coastal inlet
Where sea enters
A coastal inlet is a narrow body of water extending from a sea or ocean into the land—a bay, cove, or estuary where the shoreline curves inward.
Inlets often provide sheltered harbors for boats: The fishing village grew up around a small coastal inlet.
The term appears in geography, navigation, and coastal development contexts.
- bayPartially enclosed water
- estuaryTidal mixing zone
- lagoonSheltered coastal shallows
- sheltered coveProtected coastal indentation
- shorelineLand-water boundary
rocky shore · tidal pool · firth · fjord · mudflats · cove · tide · high tide · mangrove · tidal creek · embayment · sea breeze · tidal bore · erosion · coastal erosion · sound · kelp forest · channel
water body configuration
coastal inletpeninsula
Land almost encircled by water
headland · cape · promontory · point · spit
openness/exposure
coastal inletopen ocean
Sea far from shore
open sea · high seas · deep ocean · open water · deep sea