Biomes

Estuary

Citation Formats

General Reference

Nature Atlas. "Estuary." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/biomes/estuary.

APA Style

Nature Atlas. (n.d.). Estuary. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/biomes/estuary

BibTeX

@misc{natureatlas-estuary,
  author = {Nature Atlas},
  title = {Estuary},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/biomes/estuary},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

An estuary is a body of water usually found where a river meets the sea, mixing fresh water draining from the land with salty seawater into a brackish habitat unlike either parent body. This salty-fresh mix is a nursery ground for a large share of the fish humans catch, and supports plant and animal communities specifically adapted to fluctuating salinity and tide.

Facts

Disputed

Typical Low Temperature (C)

13 1

13C is the low end of a single named example cited by the source, the Alan Estuary in England, not a global figure. Estuaries occur in every climate zone from tropical to Arctic wherever a river meets tidal water, and no single settled global range was found on an accessible source.

Typical High Temperature (C)

17 1

17C is the high end of the same single named example, the Alan Estuary in England, not a global figure; see this entity's temperature-low-c StatusNote for the same caveat.

Cross-Tradition Connections