# Maschaug Pond

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{{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](/source/Westerly%2C_Rhode_Island), [Washington County, Rhode Island](/source/Washington_County%2C_Rhode_Island)
 | coords = {{Coord|41.3187110|-71.8309015|region:US-RI_type:waterbody_source:gnis|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
 | type = coastal [lagoon](/source/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](/source/Salt_Ponds_of_Rhode_Island)
}}
'''Maschaug Pond''' is a coastal [lagoon](/source/lagoon) in [Westerly](/source/Westerly%2C_Rhode_Island), [Washington County, Rhode Island](/source/Washington_County%2C_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](/source/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](/source/piping_plover), which has been federally designated as a [threatened species](/source/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](/source/parts_per_thousand), too low to sustain the growth of [eelgrass](/source/Zostera).<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](/source/storm_surge). It is projected that during a future [hurricane](/source/tropical_cyclone), [Winnapaug](/source/Winnapaug_Pond) 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](/source/List_of_lakes_in_Rhode_Island)
*[Geography of Rhode Island](/source/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]

{{RI salt ponds}}
{{Waterbodies of Rhode Island}}

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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Maschaug Pond](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maschaug_Pond) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maschaug_Pond?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.