tidal marsh
Flooded salt meadow
A tidal marsh is a coastal wetland flooded and drained by ocean tides.
These low-lying areas support distinctive salt-tolerant grasses and serve as nurseries for fish and shellfish.
Tidal marshes buffer coastlines against storms and filter pollutants from runoff.
The tidal marsh teemed with fiddler crabs at low tide.
Coastal wetland with brackish water
- cordgrassSalt-tolerant marsh vegetation
- spartinaSalt-tolerant marsh grass
- mudflatExposed shore sediment
- pickleweedSalt marsh succulent
sea lavender · glasswort · salt hay · wrack · peat · channels · pools · hummocks
Tidal mixing zone
- shorelineLand-water boundary
- coastalOf the shoreline
- lagoonSheltered coastal shallows
- bayouMarshy, slow-moving waterway
sound · barrier island · delta · embayment · hammock · watershed · Chesapeake · Gulf Coast
Overwhelming surge of water
- floodingOverwhelming water accumulation
- drainingDepleting one's reserves
- brackishMildly salty water
- salinityDissolved mineral concentration
water table · flushing · accretion · siltation · storm surge · overwash · subsidence · sea level rise
Loose waste from decay
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- food webInterconnected predator-prey relationships
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- carbon sequestrationRemoving and storing atmospheric CO2
biomass · phytoplankton · benthic · filter feeding · nitrogen fixation · organic matter · productivity · spawning ground
Crab with one oversized claw
- periwinkleSmall spiral-shelled mollusk
- killifishSmall ornamental aquarium fish
- blue crabSwimming crab, Atlantic coast
- shrimpSmall edible crustacean
great blue heron · snowy egret · red-winged blackbird · osprey · harrier · muskrat · raccoon · migratory birds
saltmarsh
Coastal wetland with brackish water
- cordgrassSalt-tolerant marsh vegetation
- spartinaSalt-tolerant marsh grass
- mudflatExposed shore sediment
pickleweed · sea lavender · glasswort · salt hay · wrack · peat · channels · pools · hummocks · creek bank
estuary
Tidal mixing zone
bayou · sound · barrier island · delta · embayment · hammock · watershed · Chesapeake · Gulf Coast · Atlantic coast
inundation
Overwhelming surge of water
salinity · water table · flushing · accretion · siltation · storm surge · overwash · subsidence · sea level rise
detritus
Loose waste from decay
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- food webInterconnected predator-prey relationships
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
carbon sequestration · biomass · phytoplankton · benthic · filter feeding · nitrogen fixation · organic matter · productivity · spawning ground · shellfish
fiddler crab
Crab with one oversized claw
- periwinkleSmall spiral-shelled mollusk
- killifishSmall ornamental aquarium fish
- blue crabSwimming crab, Atlantic coast
shrimp · great blue heron · snowy egret · red-winged blackbird · osprey · harrier · muskrat · raccoon · migratory birds · wading birds
- coastal featuresshore, coast, beach, bay, cliff
- marshessedge, cattails, reeds, saltmarsh, rushes
- protected areasnature reserve, wildlife sanctuary, protected area, nature preserve, wildlife refuge
- wetlandsswamp, swamps, marshlands, swampland, swamplands
- wildlife habitatswildlife refuge, breeding grounds, nesting sites, forests, game reserve
- Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay, blue crab, blue crabs, watermen, oyster
tidal marshdesert
To leave behind completely
arid land · dry land · dryland · sand dunes · badlands
tidal marshupland
Elevated land area
mountain peak · highland · plateau · alpine zone · mountaintop
tidal marshmountain peak
Topmost point of elevation
mountain ridge · mesa · butte · cliff · escarpment
tide, marsh, marshal, tides, tidal, marshy, marshes, marshland, tided