Point Judith Pond is a shallow, four-mile (6 km)-long salt body of water lying behind the barrier beaches and sand dunes that form Point Judith

Point Judith

Point Judith is a village and a small cape, on the coast of Narragansett, Rhode Island, on the western side of Narragansett Bay where it opens out onto Rhode Island Sound....

 Harbor, which lies immediately west of Point Judith in Narragansett, Rhode Island

Narragansett, Rhode Island

Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 15,868 at the 2010 census, but there is a greater population in the summer. The nickname for the town is "Gansett". The town of Narragansett occupies a narrow strip of land running along the eastern bank...

 at the southwestern tip of Narragansett Bay

Narragansett Bay

Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...

. Located about 14 miles (22.5 km) southwest of Newport Harbor

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

, Point Judith Pond forms a partial border between the communities of Narragansett and South Kingstown

South Kingstown, Rhode Island

South Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 30,639 at the 2010 census.South Kingstown includes the villages of Kingston, West Kingston, Wakefield, Peace Dale, Snug Harbor, Tuckertown, East Matunuck, Matunuck, Green Hill, and Perryville. Peace...

, and is connected to Point Judith Harbor by a narrow waterway that cuts through the beaches and sandy shoreline. This waterway is used by a large fishing fleet and local and transient recreational craft, and the harbor handles a large amount of passenger traffic, primarily during the summer. Year-round ferry service is available between Point Judith and Block Island

Block Island

Block Island is part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately south of the coast of Rhode Island, east of Montauk Point on Long Island, and is separated from the Rhode Island mainland by Block Island Sound. The United States Census Bureau defines Block...

.

Original work in Point Judith Harbor dates back to 1905. Work in the present project, completed in 1950 (except where noted), consists of:

• A 6970 feet (2,124.5 m)-long main stone breakwater
  Breakwater (structure)
  Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
  
   in Point Judith Harbor, situated about 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) from shore. This breakwater, constructed roughly in a "V" shape, and the two others mentioned below were built in 1914.

• A 2240 feet (682.8 m)-long stone breakwater extending southwesterly from Point Judith. Between the breakwaters there is a gap of about 1200 feet (365.8 m), which allows boating craft to enter the harbor.

• A 3640 feet (1,109.5 m)-long stone breakwater extending southerly from the entrance to Point Judith Pond. Between this breakwater and the main breakwater there is a gap of about 1500 feet (457.2 m).

• A 15 feet (4.6 m)-deep channel, 150 feet (45.7 m) wide, that runs along the east side of the west breakwater and extends past the entrance to Point Judith Pond and the state-built jetties at the Port of Galilee. The channel ends on the west side of the pond at a point 100 feet (30.5 m) north of the State Pier in Jerusalem.

• A 15 feet (4.6 m)-deep channel, 200 feet (61 m) wide, that branches off from the aforementioned channel at a point past the state built jetties and extends up the east side of Point Judith Pond. When originally constructed in 1950, the channel ended about 100 feet (30.5 m) north of the State Pier in Galilee. In 1977, the channel was lengthened by 1400 feet (426.7 m) and widened to dimensions varying between 150-640 feet. This most recent work was completed as a small project under Section 107 of the Continuing Authorities Program.

• A 10 feet (3 m)-deep anchorage, 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) in area, located on the pond's westerly side, immediately inside the pond's entrance.

• A 4.5 miles (7.2 km)-long channel, six feet deep and 100 feet (30.5 m) wide, starting at a point 100 feet (30.5 m) north of the State Pier in Jerusalem and running generally along the west side of the pond, ending in the Wakefield
  Wakefield, Rhode Island
  Wakefield is a village in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, and the commercial center of the town. Together with the village of Peace Dale, it is treated by the U.S. Census as a component of the census designated place identified as Wakefield-Peacedale, Rhode Island. South Kingston was...
  
   village of South Kingstown.

• A six-foot-deep anchor
  Anchor
  An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
  
  age, 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) in area, at the end of the 4.5 miles (7.2 km)-long channel in Wakefield.

The removal of two shoals to a depth of 18 feet (5.5 m). One shoal was removed from the 10 feet (3 m)-deep anchorage area, and the second from the east side of the Point Judith Pond entrance. This work was completed in 1921.

• Various works to help trap and retain sand at the entrance to the pond.

External links

• Rhode Island South Shore Sea Grant Project: Point Judith Pond