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A marsh at Carolina
Beach State Park. This brackish marsh has very
little salt. Stands of Black Needlerush are mixed
in with Saltmeadow Hay and other plants. |
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A Black Needlerush
marsh in a more salty brackish marsh near Fort Fisher |
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Brackish marshes are found
on the edges of
sounds and
estuaries.
They are not closely connected to
the sea. Water from rivers
dilutes
the saltwater. This makes it only a little salty. The brackish zone
is where the fresh rivers meet the salty ocean.
Water in brackish marshes rises and falls with the tides.
But the
difference between high tide and low tide is not as much as in salt
marshes.
Which plants live in a brackish marsh depends on how salty
the water is. The most salty brackish
marshes have Black Needlerush (Juncus
roemerianus) and Saltmeadow Hay (Spartina patens).
Brackish marshes that are less salty may have large stands of Giant Cordgrass (Spartina cynosuroides)
and Sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense).
Click on the map at left to continue exploring
the Cape Fear River estuary...
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