Great Egg Harbor River
| Great Egg Harbor River | |
|---|---|
Shore of the Great Egg Harbor River between Penny Pot and Weymouth Furnace | |
National Wild and Scenic River | |
| Type | Scenic, Recreational |
| Designated | October 27, 1992 |
The Great Egg Harbor River is a 55.0-mile-long (88.5 km) river in South Jersey. It is one of the major rivers that traverse the largely pristine Pinelands, draining 308 square miles (800 km2) of wetlands into the Atlantic Ocean at Great Egg Harbor, from which it takes its name.
Great Egg Harbor (and thus the river) got its name from Dutch explorer Cornelius Jacobsen May. In 1614, Mey came upon the inlet to the Great Egg Harbor River. The meadows were so covered with shorebird and waterfowl eggs that he called it "Eyren Haven" (Egg Harbor). Today, the National Park Service considers it one of the top 10 places in North America for birding.
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