The Blackwater River is a 25.8 miles (41.5 km) saltwater river in Dorchester County, Maryland

Dorchester County, Maryland

Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware, to the east, and the Chesapeake...

. It has many twists and bends and flows through Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1933 as a waterfowl sanctuary for birds migrating along the critical migration highway called the Atlantic Flyway...

. It runs through Robbins, Maryland, where there is a boat ramp called Shorter's Wharf and a bridge.

The river does not rise anywhere because the water is sea level from its mouth at Fishing Bay

Fishing Bay

Fishing Bay is a large saltwater bay in Maryland bordered by to the east Elliot's Island, Maryland and the rest of south Dorchester County, Maryland to the west. It is a part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed....

to its landward end at a large unnamed swamp in the Blackwater Refuge. The river can have freshwater species in spring and summer like catfish or bass. The river also has saltwater perch and other saltwater fish that prefer upper parts of rivers. In the winter the river is used for waterfowl hunting.