An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water along the coast where freshwater from rivers and streams
meets and mixes with salt water from the ocean. Estuaries and the lands surrounding them are places of
transition from land to sea and freshwater to salt water. Although influenced by the tides, they are protected
from the full force of ocean waves, winds, and storms by such land forms as barrier islands or peninsulas.
Estuarine environments are among the most productive on earth, creating more organic matter each year than comparably-sized areas of forest, grassland, or agricultural land. The tidal, sheltered waters of estuaries also support unique communities of plants and animals especially adapted for life at the margin of the sea.
Many different habitat types are found in and around estuaries, including shallow open waters, freshwater and salt marshes, swamps, sandy beaches, mud and sand flats, rocky shores, oyster reefs, mangrove forests, river deltas, tidal pools, and seagrasses.
meets and mixes with salt water from the ocean. Estuaries and the lands surrounding them are places of
transition from land to sea and freshwater to salt water. Although influenced by the tides, they are protected
from the full force of ocean waves, winds, and storms by such land forms as barrier islands or peninsulas.
Estuarine environments are among the most productive on earth, creating more organic matter each year than comparably-sized areas of forest, grassland, or agricultural land. The tidal, sheltered waters of estuaries also support unique communities of plants and animals especially adapted for life at the margin of the sea.
Many different habitat types are found in and around estuaries, including shallow open waters, freshwater and salt marshes, swamps, sandy beaches, mud and sand flats, rocky shores, oyster reefs, mangrove forests, river deltas, tidal pools, and seagrasses.