Estuarine, intertidal, reef, partly enclosed, eulittoral

This common category includes marsh "islands" that develop near the mouth of broad river channels and near deltas, where marsh vegetation colonizes the substrate and provides some stability. The type of marsh vegetation varies with intertidal elevation and salinity. Substrata may be mud, peat, sand (near river channels) and clay.

Habitat attributes

Class ID: 
90
Class name: 
Estuarine, intertidal, reef, partly enclosed, eulittoral
Length: 
429.0 km (in WA)
Primary substrate: 
Organic
Secondary substrate: 
Mud
Tertiary substrate: 
Substrate stability: 
Stabilized by vegetation
Substrate key details: 
No stable surface features
Wave exposure: 
Protected, Very protected
Blue book classes: 
[No class in 1990 publication]
Map/survey site examples: 
Marsh "islands" near river mouths: Swinomish Channel, Red River, Dosewallips
Fish sampling sites: 
Beach seine: Swinomish Channel
Diagnostic species: 
  • Carex lyngbyei
  • Distichlis spicata
  • Salicornia depressa
  • Triglochin maritima
  • Jaumea carnosa
  • Schoenoplectus maritimus
  • Cymatogaster aggregata
  • Leptocottus armatus
  • Gasterosteus aculeatus
  • Hypomesus pretiosus
Species notes: 
Diagnostic species dependent on salinity and substrate
Habitat classification system: 
Shoreline Habitats
Type: 
Estuarine habitat
Map link: 
Class 90 map layer in ERMA