of the Maurice River in southern New Jersey in the United States. It flows through a relatively pristine forested area in the southern Pinelands of Cumberland County, as well as arborvitae bogs and salt marshes in its lower reaches...
, and Muskee Creek.
The river is considered especially pristine for the region, forming a critical ecological link between the Pine Barrens and the Delaware Bay systems. It is the location of one of the only stands of
wild riceWild rice is four species of grasses forming the genus Zizania, and the grain which can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both North America and China...
in New Jersey, and provides habitat for 53 percent of the species in New Jersey designated as endangered. In 1993, the Congress of the United States designated 28.9 miles (46.5 km) of the river and its tributaries as the
Maurice National Scenic and Recreational River, as part of the
National Wild and Scenic RiverNational Wild and Scenic River is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States.The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was an outgrowth of the recommendations of a Presidential commission, the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission...
s program.
A local nonprofit organization,
Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc.Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc., or "CU", is a 501 regional watershed organization. It was founded in 1979 and incorporated in 1986....
, is a regional watershed organization that focuses its work on the Maurice River watershed, from Willow Grove Lake southward. The South Jersey Land and Water Trust focuses on the northern portion of the watershed, from Willow Grove Lake northward.
Tributaries
- Manantico Creek
Manantico Creek, spelled Menantico on federal maps, is an tributary of the Maurice River in southern New Jersey in the United States.Menantico Creek begins in Cumberland County at the confluence of Cedar and Panther Branches, north of Hances Bridge...
- Manumuskin River
The Manumuskin River is a tributary of the Maurice River in southern New Jersey in the United States. It flows through a relatively pristine forested area in the southern Pinelands of Cumberland County, as well as arborvitae bogs and salt marshes in its lower reaches...
- Muddy Run
- Scotland Run
Scotland Run is a tributary of the Maurice River in southern New Jersey in the United States. It flows in a generally southern direction through southern Gloucester County.-References:...
- Still Run
External links