AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -An estuary is an area where a freshwater river or stream meets the ocean. In estuaries, the salty ocean mixes with a freshwater river, resulting in brackish water. Brackish water is somewhat salty, but not as salty as the ocean. An estuary may also be called a bay, lagoon, sound, or slough.

Detailed explanation-2: -Estuaries: Where the River Meets the Sea.

Detailed explanation-3: -Where a river meets the ocean is called an estuary. It is a transition area, the boundary between riverbanks and the open ocean where salt and freshwater mix together. The banks of estuaries are among the most heavily human-populated areas in the world: 60 percent of the world’s population live along them.

Detailed explanation-4: -An estuary is a partially enclosed, coastal water body where freshwater from rivers and streams mixes with salt water from the ocean. Estuaries, and their surrounding lands, are places of transition from land to sea.

Detailed explanation-5: -How are Estuaries formed? When the sea level rose at a rapid pace it drowned river valleys and filled glacial troughs, which formed estuaries. They became traps for sediments, such as, mud, sand and gravel which are found in rivers and streams. Tidal flats then build along the shore as these sediments grow.