Cards Pond

Cards Pond
Cards Pond
Location	South Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island
Group	Salt Ponds of Rhode Island
Coordinates	41°22′25″N 71°34′03″W
Type	saline
Primary inflows	precipitation, groundwater
Primary outflows	to sea, breaches 8-10 times a year
Catchment area	1,979.76 acres (8.0118 km^2)
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	40.95 acres (16.57 ha)
Average depth	1.3 ft (0.40 m)

Cards Pond, or Card Pond, is a coastal lagoon in South Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States.[1]

Coastal lagoon

It is one of nine coastal lagoons (often referred to as "salt ponds") in southern Rhode Island.[2][3] According to the Rhode Island Sea Grant program, "[i]ts breachway is only intermittently open to the sea", and it receives large quantities of freshwater from Moonstone Stream; only two other salt ponds, Point Judith and Greenhill, have significant streams flowing into them. It is partially within the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge,[1] which is inhabited by over 360 species of animals.[4]

Watershed

Cards Pond's watershed covers 1,979.76 acres (801.18 ha), of which 59.06 acres (23.90 ha) is occupied by water; the pond itself has a surface area of 40.95 acres (16.57 ha), while other, smaller bodies of water account for the other 18.11 acres (7.33 ha).^[citation needed] The pond averages 1.3 ft (0.40 m) deep, and has a salinity level of approximately 4 parts per thousand, too low to sustain the growth of eelgrass.[2][5] It has been classified as "non-tidal except when breached by storms".[5] The water directly receives about 51,196,553 gallons of precipitation per year, and at least 1,592,165 gallons of daily groundwater flow.[6] Cards Pond, like others in the region, was "formed after the recession of the glaciers 12,000 years ago".[7] Nests of piping plovers, which are federally designated as a threatened species, have been documented within the watershed.[3]

Flooding

The land surrounding Cards Pond is low-lying, and particularly vulnerable to severe flooding. However, compared to other ponds in the region, damage from future storms is projected to be minimal.[3] It typically breaches around 9 times each year, spilling into the Block Island Sound. When the pond threatens to flood a nearby road or surrounding houses, a breach is intentionally created by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.[8]

See also

• List of lakes in Rhode Island
• Geography of Rhode Island

References

1. "Salt Ponds of Rhode Island" (PDF). Rhode Island Sea Grant. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
2. S.W. Nixon and B. A. Buckley (2007). "Nitrogen Inputs to Rhode Island Coastal Salt – Too Much of a Good Thing" (PDF). Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
3. "Rhode Island's Salt Pond Region: A Special Area Management Plan" (PDF). Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
4. "Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
5. "Cards Pond General Features Data". Rhode Island South Shore Sea Grant. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
6. "Cards Pond Freshwater Input Data". Rhode Island South Shore Sea Grant. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
7. "What is a Salt Pond?". Salt Ponds Coalition. Archived from the original on 2010-10-09. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
8. Donita Naylor (March 11, 2008). "Cards Pond spills seaward". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-11.

External links

• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Card Pond
• Card Pond map