The Manasquan Inlet is an inlet that connects 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 ...

with the Manasquan River, dividing the counties of

Ocean County Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Monmouth County in the state of

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 Delaware ...

. Passage to Bay Head Harbor and the

Barnegat Bay Barnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is separated from the Atlantic by the long Island Beach State Park (colloquially called a "ba ...

is possible via the Point Pleasant Canal. The present Manasquan River Inlet was dug in the 1920s with the original inlet located at Stockton Lake. The present day inlet is the northern 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 inlet is home to the Squan

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and maritime law enforcement, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

station.

History

On Sunday April 5, 1778 a contingent of about 135 British troops and loyalists entered the inlet to sack and destroy the Union salt works. The raiders burnt the salt works, broke the

kettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a type of pot specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle'', or a small electric kitchen appliance of similar shape that functions in a self-contained ...

s and ransacked the surrounding homes before retreating and heading north to raid salt works in the Shark River. The Union salt works were repaired and again attacked on the night of April 21, 1780 by a detachment of provincial troops, under the command of Lieut. Col. Laurence who had sailed south from

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern ...

The present day location of the inlet is several thousand yards south of its location in 1868, the inlet had been near the former Manasquan Coast Guard Station which was adjacent to Stockton lake. The Manasquan inlet historically had always been shallow, which made it difficult for large boats to navigate. When the Point Pleasant Canal was dug in 1926, the Manasquan river's water rapidly flowed through the man-made opening disrupting the natural flow of the river, and this caused the inlet to completely close with sand for several years. The inlet's closure was so complete that it was possible to walk from Manasquan to Point Pleasant beach on dry ground. From 1926 to 1931 several efforts were made to reopen the inlet, including the use of high pressure water by the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

and local firemen to

erode Erode () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in the state, after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Salem. It is also the administrative headquarters of the ...

a narrow channel through the sand. These efforts failed to keep the channel open and the inlet remained closed. In 1930 work began to reopen the inlet. The Army Corps of Engineers put up temporary piers and began building

jetties A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

. The jetties were constructed with rock excavation from the

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Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The project cost $600,000 with funds from local, state and federal government. The inlet was officially reopened on August 29, 1931, with a parade of boats and was attended by New Jersey Governor

Morgan F. Larson Morgan Foster Larson (June 15, 1882March 21, 1961) was an American Republican politician who served as the 40th governor of New Jersey. Early life Morgan Foster Larson was born on June 15, 1882 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey to Peter and Regina (K ...

Surfing

The Manasquan Inlet is widely known as one of the best surf spots along the East Coast. Its popularity among beach breaks throughout the East Coast stems from the inlet, which directs and often enlarges the waves as they come in to create a great right break. Many competitions are held at the Manasquan Inlet throughout the year. One of the most popular is the Manasquan Classic Longboard Contest which is held in September of every year. In 2011, the competition celebrated its 19th annual competition with a paddle out on September 11, commemorating the attacks on the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

a decade ago. Hurricane Bill, whose swell hit the shores of Manasquan in August 2009, brought many big-time professional surfers to the Manasquan Inlet including Andy Irons, Pete Mendia, Sam Hammer, and Mike Gleason.

References

{{Coord, 40, 06, 08, N, 74, 02, 08, W, format=dms, display=title, type:waterbody_region:US-NJ Bodies of water of Ocean County, New Jersey Bodies of water of Monmouth County, New Jersey Inlets of New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway Manasquan, New Jersey