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Estuaries Defined
An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water (such as bays, lagoons, sounds or sloughs) where two different bodies of water meet and mix.
Crash! Thunder rumbles overhead. Raindrops fall, collect in a twisty, turning stream and dash downhill. Salmon flash and splash, struggling against the tugging current to spawn upstream. Fresh water swirls over a mossy green log, then flows into a broad, sweeping river. The river swells from incoming creeks and streams following a well-worn channel. Paddling ducks dash into a stand of cattails seeking shelter. Off in the distance, a lone seagull cries out. The river flow slows down, churning and twisting in its banks. This wide water road carries fresh water to its final destination – the coastal inlets and bays of a salty sea. Estuaries are places where rivers meet the sea!
An estuary begins where fresh river water flows into coastal bays and inlets. These areas of transition between the land and the sea are driven by tides, like the sea, but sheltered from the full force of ocean wind and waves, like a river. When fresh water meets salty seawater, both liquids combine turning into a brackish mixture. Estuaries can be called interior bays, lagoons, sounds or sloughs.
But, remember... estuaries are not only found where fresh water from rivers and salt water from the ocean meet and mix. Estuaries can also be found where fresh water from rivers or streams and chemically distinct water of a large lake meet and mix. These estuaries are called freshwater estuaries. |
Last Updated on: 08-11-2008
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