Matawan Creek
| Matawan Creek | |
|---|---|
Looking towards the creek's mouth as seen from Front Street in Keyport
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| Counties | Monmouth |
| Basin features | |
| Main source | Bakers Brook Marlboro Township 40°24′57″N 74°13′56″W / 40.41583°N 74.23222°W |
| River mouth |
Keyport Harbor Keyport, New Jersey 0 feet (0 m) 40°26′20″N 74°12′18″W / 40.43889°N 74.20500°WCoordinates: 40°26′20″N 74°12′18″W / 40.43889°N 74.20500°W |
| Basin size | 1,100 sq mi (700,000 acres) |
| Population | ~1.2 million |
| Tributaries |
|
| Waterbodies | Lake Lefferts |
Matawan Creek is a creek and partially a tidal inlet of Raritan Bay. It lies in Monmouth County, New Jersey across from Staten Island, New York.
Matawan Creek's main flow begins as Bakers Brook in Marlboro Township, Monmouth County, north of the intersection of Tennent and Woolleytown Roads. From this point it flows northward through Marlboro and Aberdeen Townships to a point near the Middlesex County line, where it turns in a northeasterly direction. Birch Swamp Brook enters from the right; below this confluence is the impoundment, Lake Lefferts. The section of Bakers Brook in Aberdeen Township is also known as Matawan Brook.
Lake Lefferts lies in Aberdeen Township and Matawan Borough and passes under County Route 516 and New Jersey Route 34. Below the dam at Ravine Drive Matawan Creek becomes a tidal estuary, meandering through a salt marsh to its mouth. Here it receives the flow of Gravelly Brook, Clapboard Creek and Mohingson Creek and reenters Aberdeen Township. This section was formerly navigable to commercial shipping.
Between the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Route 35 the creek becomes navigable for small private craft and some residences fronting upon the creek have private docks. Downstream of Route 35 are several marinas, although since both the bridge at Route 35 and that at County Route 6 have a low clearance, vessels with masts must remain downstream of County Route 6. From Route 35 to the mouth Matawan Creek forms the boundary between Aberdeen Township and Keyport Borough. There are no further bridges downstream of County Route 6 and Matawan Creek empties into Keyport Harbor, an arm of Raritan Bay.
...
Wikipedia