[2] It is fresh water for the first eight miles (13 km) and then becomes an estuary for the last two, as it encounters the tidal effects of Great South Bay.

The river formed the western boundary of the massive Manor St. George under William "Tangier" Smith who in the 17th century owned most of modern-day Brookhaven south of the Sunrise Highway.

In 1967 Art Cooley, a teacher at Bellport High School, noting a decline in the osprey population on the river was one of the founders of the Environmental Defense Fund which was to lead the fight to ban DDT.

Southaven County Park encompasses upstream parts of the river and special regulations trout fishing can be accessed through them.

In recent years, wild turkeys have been re-introduced into this park, and have re-populated many of the surrounding areas.