What is an estuary?
An Estuary and their neighboring wetlands are large bodies of water where the river meets the sea. Estuaries are home to many plants and animals that have adapted to its brackish water (a mixture of fresh water and seawater).I grew up with the longest river in Florida, in my back yard, The St. Johns River. This river is unlike many others, one of the few rivers that flow northward. The river is 500 km long, starting from Indian River County, through most of northeast Florida, to finally flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. Though, the St. Johns River is indeed a river, it forms an estuary when the Atlantic Ocean Tides cause seawater to enter the mouth of the St. Johns River. Since the river is, rather long it is okay to say that part of it forms an estuary and that part was in my back yard, Jacksonville, Florida.
The history
Approximately 100,000 years ago, the St. Johns River formed after land rose along the coast and trapped a part of the sea inland. The river did not take on the oceans current until about 5,000 years ago, after the end of the ice age and the sea began to rise. The river is young just about 5,000 years old. The hydrological cycle of the dry peninsula transformed, resulting in rains that fed the surface flow of the St. Johns and its underground spring. Before European settlers came to Florida, it was home to many Native Americans, the Timucaun Indians are the known in Jacksonville.
The Geology
The St. Johns River flows south to north; the southern part of the river flows upstream, while the northern part of the river flow downstream. Because it drops by only 8 meters over the course of 500km, the river is very lazy (slow moving). In fact, it is one of the laziest rivers in the world. Th...
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...elementary school could stop talking about it. The River has always played a role in Jacksonville society; it just took me writing this paper to realize it.
Works Cited
Education, N. (2014, January 24). The Estuary: where fresh and saltwater mix. Retrieved from NOAA: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/estuary.html
Florida Departmenty of Agriculture. (2014). Exploring the St. Johns River. Retrieved from The River returns: http://www.theriverreturns.org/explore/
St Johns River Water management District. (2013, February 22). The St. Johns River . Retrieved from St Johns River Water management District: http://www.sjrwmd.com/stjohnsriver/
St. Johns River Keeper. (2011). Ecology. Retrieved from St. Johns River Keeper: http://www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org/the-river/ecology/ the Florida Center for Instructional Technology. (2002). Exploring Florida. Retrieved March 2014
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