Estuary — Free Ecology Illustration

Ecology

Estuary

A broad, shallow, semi-enclosed funnel-shaped coastal water body at a river mouth, where branching river channels widen into the sea or a sheltered rounded bay. The water appears brackish, in muted blue-green to blue-gray tones, with a visible mixing gradient from lighter or brownish muddy freshwater into greener or darker saline coastal water. Shorelines are gently curving but somewhat irregular, with muddy brown or tan sandy margins, shallow tidal flats, silty or sandy bars, and low-relief wetland features. Salt-tolerant marsh grasses or low marshy vegetation may border the edges.

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