Weymouth Fore River is a small bay or

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

in eastern

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and is part of the

Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its ...

watershed. The headwater of Weymouth Fore River is formed by the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the

Monatiquot River The Monatiquot River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in Braintree, Massachusetts, formed by the confluence of the Farm River and Cochato River ...

and Smelt Brook in the

Weymouth Landing Weymouth can refer to: Places ;In the United Kingdom *Weymouth, Dorset, England :*Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency) :*Weymouth and Portland, the abolished local government district :*Weymouth Bay :* Weymouth Beach :*Weymou ...

area of Braintree. From Weymouth Landing, the

tidal river A tidal river is a river whose flow and level are influenced by tides. A section of a larger river affected by the tides is a tidal reach, but it may sometimes be considered a tidal river if it has been given a separate name. Generally, tidal ri ...

marks the boundary between Braintree and Weymouth, flowing northeast for and then north for before widening considerably and turning west northwest for . At this point the river's western shore is now in Quincy at the south end of the former

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. I ...

. Here the river turns north northeast for as it passes through a heavily industrialized area around the former shipyard and is crossed by the

Fore River Bridge The Fore River Bridge spans the Weymouth Fore River between Quincy and Weymouth, Massachusetts. The total length of the bridge including the approaches is . History A bascule bridge was built in 1936, replacing an earlier span. The bascule bri ...

, a

lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...

which carries

Massachusetts Route 3A Route 3A is a state highway in eastern Massachusetts, which parallels Route 3 and U.S. Route 3 from Cedarville in southern Plymouth to Tyngsborough at the New Hampshire state line. Route 3A has two major posted segments, separated by a length ...

between Quincy and Weymouth. A quarter mile beyond the bridge Weymouth Fore River is joined by Town River at

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...

, gradually widening to nearly as it travels the final northeast before ending as it enters

Hingham Bay Hingham Bay is the easternmost of the three small bays of outer Boston Harbor, part of Massachusetts Bay and forming the western shoreline of the town of Hull and the northern shoreline of Hingham in the United States state of Massachusetts. It ...

. Recreation along Weymouth Fore River includes Smith Beach/

Watson Park Watson may refer to: Companies * Actavis, a pharmaceutical company formerly known as Watson Pharmaceuticals * A.S. Watson Group, retail division of Hutchison Whampoa * Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM research center * Watson Systems, maker ...

East Braintree East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

along the northwest shore near Weymouth Landing at the river's south end and Wessagussett Beach on the southeast shore in North Weymouth before the river enters Hingham Bay. The

United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum The United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum is a private non-profit museum in Quincy, Massachusetts featuring USS ''Salem'' (CA-139), a heavy cruiser docked at the former Fore River Shipyard where she was laid down in 1945. The museum was establi ...

located in Quincy Point at the west end of the

features , a preserved

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...

which is open to the public. The major commercial enterprises located in the heavily industrialized area around the former shipyard include: WeymouthForeRiver2007-09-01

*Braintree **

Citgo Petroleum Corporation Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area ...

, major oil and gasoline distribution terminal * Quincy ** Daniel J. Quirk, Inc., motor vehicle storage and distribution facility **

Jay Cashman Jay Cashman, Inc. is a privately held multi-disciplinary construction and development company, founded and owned by Jay M. Cashman. It is one of the largest privately held contracting firms in the northeastern United States. The company has moved ...

, Inc., heavy construction and marine equipment services **

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is a public authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that provides wholesale drinking water and sewage services to certain municipalities and industrial users in the state, primarily in th ...

, sewage sludge heat-drying and pelletizing facility ** Quincy Bay Terminal Company, short line freight rail service to

CSXT CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

South Braintree ** Twin Rivers Technologies LP,

oleochemical Oleochemistry is the study of vegetable oils and animal oils and fats, and oleochemicals derived from these fats and oils. The resulting product can be called oleochemicals (from Latin: oleum "olive oil"). The major product of this industry is soa ...

and

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...

production * Weymouth **

Calpine Calpine Corporation is the largest generator of electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources in the United States, with operations in competitive power markets. A Fortune 500 company based in Houston, Texas, the company is owned by an ...

Fore River Generating Station, natural gas and oil

electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transmi ...

References

{{Authority control Bodies of water of Norfolk County, Massachusetts Geography of Braintree, Massachusetts Quincy, Massachusetts Weymouth, Massachusetts Estuaries of Massachusetts Watersheds of Boston Harbor