- The part of the wide lower course of a river where its current is met by the tides.
- An arm of the sea that extends inland to meet the mouth of a river.
[Latin aestuārium, from aestus, tide, surge, heat.]
estuarial es'tu·ar'i·al (-âr'ē-əl) adj.
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[Latin aestuārium, from aestus, tide, surge, heat.]
estuarial es'tu·ar'i·al (-âr'ē-əl) adj.That area of a river mouth which is affected by sea tides. An estuary differs from a delta in that the former debouches into the sea whereas the latter progrades seaward.
For more information on estuary, visit Britannica.com.
A wide body of water formed where a large river meets the sea. It contains both fresh and salt water.
An estuary is an area of the river that is full of interesting life forms.
An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.[1] Estuaries are often associated with high rates of biological productivity. An estuary is where the river meets the sea.
An estuary is typically the tidal mouth of a river (aestus is Latin for tide), and
estuaries are often characterized by sedimentation or silt
carried in from terrestrial runoff and, frequently, from offshore. They are made up of brackish
water. Estuaries are more likely to occur on submerged coasts, where the sea
level has risen in relation to the land; this process floods valleys to form rias and fjords. These can become estuaries if there is a stream or river flowing
into them. Large estuaries, like Chesapeake Bay and Puget
Sound often have many streams flowing into them and can have complex shapes. Estuaries are often given names like
Estuarine circulation is common in estuaries; this occurs when fresh or brackish water flows out near the surface, while denser saline water flows inward near the bottom. Anti-estuarine flow is its opposite, in which dense water flows out near the bottom and less dense water circulates inward at the surface. These two terms, however, have a broader oceanographic application that extends beyond estuaries proper, such as in describing the circulation of nearly-closed ocean basins. Estuaries are marine environments, whose pH, salinity, and water level are varying, depending on the river that feeds the estuary and the ocean from which it derives its salinity (oceans and seas have different salinity levels).
Grouped by structure rather than circulation, there are other types of estuaries. Bar-built estuaries are effectively
synonymous with
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - flodmunding med tidevand
Nederlands (Dutch)
estuarium, riviermonding
Français (French)
n. - estuaire
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - εκβολή, στόμιο ποταμού, ποταμόκολπος, ποταμολίμνη
Português (Portuguese)
n. - estuário (m) (Geog.)
Español (Spanish)
n. - estuario, estero, ría
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - flodmynning
中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
河口, 江口
中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 河口, 江口
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) مصب النهر
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