Weymouth Back River

The Weymouth Back River, sometimes called Back River, is a short, primarily tidal river in Hingham and Weymouth, Massachusetts, about convert|10|mi|km south of Boston. It arises from a number of tributaries in ponds and swamps, most notably Whitman's Pond, flows northward, and empties into Hingham Bay.

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 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, convert|200|ft|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 convert|15|ft|m.

Today the river is centerpiece to a fine natural area, offering excellent canoe and kayak paddling, and home to about 150 species of birds in its salt marshes and woods. It is part of the Weymouth Back River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (about 950 acres), of which some convert|180|acre|km2 are tidal waters. 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).

References

* [http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.asp?trailid=CGN017-211 Weymouth Back River]
* [http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/maps/weymouth.gifMap]
* [http://www.weymouth.ma.us/plan/backriverreport.pdf Back River Trail Master Plan]