Maurice River
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The Maurice River is a river, approximately 50 mi (80 km) long, in southern New Jersey in the United States. Its watershed includes an extensive southern portion of the coastal forested wetlands known as the Pinelands. Its mouth on Delaware Bay is surrounded by extensive salt marshes and has provided a historically important oystering ground.
It rises in central Gloucester County, near Glassboro, approximately 15 mi (24 km) south of Camden. It 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 Menantico Creek, the Manumuskin River, and Muskee Creek.
The river is considered especially pristine for the region, forming a critical ecological link between the Pinelands 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 United States Congress 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.
See also
External links
- Wild and Scenic Morris River (http://mauriceriver.igc.org/)
- National Park Service: Maurice Wild and Scenic River (http://www.nps.gov/rivers/wsr-maurice.html)