ABC Wednesday: E is for Estuary

E is for estuary. Estuaries are places where fresh water mixes with salt water.

For the purpose of this post I'll be discussing the Cape Fear Estuary near Wilmington, NC.

All of the photographs in this post were taken at the tidal freshwater end of the Cape Fear Estuary in Wilmington.

The brackish end of the Cape Fear River Estuary is near Fort Fisher where it opens into the Atlantic Ocean.

I have been to Fort Fisher many times but unfortunately that was before I had switched to digital cameras so the shots I have handy are all at the tidal freshwater end of this particular estuary. My digital ocean shots are all from another NC beach which is north of the estuary I'm discussing in this post.

The Cape Fear River Estuary drains broad areas of coastal plain and has a significant tidal effect, according to Dr. Michael A. Mallin (UNC at Wilmington).

Tidal freshwater marshes are found at the upper part of estuaries which is where these photos were taken.

Estuaries are some of the most important ecosystems in the world. To read more about the cape fear and other estuaries you can click here where I got most of my information. You can also click here for Dr. Mallin's article about the ecology of the cape fear river estuary. Below is a bridge over the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, NC.

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