AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The main difference between estuary and wetland is that estuary is a partially enclosed coastal water body where freshwater mixes with saltwater, whereas a wetland is an area where water covers the soil either permanently or seasonally. Estuaries and wetlands are landforms that can occur together.

Detailed explanation-2: -In Ohio, Old Woman Creek is an example of a freshwater estuary, where river water meets lake water, as the creek pours out into Lake Erie. Freshwater estuaries can be found across the Great Lakes, with more than 20 just on Wisconsin’s Lake Superior shore.

Detailed explanation-3: -Estuaries are typically classified by their existing geology or their geologic origins (in other words, how they were formed). The four major types of estuaries classified by their geology are drowned river valley, bar-built, tectonic, and fjords.

Detailed explanation-4: -Estuaries and their surrounding wetlands are bodies of water usually found where rivers meet the sea. Estuaries are home to unique plant and animal communities that have adapted to brackish water-a mixture of fresh water draining from the land and salty seawater.

Detailed explanation-5: -A freshwater wetland is supplied with water from the nearby streams and rivers. Examples of freshwater wetland are marshes, sedge meadows, wet prairie, fens and seeps, swamps, and bogs.