Coastal and Oceanic Landform (22.Estuary)

                                                                                                                                         Back to Coastal and Oceanic Landform

• Most estuaries were formed during the Holocene epoch by the flooding of river-eroded.

• An Estuary is a fully enclosed body of water along the coast.

• Freshwater from;

                                rivers

                               streams

• It  meets &  mixes with salt water from the ocean.

• Estuaries transition from land - sea.

•  They are protected from;

                                                -Ocean waves

                                                -Winds

                                                -Storms

River Nith estuary

Estuarine  are;

                    1. The most productive on earth.

                    2.Creating more organic matter each year than comparably-sized areas of forest.

                    3.Grassland

                   4.Agricultural land.

River Exe estuary

• About 60% of the world's population living along estuaries and the coast.

• Estuaries support unique communities of plants &  animals especially adapted for life at the margin of the sea.

• Different habitat  found in estuaries, including 

                               shallow open waters

                               freshwater and salt marshes

                               swamps

                               sandy beaches

                               mud

                               sand flats

                               rocky shores

                               oyster reefs

                               mangrove forests

                               river deltas

                               tidal pools

                               seagrasses

•  Estuaries provide places for recreational activities, scientific study, &  aesthetic enjoyment.

• Thousands of species of birds, mammals, fish, wildlife depend on estuarine habitats as places to live, feed, and reproduce.

•  estuaries provide ideal areas for migratory birds to rest and re-fuel during their long journeys.

• Because many species of fish and wildlife rely on the sheltered waters of estuaries as protected spawning places, estuaries are often called the "nurseries of the sea."

Río de la Plata estuary

• Estuaries uplands carries;

                                   sediments

                                   nutrients

                                 pollutants to estuaries. 

amazon estuary

• The  filtration process creates cleaner and clearer water, which benefits both people and marine life.

•  Wetland plants and soils  act as natural buffers between the land and ocean.

•  Absorbing flood waters and dissipating storm surges.

Classification on geomorpology;

1.Drowned river valleys

2.Lagoon type

3.Bar built type

4.Fjoord type

Estuary of the Klamath River in Northern California

Classification on water circulation

1.Salt wedge

2.Partially mixed

3.Vertically homogenous

4.Inverse

5.Intermittent

Estuary mouth