The Back River is an
estuarine
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 ...
inlet of the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
between the independent cities of
Hampton and
Poquoson in the Hampton Roads area of southeastern
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. Formed by the confluence of the Northwest and Southwest Branches, and at just over long, the Back River is a breeding ground for many of the Bay's prized sport fish and the well known
blue crab Blue crab may refer to:
* Blue Crab 11, an American sailboat design
* ''Callinectes sapidus
''Callinectes sapidus'' (from the Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek ,"beautiful" + , "swimmer", and Latin , "savory"), the blue crab, Atlantic blue ...
. The river was once part of an important fishing area that provided the local canneries with the famous Chesapeake seafood that was, and still is in demand throughout the country. Although now used primarily for recreation and as a wildlife refuge, the river remains a place for fishing and laying crab traps.
Factory Point, a peninsula that protects the river from the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
sits at the mouth of the river adjoining the bay.
The Southwest Branch begins as Newmarket Creek, a marshy, tidal creek which flows from its headwaters in
Newport News
Newport News () is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city i ...
into Hampton where it widens greatly and empties into the river.
The Northwest Branch also begins in Newport News as Brick Kiln Creek and is dammed along with the Hampton city and
York County border to form Big Bethel Reservoir. It flows from the reservoir into Poquoson, where it becomes the Northwest Branch.
The
Back River Lightstation, or Grandview Light, formerly stood on a windswept beach at the mouth of the river. Constructed in 1829 by Winslow Lewis, with a cost of $4,250, the thirty-foot brick tower displayed its light until 1915, when it was automated and the keepers removed. In 1936, the station was decommissioned and left open to the elements and vandals.
Hurricane Flossy
Hurricane Flossy originated from a tropical disturbance in the eastern Pacific Ocean and moved across Central America into the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical depression on September 21, 1956, which became a tropical storm on September 22 and a hur ...
in 1956 delivered the final blow and toppled the tower. All that can be seen today is a pile of debris just off the beach.
See also
*
List of rivers of Virginia
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Virginia.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries, arranged in the order of their confluence from mouth to source, indented under each larger stream's nam ...
External links
A study by VIMS on Hampton, Virginia Erosion
{{authority control
Tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay
Rivers of Hampton, Virginia
Bodies of water of Poquoson, Virginia
Rivers of Virginia