Water Passage Where The Tide Meets A River

4. The right portion of Figure 1 describes general characteristics of the ocean bottom in coastal areas that are tectonically passive (not near a plate boundary). The left

A fourth type of ecosystem is the coastal prairie. Coastal prairies are found along the gulf coast

The lower shore, or low tide zone, is mostly submerged underwater. The most noticeable difference of this sub-region is the large diversity of different types of seaweeds. Organisms found in this zone are generally less adapted to periods of dryness. The creatures are generally the largest and most complex organisms on the shore as there are more sources of food as marine vegetation flourishes.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. About half of the Bay’s water volume comes from salt water from the Atlantic Ocean. The other half drains into the Bay from its enormous 64,000-square-mile watershed. Estuaries are among the most productive environments on earth, creating more organic matter each year than similarly-sized forests and agricultural areas. Estuaries also provide diverse habitats for wildlife and aquatic life, protect our communities against flooding, reduce pollution of waterways, and support local economies through commercial and recreational activities. Thousands of species

be due to the fact that on either side of the headland are two bays or

An estuary system is “the resulting collisions of sweet and salt-fresh river water flowing seaward and ocean water inland.” It is an aquatic system where salt and freshwater are constantly mixing. An estuary system is one of most active systems of the planet; it is a hybrid system that contains the best and worst qualities of the ocean, river, and lake systems it conglomerates. Estuaries are unique in nature because of their ability to be the most productive ecosystem on the entire planet; humans have attempted and failed to reach the productivity that estuaries naturally grant. There productivity lies it the constant change that occurs from the conflicting flows of fresh and ocean water. Ocean and freshwater are measured largely based on salinity, or the level of parts of salt per thousand. Ocean water usually

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed is the largest one in the Atlantic Seaboard of North America; it covers 64,000 square miles of the United States, starting from the bottom of New York and flowing all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia. It encompasses the entire District of Columbia and parts

The river plays an important role in North Carolina’s estuaries found in the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound as it dumps its nutrient-dense waters into the estuaries to feed the system. One of only three rivers to be totally contained within North Carolina’s borders, the river has been noted to have the widest mouth in the continental

The word Chesapeake, although there is some scholarly dispute, likely means “Great Bay of Shells” or “Great Shellfish Bay” in the language of the Algonquian Native Americans (“Oyster History”). This translation is appropriate and accurate to anyone familiar with the Chesapeake Bay and its rich history of oysters. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States with over 150 rivers and streams flow into its basin. It measures roughly 200 miles in length, 3.4 to 35 miles in width and stretches across six states. The bay is home to over 2,700 plant and animal species, making it one of the most complex and productive estuary systems in the world (“Facts and Figures”). However, one species of animal stands out above the rest in its value and legacy to the Chesapeake region: the eastern oyster.

The Bay is fed by 48 major rivers and 100 small tributaries draining a 64,000 square mile basin (“Geological History” n.d.). The Bay has a width of four miles near Aberdeen, Maryland to thirty miles near Cape Charles, Virginia (Chesapeake Bay Program n.d.). The average depth of the bay is 21 feet with troughs as deep as 174 feet deep (Chesapeake Bay Program n.d.).

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It is located on the eastern seaboard, with the upper portion of the bay in Maryland and the lower portion in Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay is vital to the ecology and economy of both Virginia and Maryland. There are more than one-hundred-fifty rivers that flow into the bay. Within the Chesapeake Bay, there are around 2,700 species that live there. Needless to say, this is a very important ecosystem that needs to be protected. The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act does just that.

B) The afore mentioned estuary characteristic is more specifically called a lagoon. This means that it is a body of water separated from the ocean by barrier islands and because of this has limited exchange with the ocean through inlets. What makes the Indian River Lagoon so special is the fact that it is North America’s most diverse estuary. There are more than 2,200 different species of animals and 2,100 species of plants living within it.

In the Bay of Fundy the incoming tidal waters can overpower the flow of estuaries and rivers. This extraordinary phenomenon is known as a tidal bore and occurs twice daily. At high tide, a massive volume of seawater floods out of the Bay of Fundy into the rivers which feed it. The narrowing riverbanks force the soaring waters in a amazing surge and often a visible standing wave, in some cases 1 meter (3 feet) tall! In addition, 3 to 3.5 meters (10-12 feet) high rapids are generated in the wake of the roaring and swirling tidal water as it charges upstream at speeds near 15 kilometers per hour (10 miles per hour)!

estuary. An estuary abounds with plant and animal life. The Big River Lagoon is an estuary that is over 150 miles long on the Louisiana coast. It is an extremely diverse area hosting thousands of species of plants and animals. The relationships of the Big River Lagoon ecosystem are illustrated in the food web and food pyramid below

One of the organisms I have chosen, the Red Waratah anemone (Actinia tenebrosa) was found in the mid tide zone and the low tide zone. This anemone is the main prey of the predator Grey side-gilled sea slug, which is the other organism I have chosen,