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An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. [1] Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone.
Model of Estuary. The residence time of water is a key variable determining the health of an estuary, particularly from human-induced stresses.Rapid flushing ensures that there is insufficient time for sediment accumulation or dissolved oxygen depletion in the estuary; thus a well flushed estuary is intrinsically more robust than a poorly flushed estuary. [1]
Drakes Estero, the landing spot of Francis Drake on the coast of North America in 1579 during his circumnavigation of the world is a National Historic Landmark. [13] [14] A historical marker has been placed on Drakes Beach near the Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center and monuments to Drake have been erected at the Drake's Cove landing site.
A marine coastal ecosystem is a marine ecosystem which occurs where the land meets the ocean. Worldwide there is about 620,000 kilometres (390,000 mi) of coastline. Coastal habitats extend to the margins of the continental shelves, occupying about 7 percent of the ocean surface area.
The Chesapeake Bay (/ ˈ tʃ ɛ s ə p iː k / CHESS-ə-peek) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and the state of Delaware.
In 1792, Robert Gray, an American fur trader, crossed the bar in his ship the Columbia Redeviva and became the first white settler to enter the estuary, subsequently naming the estuary Gray's Bay and the river Columbia River. During the 20th century, there existed some ambiguity with regards to who discovered the estuary, though today it is ...
The Brazos River Estuary is the second of three minor estuaries located on the upper-mid Texas coast in Brazoria County between Matagorda Bay and Galveston Bay. It is a riverine estuary system consisting only of the lower reaches of the Brazos River, with no associated bay. [44]
A bay can be the estuary of a river, such as the Chesapeake Bay, an estuary of the Susquehanna River. [2] Bays may also be nested within each other; for example, James Bay is an arm of Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada. Some large bays, such as the Bay of Bengal and Hudson Bay, have varied marine geology. [citation needed]