Estuaries

Our Mashpee’s salt and brackish waters

Estuaries are places where rivers meet the sea. They are fascinating and beautiful ecosystems distinct from all other places on earth.

An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water formed where freshwater from rivers and streams flows into the ocean, mixing with the salty seawater. Estuaries and the lands surrounding them are places of transition from land to sea, and from fresh to salt water.

The tidal, sheltered waters of estuaries support unique communities of plants and animals, specially adapted for life at the margin of the sea. Estuarine environments are among the most productive on earth.