The Metedeconk River of southeastern New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 flows from its North Branch

North Branch Metedeconk River

The North Branch Metedeconk River is a tributary of the Metedeconk River in southeastern New Jersey in the United States.Like many area streets, waterways and towns, Metedeconk is the original word or phrase used by the pre-European peoples of the area, the Lenape.-See also:*List of rivers of New...

 (20 miles/32 km long) and its South Branch

South Branch Metedeconk River

The South Branch Metedeconk River is a tributary of the Metedeconk River in southeastern New Jersey in the United States.Like many area streets, waterways and towns, Metedeconk is the original word or phrase used by the pre-European peoples of the area, the Lenape.-See also:*List of rivers of New...

 (15 miles/24 km long) to their confluence at Forge Pond, where the river then widens (up to just over 1 mile/1.6 km) and flows southeast for 6 miles/9.7 km into the Barnegat Bay

Barnegat Bay

Barnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles long, along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is a long barrier peninsula, as well as by the north end of Long Beach Island...

. It contains both fresh and salt-water portions.

Like many area streets, waterways and towns, Metedeconk is the original word or phrase used by the pre-European peoples of the area, the Lenape

Lenape

The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...

.
At its most eastern face the river meets Island Beach, a populated but narrow strip (less than 1 mile (1.6 km wide) of New Jersey separating the Metedeconk from a direct connection with the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.