Maurice River

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Maurice River is a tributary of the Delaware River in southwestern New Jersey in the United States.

The Maurice River, pronounced "Morris", is approximately 50 mi (80 km) long and is the second longest and largest tributary to Delaware Bay. Its watershed includes an extensive southern portion of the coastal forested wetlands known as the Pine Barrens. Its mouth on Delaware Bay is surrounded by extensive saltmarshes and has provided an historically important oystering ground.

It is born at the confluence of Still Run and Scotland Run, beneath the waters of Willow Grove Lake in Pittsgrove, Salem County and flows generally SSE passing 2 mi (3 km) west of Vineland. At Millville it is impounded to form the Union Lake reservoir, approximately 3 mi (5 km) long. South of Millville it becomes navigable, forming a 10 mi (16 km) estuary that empties into Maurice River Cove on Delaware Bay. The estuary is joined from the northeast by Manantico Creek, the Manumuskin River, 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 the only stand of wild rice 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 mi (47 km) of the river and its tributaries as the Maurice National Scenic and Recreational River, as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers program.