The Maurice River (Berkery, Sheri
"Do you know how to pronounce these S.J. town names?"
''

Courier-Post The ''Courier-Post'' is a morning daily newspaper that serves South Jersey in the Delaware Valley. It is based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and serves most of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties. The paper has 30,313 daily paid subscrib ...

'', September 5, 2019. Accessed January 26, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Maurice River/Maurice River Township: MAW-ris, instead of More-eece. So basically, pronounce it like a mans name, but not the one it looks like.")) is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of Delaware Bay in Salem County and

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberla ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

in the United States. The river was named for

Maurice, Prince of Orange Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...

Watershed and course

The Maurice River, pronounced "MAW-ris," is approximately long with a drainage area of 386 sq mi (1,000 km²).New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection, Trenton, NJ. (2012)
"Watershed Management Area 17: Maurice, Salem, Cohansey."
/ref> It is the second longest and second largest tributary to Delaware Bay. Its watershed includes an extensive southern portion of the coastal forested

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

s known as the Pine Barrens. Its mouth on Delaware Bay is surrounded by extensive

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

es and has provided a historically important

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

ing ground. Maurice River from the Bluffs

It is born at the confluence of Still Run and

Scotland Run Scotland Run is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Maurice River in southwestern New Jersey in the United States The United States o ...

, beneath the waters of

Willow Grove Lake Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

in Pittsgrove, Salem County and flows generally south-southeast, passing west of Vineland. At Millville it is impounded to form the Union Lake reservoir, approximately long. South of Millville it becomes navigable, forming a

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 ...

that empties into

Maurice River Cove Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

on Delaware Bay. The estuary is joined from the northeast by

Menantico Creek Manantico Creek, spelled Menantico on federal maps, is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Maurice River in Cumberland County, New Jersey in ...

, the

Manumuskin River The Manumuskin River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Maurice River in Cumberland County, New Jersey in the United States. The Manumus ...

, and Muskee Creek.

Water quality and stewardship

The river is considered especially pristine for the region, forming a critical ecological link between the Pine Barrens and the Delaware Bay systems, except that the State Of New Jersey advises against eating more than 8 ounces of fish caught in the river in any week or month, depending on the species, for the general population and advises against eating any fish from the Maurice River for the High Risk population.https://www.nj.gov/dep/dsr/fishadvisories/Fish_Advisories_2019.pdf It is the location of one of the only stands of

wild rice Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...

in New Jersey, and provides habitat for 53 percent of the species in New Jersey designated as endangered. In 1993,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

designated of the river and its tributaries as the Maurice National Scenic and Recreational River, as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers program. A local nonprofit organization, Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc., is a regional watershed organization that focuses its work on the Maurice River watershed, from Willow Grove Lake southward. The South Jersey Land and Water Trust focuses on the northern portion of the watershed, from Willow Grove Lake northward.

Tributaries

* Muddy Run

References

External links

Wild and Scenic Maurice River

U.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations
* {{authority control Tributaries of Delaware Bay Rivers in the Pine Barrens (New Jersey) Rivers of New Jersey Rivers of Cumberland County, New Jersey Rivers of Salem County, New Jersey Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States

Watershed and course

Water quality and stewardship

Tributaries

See also

References

External links