Mobile Bay is the 4th largest estuarine system in the United States and the 6th largest in overall drainage. Our estuary is one of the 28 federally designated estuaries of national importance. An estuary is among the most productive environments on earth. Allowing an abundance of wildlife and habitats, this environment creates a fascinating ecosystem. As you can see from the map, our study area encompasses a large geographic region.
Mobile Bay is a drowned river valley.
There are approximately 248,000 acres of water making up the bay. Many of the Gulf of Mexico estuaries are characterized by channels formed by majors rivers. The Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers would be the influencing waterways for our area. Gulf Coast estuaries are also known to contain the greatest amount of coastal wetlands and this is true for our estuary. Mobile Bay is a very important breeding ground for many of the species of aquatic life that eventually find their way to our oceans.