The Manasquan River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed April 1, 2011

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

central New Jersey Central Jersey, or Central New Jersey, is the middle region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation Central Jersey is a distinct administrative division, administrative toponymy, toponym. While New Jersey is often divided into North Je ...

. It flows from western Monmouth County, beginning in Freehold Township, near the headwaters for the Manalapan Brook and Millstone River systems in the Raritan Basin, and flowing to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, where it empties between the communities of Manasquan and Point Pleasant via the Manasquan Inlet. It widens greatly as it nears the ocean, making it ideal for

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

, and is a very popular recreational area of the Jersey Shore. The Manasquan River and Inlet is the unofficial northernmost terminus of the Intracoastal Waterway. The river is the center of a large watershed area that incorporates numerous streams as well as a large man-made pumped (i.e. no direct flow from the river)

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

in Howell Township; aptly named the Manasquan Reservoir. It also marks the traditional boundary between North Jersey and South Jersey; it separates Monmouth and

Ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

counties and marks the border between rich, fertile soil to the north and the

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

ier soil of the " Pine Barrens" to the south. ManasquanInletPier7

Situated in the middle of the river east of the New Jersey Route 70 highway bridge and adjacent to the former Point Pleasant Hospital site and Point Pleasant Canal entrance is a sizable island only accessible by boat that is a popular spot for picnics and recreation. The island includes a sandy beach area and even used to have an improvised swing-set for youngsters which has been removed by the boro of Brielle, but is mainly covered with trees. The water surrounding the island is deep enough to accommodate boat traffic, and boaters normally beach their boats on the sand while they enjoy a day of relaxation on the island. Today its officially named Nienstedt Island, honoring the family who donated it to the borough. In the 19th century it was known as "Osborn Island". In May 1888,

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

spent about a month in

Brielle Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New Maas. The for ...

along the Manasquan River. One day Stevenson visited Osborn Island and was so impressed he whimsically renamed it "Treasure Island" after his famous novel '' Treasure Island'' (1883) and carved his initials into a bulkhead. This took place five years after he had completed the novel. To this day, many still refer to the island as such.History of Brielle
, accessed September 5, 2006 The navigable Manasquan River and its tributaries are crossed by three

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

s, the Brielle Road Glimmer Glass Bridge, the Route 35 Manasquan River bridge, and the NJ Transit railroad bridge, and one fixed bridge – the Route 70 September 11 Memorial Bridge.

References

External links

U.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stationsNautical chart of the Manasquan River
{{authority control Rivers of Monmouth County, New Jersey Rivers of Ocean County, New Jersey Rivers of New Jersey

See also

References

External links