Tampa Bay
About three hours due west of the Indian River Lagoon, Florida’s largest open-water estuary, Tampa Bay, is home to one of the nation’s busiest ports.

The Everglades has one of the largest estuaries in the United States in the Florida Bay. The estuary is composed of mangrove forests and behind them lie the marshes. This is a fascinating diverse world for wildlife! Snook, redfish, seatrout, tarpon, bonefish are the major fish species that abound here.

There are four different kinds of estuaries, each created a different way: 1) coastal plain estuaries; 2) tectonic estuaries; 3) bar-built estuaries; and 4) fjord estuaries. Coastal plain estuaries (1) are created when sea levels rise and fill in an existing river valley.

The Hillsborough River empties into Tampa Bay, which is the largest open-water estuary in Florida. An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water where fresh water from rivers and streams flows into the ocean, mixing with the salty seawater.

The estuary, which lies along the northern end of the Gulf Coast side of the Ten Thousand Islands at the western edge of the Everglades ecosystem, is an important habitat for threatened species such as the Florida panther.

More than 95% of Florida’s recreationally and commercially important fishes, crustaceans, and shellfish spend periods of their lives in estuaries, usu- ally when they are young. Many fish and crustaceans migrate offshore to spawn or breed. Estuaries are among the most productive land- scapes in nature.

The vast network of coastal waters and wetlands that form Florida’s estuaries provides major economic benefits to residents of the state. Not only do estuaries support commercial and recreational fisheries, they are also the setting for some of Florida’s most popular tourist attractions.

Estuary is an area where salt water of sea mixes with fresh water of rivers. Delta is a low triangular area of alluvial deposits where a river divides before entering a larger body of water. Estuary: It is formed by a tidal bore, which ablates the riverbed and carries the silt out to sea.

Estuaries are found on the coast where fresh water like a river or a bay has access to the ocean. A good example of an estuary is a salt marsh that can be found close to the coast. Another example is when a river feeds directly into the ocean. The largest estuary in the United States is the Chesapeake Bay estuary.

A wide diversity of animals use the river. Freshwater species are predominately found upstream of the dam and saltwater species inhabit the river downstream of the dam. Important environmental features in the Hillsborough River corridor are wildlife habitats, especially those provided by natural shorelines.

An estuary is a semi-enclosed body of water where freshwater from rivers meet and mix with the saltwater from the ocean. Tampa Bay has been designated an “Estuary of National Significance” by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Estuary Classification Approximately 6,000 years ago, Tampa Bay formed as a brackish drowned river valley type estuary with a wide mouth connecting it to the Gulf of Mexico.

Habitat. Estuaries are usually filled with shallow waters,and sunlight reaches all levels of the water.

Well known estuaries include Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay, Chesapeake Bay, Boston Harbor, and Tampa Bay.

Fish, shellfish, and migratory birds are just a few of the animals that can live in an estuary. The Chesapeake Bay, as one example, includes several different habitats. There are oyster reefs where oysters, mud crabs, and small fish may be found.

Cannonball jellyfish can typically be found in estuaries and saline water, usually by the shoreline. Preferred water temperature ranges between 20.3 degrees Celsius and 24.5 degrees Celsius.