Jones River facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jones River |
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| Country | United States |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Silver Lake |
| River mouth | Kingston Bay |
| Length | 7 mi (11 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 30 sq mi (78 km2) |
The Jones River is a river about 7.5 miles (12 km) long in Kingston, Massachusetts. It drains an area of about 30 square miles (78 km2). The river starts at Silver Lake and flows into Kingston Bay. More than half of the land around the river is forest, and some areas have houses.
The Pilgrims named the river after Christopher Jones. He was the captain of the Mayflower ship in 1620.
Sometimes, a dam on Forge Pond (called the Forge Pond Dam) stops water from flowing into the river from Silver Lake. Silver Lake is supposed to provide about 20% of the river's water. When less water flows, the river moves slower and gets warmer. It also has less water and doesn't clean out dirt as well. These changes make it harder for fish that travel between fresh and salt water, and other river animals, to live there.
Helping the River and Fish
The Elm Street Dam in Kingston was removed in 2019. Before that, another dam on Wapping Road was removed in 2011. Now, the Jones River flows freely for about 7.5 miles (12 km) from the Lake Street Dam.
A new, temporary fish ladder was built on Forge Pond in 2019. This means fish can now swim from the ocean all the way up to Forge Pond and Silver Lake. This is the first time they could do this in hundreds of years! Fish like alewife, herring, sea-run brook trout, and eels will benefit from these changes.
The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife also adds trout to the Jones River. This helps keep the fish population healthy.
River Branches
The Jones River has several smaller streams that flow into it. These are called tributaries. Some of them include Jones River Brook, Furnace Brook, Pine Brook, Russell Brook, Smelt Brook, Halls (also called Stony) Brook, and Fountainhead Brook.
Photos
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The river winds through the marsh near where it meets the bay.
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This part of the river was once held back by a dam.
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The river flows near the intersection of Routes 3A and 80.
