The Estuary

Dive into the unique habitat that is an estuary, where fresh water from rivers and streams mixes with salt water from the ocean.

Congress created the National Estuarine Research Reserve System to protect more than one million acres of estuarine land and water. These estuarine reserves provide essential habitat for wildlife, offer educational opportunities for students and serve as living laboratories for scientists. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water where fresh water from rivers and streams mixes with salt water from the ocean. Estuaries are areas of transition between the land and the sea. They are often called bays, harbors, inlets or sounds.