Wreck Pond
Wreck Pond is a coastal freshwater tidal pond located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. It is surrounded by Wall Township and the boroughs of Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, and Sea Girt. The pond was originally connected to the sea by a small inlet and got its name because sailors would mistake it, in the dark, for the Manasquan Inlet, which is further south. This was alleviated by the building of the Sea Girt Lighthouse and stopped by the eventual filling in of the inlet.
The pond is the center of the Wreck Pond Watershed, which covers about 31 km2 in eastern Monmouth County. Its primary feeder streams are Wreck Pond Brook, Hurleys Pond Brook and Hannabrand Brook. Other bodies of water in the watershed include: Hurleys Pond, Osbornes Pond, Albert Pond and Old Mill Pond. It emptied into the Atlantic Ocean through an outfall pipe which regulates the tidal flow in and out of the pond. After Hurricane Sandy, it was discovered that the ocean had restored a natural inlet. An expanded and gated culvert was completed in 2016.
The lower reaches of the pond remain an important spawning ground for anadromous fish species including alewife herrings.