The Manasquan River is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed April 1, 2011 waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...
in
central New Jersey.
It flows from western
Monmouth County, beginning in
Freehold Township, near the headwaters for the
Manalapan Brook
Manalapan Brook is a tributary of the South River in Monmouth and Middlesex counties, New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002.
Course
The Manalapan Brook's source is at in western Mon ...
and
Millstone River
The Millstone River is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002.
The Millstone River begins in western Monmouth County and flows westward throu ...
systems in the
Raritan Basin, and flowing to the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
, where it empties between the communities of
Manasquan and
Point Pleasant via the
Manasquan Inlet. It widens greatly as it nears the ocean, making it ideal for
boating, and is a very popular recreational area of the
Jersey Shore. The Manasquan River and Inlet is the unofficial northernmost terminus of the
Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...
.
The river is the center of a large
watershed area that incorporates numerous streams as well as a large man-made pumped (i.e. no direct flow from the river)
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
in
Howell Township; aptly named the
Manasquan Reservoir
The Manasquan Reservoir is a source of water for municipalities and utilities, as well as a 1,204- acre (4.87 km2) park, located in Howell Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The reservoir doubles as a park that ...
. It also marks the traditional boundary between
North Jersey
North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrati ...
and
South Jersey; it separates Monmouth and
Ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...
counties and marks the border between rich,
fertile soil
Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality. to the north and the
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...
ier soil of the "
Pine Barrens
Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pineland areas occur throughout the U.S. from Florida to Maine (see Atlantic coastal pine barrens) as well as the Midwest, West, and Canada and parts of Eurasia. Perhaps the most well known pine-barre ...
" to the south.
Situated in the middle of the river east of the
New Jersey Route 70
Route 70 is a state highway located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It extends from an interchange with Route 38 in Pennsauken Township, Camden County to an intersection with Route 34 and Route 35 in Wall Township, Monmouth County. Route ...
highway bridge and adjacent to the former Point Pleasant Hospital site and
Point Pleasant Canal entrance is a sizable island only accessible by boat that is a popular spot for picnics and recreation. The island includes a sandy beach area and even used to have an improvised swing-set for youngsters which has been removed by the boro of Brielle, but is mainly covered with trees. The water surrounding the island is deep enough to accommodate boat traffic, and boaters normally beach their boats on the sand while they enjoy a day of relaxation on the island. Today its officially named
Nienstedt Island, honoring the family who donated it to the borough. In the 19th century it was known as "Osborn Island". In May 1888,
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
spent about a month in
Brielle
Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town, municipality and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New ...
along the Manasquan River. One day Stevenson visited Osborn Island and was so impressed he whimsically renamed it "Treasure Island" after his famous novel ''
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
'' (1883) and carved his initials into a bulkhead. This took place five years after he had completed the novel. To this day, many still refer to the island as such.
History of Brielle
, accessed September 5, 2006
The navigable Manasquan River and its tributaries are crossed by three drawbridges, the Brielle Road Glimmer Glass Bridge, the Route 35 Manasquan River bridge, and the NJ Transit railroad bridge, and one fixed bridge – the Route 70 September 11 Memorial Bridge.
See also
* List of New Jersey rivers
* Manasquan Inlet
References
External links
U.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations
Nautical chart of the Manasquan River
{{authority control
Rivers of Monmouth County, New Jersey
Rivers of Ocean County, New Jersey
Rivers of New Jersey