Trustom Pond is a closed

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

in South Kingstown,

Washington County, Rhode Island Washington County, known locally as South County, is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,839. Rhode Island counties have no governmental functions other than as court administrat ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is one of nine coastal lagoons (referred to as "salt ponds" by locals) in southern Rhode Island. It has a surface area of , and is the only undeveloped salt pond in the state. The pond averages deep, and has a salinity level of 5

parts per thousand In science and engineering, the parts-per notation is a set of pseudo-units to describe the small values of miscellaneous dimensionless quantities, e.g. mole fraction or mass fraction. Since these fractions are quantity-per-quantity measures ...

. It is non-tidal, except when breached by storms. The water directly receives about of precipitation per year, with an estimated in daily groundwater flow. No streams flow into the pond, though a nearby stream "captures water that otherwise would have flowed to Trustom Pond". Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge is a

National Wildlife Refuge The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) is a system of protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), an agency within the United States Department of the Interior, Department of the Interi ...

, inhabited by an estimated 300 species of birds, as well as some 40 species of mammals and 20 species of reptiles and amphibians. As such, it is a popular bird-watching destination. The

piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, Passerellidae, sparrow-sized wader, shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band acro ...

inhabits the site.Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge: Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex: Fact Sheet for Members of Congress
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (November 2010). In 1974, of land were donated to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; subsequent donations and purchases raised the protected area to . In 2010, the wildlife refuge received approximately 70,000 visitors. Trustom Pond NWR includes of nature trails. Habitat areas within Trustom Pond NWR include fields, shrubland, woodland, freshwater pond, saltwater ponds, beaches, and sand dunes. Wildlife managers create breachways to the

Block Island Sound Block Island Sound is a marine sound in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island. On the west, it extends to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, as well as P ...

, lowering water levels and creating

mudflats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

which become feeding areas for

wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

References

External links

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Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge

Trustom Pond map
{{authority control Landforms of Washington County, Rhode Island Lagoons of Washington County, Rhode Island Saline lakes of the United States National Wildlife Refuges in Rhode Island South Kingstown, Rhode Island Protected areas of Washington County, Rhode Island Wetlands of Rhode Island Protected areas established in 1987 1987 establishments in Rhode Island

See also

References

External links