coastal environment
Where land meets ocean
A coastal environment is the zone where land meets sea, including beaches, estuaries, tidal flats, and adjacent waters.
The term appears in ecology, urban planning, and environmental policy discussions: Coastal environments are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.
It encompasses both the physical landscape and the organisms that inhabit it.
- seagrassSaltwater flowering plant
- marine debrisWaste in sea environments
- beachSandy waterside margin
- sand dunesWind-sculpted sediment formations
- duneWind-formed sand ridge
tidal currents · salt marsh · fishing industry · fishing boats · wave action · ocean spray · recreational boating · storm surges · estuary · coral reef · tide pools · rocky shoreline · barrier island · mangrove forest · intertidal zone · lagoon · sea-level rise · urbanization
coastal environmentinterior
Inside area or region
heartland · midcontinent · hinterland · landlocked country · open ocean
coast, coasts, coasted, coasting, coaster, coasters, coastline, coastlines, coastal