The Quashnet River, also known as Quoshnet River or Moonakis River, is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed April 1, 2011 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 ...
in
Falmouth, Massachusetts on
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
. Its area is about .
The river is connected by ditch to John's Pond in
Mashpee, just north of today's
Route 28. It is fed by groundwater and flows south, gaining water as it goes, into
Waquoit Bay which then flows into Nantucket Sound. During colonial times it was known for its abundant
brook trout but was dammed in the mid-19th century for water power. After the mills burned and the dam was breached, the valley was converted to
cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus '' Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species '' Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...
cultivation in the early 20th century. Cranberry production stopped in the 1950s, and the cranberry bogs were abandoned. The land was purchased by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts beginning in the late 1950s, and
Trout Unlimited
Trout Unlimited (TU) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of freshwater streams, rivers, and associated upland habitats for trout, salmon, other aquatic species, and people. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. T ...
and other organizations began to restore the river to
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...
-quality in the 1970s.
Today the river is an important migratory fish run for
alewife and salter brook trout, home to
herring and
eel
Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
s, and is Waquoit Bay's largest source of fresh water. Additional portions of its watershed were purchased through the years by various entities. The area is now a wildlife management and conservation preserve managed by the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Image:Quashnet River photo.jpg, Quashnet River
References
Environmental Protection AgencyTrout Unlimited
{{Coord, 41.573, N, 70.518, W, display=title
Estuaries of Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Estuaries of Massachusetts