### waters:

Estuary
* Estuaries act as a buffer between the ocean and the land
  - also feed our hearts and minds
* Estuaries also provide protected transportation routes for cargo ships and barges
  - vital breeding and feeding grounds for many birds
  - reduce polluted runoff, control flooding, and support birds, fish and other wildlife
* Estuaries are a critical source for much of our ocean life
  - primary nursery ground for many coastal fishes
  - special end member of lagoons
* Estuaries are also home to a number of plants, trees and seagrasses
  - ports and marinas that support shipping and other industrial activities
* Estuaries are also important for aquaculture, an industry that is just twenty years old in Maine
  - homes for fishes, snails, crabs, clams, and baby animals called larvae
  - near shore and influenced by the tides
  - popular places to live, work, and enjoy outdoor activities
  - sensitive to alteration and reduction of stream flow
* Estuaries are among the most biologically productive areas in the world
  - productive on Earth
* Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems in the world for plant and animal production
  - natural places on earth
  - parts of the marine ecosystem
  - an interface between the continents and the oceans
  - areas of water and shoreline typically found where rivers meet the ocean
* Estuaries are areas where fresh and salt water mix to form brackish water
  - freshwater meets saltwater referred to as brackish water
  - streams or rivers flow into the ocean
  - at the bottom of the freshwater drainage network and, effectively, are a part of it
  - bays where rivers empty into the sea
  - between the rivers, mainland, and ocean
  - bodies of water
  - chemically and hydrologically different from lakes and rivers
* Estuaries are coastal areas where fresh and salt waters mix
  - sea water mixes with fresh water, primarily from rivers
  - complex, with a wide variety of environments that are constantly changing
  - critical for the survival of many species
  - delicate ecosystems
  - economically important
* Estuaries are essential habitats for both aquatic and land plants and animals
  - to our nation's economic productivity
  - extreme environments
  - extremely productive ecosystems
  - formed when the saltwater mixes with freshwater
  - highly variable in physical, chemical, and biological properties
  - home to a fascinating variety of living organisms
* Estuaries are important areas for commercial and recreational boating activities
  - coastal features, world-wide
  - for the health of the oceans
  - habitat areas for salmon
* Estuaries are important nurseries for fish and other aquatic life
  - the young of aquatic animals
  - two-thirds of all aquatic animals
* Estuaries are important nursery grounds for fish
  - two-thirds of all animals that live in the sea
  - incredibly productive feeding and breeding grounds for many animals
  - lochs
  - more diverse than any other marine environment
  - natural things
  - nutrient rich and very fertile
  - often at the heart of local economies and traditions
* Estuaries are part fresh river and stream water, part salty oceanic water
  - of rivers
* Estuaries are partially enclosed bodies of water that flow into an open sea or ocean
  - water where fresh water and salt water mix
  - regions where fresh and salt water meet
  - particularly sensitive to the effects of toxic chemicals
  - places at the mouth of a river where fresh water and salt water mix
* Estuaries are places where fresh water from rivers mix with saltwater
  - meets and mixes with ocean salt water
  - mixes with salty water from the sea
  - rivers meet the sea
  - prime habitat for species coveted by commercial fishermen
  - regions along coastlines where streams or rivers flow into a body of salt water
* Estuaries are rich in animal life and are often a protected area where organisms seek refuge
  - marine ecosystems that are created when freshwater mixes with saltwater
  - river mouths
  - semi or partially enclosed bodies of water where seawater and freshwater mix
* Estuaries are semi-enclosed bodies of water where fresh water from the land mixes with sea water
  - embayments open to the sea at one end
  - short-lived geologically and soon fill with sediment
* Estuaries are some of the most dramatic boundaries on Earth
  - productive fisheries in the world
  - productive habitats in the world
  - spatially and temporally dynamic systems
  - special water bodies that are open connections to the sea
  - subject to wide fluctuations in salinity
* Estuaries are the lower part of the river where it meets the Gulf waters
  - most popular fishing grounds in the country
* Estuaries are the most productive ecosystems in nature
  - water bodies in the world
  - mouth of the river where the river's tide meets a stream
  - site of reproduction for many aquatic organisms and waterfowl
  - zones where fresh and saltwater mix
  - transition zones between saltwater and freshwater ecosystems
  - transitional zones that encompass a wide variety of environments
  - unique ecosystems where rivers meet the sea and fresh water mixes with salt
* Estuaries are very important to the lives of many animal species
  - productive zones in the life cycles of most seafood species
  - vigorous, vital ecosystems where plant species survive and thrive
* Estuaries are vital components of the planet's ecosystem
  - habitats for thousands of marine species
  - vulnerable to the introduction of a wide variety of toxic substances
  - waste processors
  - where freshwater from the land mixes with saltwater from the sea
* Estuaries are where rivers and streams meet the ocean
  - discharge into the sea
  - meet the sea and fresh water mixes with salt water
* Estuaries are where the river meets the ocean
* Estuaries can be large, as is the Hudson River
  - filter sediment and pollutants from the water before it flows into the oceans
  - have many different types of habitat
* Estuaries come in all shapes and sizes and go by many different names
  - sizes, each unique to their location and climate
  - covers a broad range of disciplines, including chemistry, geology, physics and biology
  - depend on freshwater inflow for their ecological functioning
  - differ from rivers in many regards
  - display characteristics of both marine and freshwater biomes
* Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments
  - where rivers widen at the coast
  - function as nursery grounds for a variety of species of juvenile fishes and invertebrates
* Estuaries have access to the ocean, so they are influenced by the tides
  - high production for organisms that can tolerate changing salinity
  - many different types of habitats, vital to many important species of fish
  - some of the worst pollution problems of any coastal ecosystem
  - help protect costal land from flooding and erosion
  - lie at the junction between marine and freshwater biomes
  - occur when rivers flow into a coastal bay or inlet
* Estuaries occur where a river empties into the sea
  - rivers meet the sea and many are now important conservation reserves
* Estuaries often have ports serving shipping, transportation, and industry
  - serve as nurseries for young marine animals
  - possess oysters
* Estuaries provide a broad range of conditions that call for tough, adaptable species
  - habitat where numerous fish and crustaceans breed
  - lot of food and nutrients to the developing salmon
  - place where young animals can grow up
  - wide range of habitats leading to a great diversity of marine life
  - good quality water
  - ideal spots for migratory birds to rest and refuel during their journeys
  - sanctuary from the harsh action of ocean currents and waves
  - shelter
  - unique environments
  - reflect the overall health of a watershed
* Estuaries serve as breeding sites and nurseries for thousands of marine animal species
  - nurseries for many marine species
  - the nursery grounds for shrimp, crab, oysters and the many types of finfish
  - suffer some of the worst effects of water and air pollution
  - supply a significant amount of N and P to open waters
* Estuaries support a diverse fauna, including a variety of worms, oysters, crabs, and waterfowl
  - many resident species
  - teem with a variety of plant and animal life
  - tend to be naturally eutrophic because land runoff discharges nutrients into estuaries
  - transform with the tides
  - usually exhibit gradual changes in salinity as freshwater input increases or decreases
* Most estuaries are part of rivers
  - form along coastlines where freshwater in rivers meets saltwater in oceans
* Most estuaries provide habitats
* Some estuaries cause health problems.
  * Some estuaries are very large. They may be large ocean bays that have more than one river flowing into them. For example, Chesapeake Bay large estuary, and several different rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean there.
* is water