Maschaug Pond

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox lake | name = Maschaug Pond | image = Maschaug Pond.jpg | caption = seen from the Ocean View Highway | image_bathymetry = |pushpin_map=Rhode Island | caption_bathymetry = | location = Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island | coords = {{Coord|41.3187110|-71.8309015|region:US-RI_type:waterbody_source:gnis|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | type = coastal lagoon, brackish | inflow = ''precipitation'', ''groundwater'' | outflow = | catchment = {{convert|392.57|acres|ha|abbr=on}} | basin_countries = United States | length = | width = | area = {{convert|34.63|acres|ha|abbr=on}} | depth = {{convert|6.89|ft|m|abbr=on}} | max-depth = | volume = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = | islands = | sections = | cities = | frozen = | group = Salt Ponds of Rhode Island }} '''Maschaug Pond''' is a coastal lagoon in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States.<ref name="salt ponds">{{cite web|title=Salt Ponds of Rhode Island |publisher=Rhode Island Sea Grant |accessdate=2009-05-25 |url=http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/bookstore/saltpond.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517014016/http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/bookstore/saltpond.pdf |archivedate=May 17, 2008 }}</ref> Located at {{Coord|41.3187110|-71.8309015|region:US-RI_type:waterbody_source:gnis|format=dms|name=Maschaug Pond}}, it is one of nine such lagoons (often referred to as "salt ponds") in southern Rhode Island.<ref name="nitrogen">{{cite web|author=S.W. Nixon and B. A. Buckley|title=Nitrogen Inputs to Rhode Island Coastal Salt – Too Much of a Good Thing|year=2007|publisher=Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management|accessdate=2009-05-25|url=http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/benviron/water/permits/isds/pdfs/spnload.pdf|archive-date=2009-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525091525/http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/benviron/water/permits/isds/pdfs/spnload.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> A "small, brackish pond",<ref name="salt ponds"/> it is not permanently connected to the Block Island Sound, and is largely bordered by the Misquamicut Club golf course.<ref>{{cite news|author=Peter Lord|title=Shifting sands|date=January 9, 2005|newspaper=The Providence Journal|accessdate=2009-06-11|url=http://www.projo.com/fishing/content/projo_20050109_ninigret.a4308.html}}</ref> Nests of the piping plover, which has been federally designated as a threatened species, have been documented within the watershed.<ref name="hurricane"/>

Its watershed covers {{convert|392.57|acres|ha|abbr=on}}; {{convert|52.08|acres|ha|abbr=on}} is occupied by water. Maschaug itself has a surface area of {{convert|34.63|acres|ha|abbr=on}}, while nearby Little Maschaug Pond is {{convert|11.69|acres|ha|abbr=on}}. The pond averages {{convert|6.89|ft|m|abbr=on}} deep, and has a salinity level of approximately 7 parts per thousand, too low to sustain the growth of eelgrass.<ref name="nitrogen"/><ref name="stats"/> The pond is non-tidal, except when breached by storms.<ref name="stats">{{cite web|title=Maschaug Pond General Features Data |publisher=Rhode Island South Shore Sea Grant |accessdate=2009-06-11 |url=http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/coasts/maschaug/maschaugGFD.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517081119/http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/coasts/maschaug/maschaugGFD.html |archivedate=May 17, 2006 }}</ref> The water directly receives about 57,219,222 gallons of precipitation per year, though groundwater flow is unknown. No rivers or streams flow into the pond.<ref>{{cite web|title=Maschaug Pond Freshwater Input Data |publisher=Rhode Island South Shore Sea Grant |accessdate=2009-06-11 |url=http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/coasts/maschaug/maschaugFID.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716235118/http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/coasts/maschaug/maschaugFID.html |archivedate=July 16, 2011 }}</ref> Maschaug Pond, like others in the region, was "formed after the recession of the glaciers 12,000 years ago".<ref>{{cite web|title=What is a Salt Pond?|publisher=Salt Ponds Coalition|accessdate=2009-06-11|url=http://www.saltpondscoalition.org/pond%20profiles.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009221848/http://www.saltpondscoalition.org/pond%20profiles.html|archivedate=2010-10-09}}</ref>

As a result of certain environmental conditions, including low elevation of surrounding land and dense residential and commercial development, Maschaug Pond is considered particularly susceptible to storm surge. It is projected that during a future hurricane, Winnapaug and Maschaug Ponds will likely be significantly changed.<ref name="hurricane">{{cite web|author=|title=Rhode Island's Salt Pond Region: A Special Area Management Plan|year=|publisher=Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council|accessdate=2009-06-11|url=http://www.crmc.ri.gov/regulations/SAMP_SaltPond.pdf}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Rhode Island}} *List of lakes in Rhode Island *Geography of Rhode Island

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{gnis|1217589|Maschaug Pond}} *{{EPA waterbody|RI0010043E-03|2008=Y}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110716235040/http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/coasts/maschaug/maschaugmap.jpg Maschaug Pond map] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110716235121/http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/coasts/publications/spdirectory/3maschaug.pdf Water quality]

Category:Lagoons of Washington County, Rhode Island Category:Westerly, Rhode Island