The Honga River is an

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 environm ...

on the eastern side of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

, bounded on the west by Hooper's Island and on the east by the mainland of

Dorchester County, Maryland Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 census, the population was 32,531. Its county seat is Cambridge. The county was formed in 1669 and named for the Earl of Dorset, a family friend of the Calverts ( ...

. in length and over wide, it runs southeast to the west entrance of Hooper Strait, north of

Tangier Island Tangier is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States, on Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay. The population was 727 at the 2010 census. Since 1850, the island's landmass has been reduced by 67%. Under the mid-range sea level rise scena ...

; the

Hooper Strait Light Hooper Strait Light is one of four surviving Chesapeake Bay screw-pile lighthouses in the U.S. state of Maryland. Originally located in Hooper Strait, between Hooper and Bloodsworth Islands in Dorchester County and at the entrance to Tangier So ...

stood between the two. Towns on the river include Crapo, Fishing Creek and

Wingate Wingate may refer to: Places New Zealand * Wingate, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt United Kingdom * Wingate, County Durham * Wingate Quarry, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham * Old Wingate, County Durham * Wingat ...

. The Honga River is actually the widened, southern end of a strait that also includes Slaughter Creek, Upper Keene Broad, Dunnock Island Creek, and Lower Keene Broad. The river was sometimes called "tunger" or even "Hungary" River, Historians hold, however, that the name is derived from the Powatan word ''kahunge'' meaning "goose". The Honga was a historic center of the oyster fishery in the bay and continues to be popular with sport fishermen.

References

{{authority control Tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay Rivers of Maryland Rivers of Dorchester County, Maryland