 The river is shallow running through old glacial deposits of sand and gravel, and hosts a major New England herring run.Red maple swamps border the river along its headwaters and at its mouth where it runs through private property and Town land, while along the lower river it is largely flanked by commercial cranberry bogs that run to the rivers edge.Long ago nearly the entire river may have been bordered by red maple or white cedar swamp when the Wampanoag fished for herring.