Weymouth Back River - River - geo.wikisort.org

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The Weymouth Back River, sometimes called Back River, is a short, primarily tidal river in Hingham and Weymouth, Massachusetts, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Boston. It arises from a number of tributaries in ponds and swamps, most notably Whitmans Pond, flows northward, and empties into Hingham Bay (just south of Grape Island and Slate Island).[1]

Weymouth Back River
Looking southeast from David's Island at Weymouth Back River Bridge (Route 3A.
Location
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
Cities	Weymouth, Hingham
Physical characteristics

Source	Whitman's Pond
• location	East Weymouth, Massachusetts, United States
• coordinates	42°12′45″N 70°55′40″W
• elevation	20.5 ft (6.2 m)

Mouth	Hingham Bay
• location	Weymouth, Massachusetts, United States
• coordinates	42°15′52″N 70°55′1″W
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Fresh River (Massachusetts)

History

The river formed as the last glacier retreated from New England about 12,000 years ago, when glacial melting increased the sea level and low – lying coastal areas were flooded. Its river herring runs were an important source of food to both native and European inhabitants, and it served as the Hingham-Weymouth boundary as early as 1635. Various industries have used the river, including a steel mill, wool factory, and fertilizer factory. During the 20th century, the Army Corps of Engineers conducted two projects on the river, completed in 1912 and 1943. The first created a large channel (12 feet deep, 200 feet (61 m) wide) from the river mouth to a former fertilizer company wharf, about one mile (1.6 km) upstream. The second deepened the channel to 15 feet (4.6 m).

Watershed

Mill River,[2] which drains Weymouth Great Pond (elevation 161 feet (49 m)),[3] and Old Swamp River,[4] both enter Whitmans Pond (elevation 66 feet (20 m)),[5] the latter is the source of Weymouth Back River. After Weymouth Back River becomes a tidal river it receives Fresh River from the right as one heads downstream.[6]

Ecology

The river is part of the Weymouth Back River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (about 950 acres), of which some 180 acres (0.73 km²) are tidal waters. It is home to about 150 species of birds in its salt marshes and is bounded by wooded wildlife preserves.[7]

A sizeable herring run was an important food source for Weymouth's citizens as documented in town records as early as 1648.[8] At Iron Hill Park off Iron Hill Street, Whitman's Pond was dammed to turn the machines which processed the natural bog iron for the Weymouth Iron Works. Later, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts installed a herring ladder to allow the herring to bypass the dam on their spawning runs. Historically the herring ran to Whitman's Pond, and beyond up Mill River and Swamp River, to Great Pond.[8] River herring commonly refers to two species, Blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) and alewife ((Alosa pseudoharengus)). Today, 1/2 million river herring and Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) run up the river each year to spawn (although they are not able to ascend the fish ladders and only utilize the tidal portions of the river).[7][9][10]

Several nesting platforms were constructed and are in use by the Osprey, or fish hawk, (Pandion haliaetus), which has white under parts and a wingspread of 5 to 6 ft (152 to 183 cm). It feeds almost exclusively on live fish including flounder, herring and perch, and is usually seen hovering over the water, into which it plunges feet first to grasp its prey.[8]

Recreation

The Weymouth back River offers an outstanding canoe and kayak paddling resource within the Greater Boston Metropolitan Area. Harbormasters from Hingham and Weymouth established the river as a no-wake zone, with no water-skiing and no personal watercraft allowed south of the Route 3A Bridge.[11] A number of parks and reservations line the river's shores, including Abigail Adams Park, Stodder's Neck, Great Esker Park (Weymouth), and Bare Cove Park (Hingham).

Bicycling and hiking is popular along both sides of the Back River on the Back River Trail which connects multiple sites of environmental and historical interest.[8]

References

U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Weymouth Back River
"Mill River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
"Weymouth Great Pond". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
"Old Swamp River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
"Whitmans Pond". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
"Fresh River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
Ed Baker (2007-10-03). "Wildlife thrives in Back River". Weymouth News. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
ICON parks design (2005-08-08). Back River Trail Master Plan and Design Guidelines (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 2010-08-02.
"Bare Cove Park Wildlife Habitat" (PDF). Hastings Corporation. Retrieved 2012-03-22.
"UMass River Herring Video - Weymouth Back". UMass Amherst: Department of Environmental Conservation. 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
"Weymouth Back River, Hingham, Massachusetts Water Trails". Trails.com. Retrieved 2010-08-02.

External links

Rivers of Massachusetts by drainage system

Atlantic Ocean

Buzzards Bay	Acushnet River Agawam River Back River Copicut River Crooked River Mattapoisett River Nasketucket River Paskamanset River Pocasset River Sippican River Slocums River Wankinco River Westport River Weweantic River
Nantucket Sound	Bass River Bumps River Childs River Coonamesset River Mashpee River Mitchell River Oyster Pond River Popponesset Creek Quashnet River Santuit River
Others	Tiasquam River

Gulf of Maine

Cape Cod Bay	Bluefish River Eel River Herring River Jones River Little Pamet River Pamet River Town Brook
Massachusetts Bay	Aberjona River Alewife Brook Canton River Charles River Chelsea Creek Cochato River Fore River Fresh River Indian Head River Malden River Millers River Monatiquot River Muddy River Mystic River Neponset River North River Saugus River Stony Brook (Boston) Stony Brook (Waltham) Stop River Weir River Weymouth Back River
Merrimack River Watershed	Artichoke River Assabet River Back River Beaver Brook Cochichewick River Concord River Little River Merrimack River Nashua River Nissitissit River North Nashua River Phillips Brook Powwow River Quinapoxet River Salmon Brook Shawsheen River Souhegan River South Branch Souhegan River South Nashua River Spicket River Squannacook River Stillwater River Sudbury River Trout Brook Vine Brook Whitman River
Others	Annisquam River Blackwater River Eagle Hill River Egypt River Ipswich River Jericho Creek Roger Island River Rowley River Skug River

Long Island Sound

Connecticut River Watershed	Burnshirt River Chapel Brook Chicopee River Connecticut River Cranberry River Deerfield River East Brookfield River Farmington River Fall River Five Mile River Green River Hubbard River Manhan River Mill River (Northampton) Mill River (Springfield) Millers River Mirey Brook North Branch Millers River North Branch Westfield River North River Otter River Quaboag River Scantic River Seven Mile River Tarbell Brook Ware River Westfield River
Housatonic River Watershed	Housatonic River Konkapot River Schenob Brook Umpachene River
Thames River Watershed	French River Quinebaug River

Narragansett Bay

Mount Hope Bay (Taunton River Watershed)	Assonet River Canoe River Cedar Swamp River Cocasset River Cotley River Forge River Hockomock River Matfield River Mill River Nemasket River Poor Meadow Brook Quequechan River Rumford River Salisbury Plain River Satucket River Segreganset River Shumatuscacant River Snake River Taunton River Three Mile River Town River Wading River Winnetuxet River
Providence River Watershed	Abbott Run Blackstone River Bungay River Chockalog River Mill River Mumford River Peters River Quinsigamond River Sevenmile River Tannery River Ten Mile River West River Wilde River
Others	Barrington River Cole River Coles Brook Kickamuit River Lees River Palmer River Runnins River

Upper New York Bay

Hudson River Watershed	Hoosic River Kinderhook Creek

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