Freshwater marsh

Freshwater marsh, Naselle River, Washington

Freshwater marsh in Kittery Point, Maine

A freshwater marsh is a marsh that contains fresh water. Freshwater marshes are usually found near the mouths of rivers and are present in areas with low drainage.^[1] It is the counterpart to the salt marsh, an upper coastal intertidal zone of bio-habitat which is regularly flushed with sea water.

Freshwater marshes are non-tidal biomes containing little or no peat (unlike bogs and fens, both a kind of mire and mires consisting heavily of moist, biologically active peat). They are most common in the Gulf Coast region, specifically in Florida. They can be one of two principal types: either fresh water mineralized marshes, which derive their water from groundwater, streams and surface runoff; or poorly mineralized fresh water marshes whose moisture comes mostly from regular direct precipitation. Freshwater marshes support an independent pH-neutral ecosystem which encourages biodiversity. Common species include ducks, geese, swans, songbirds, swallows, coots, and black ducks. Although shallow marshes do not tend to support many fish, deeper ones are home to many species, including such large fish as the northern pike and carp. Some of the most common plants in these areas are cattails, water lilies, arrowheads, and rushes.^[2]

The Florida Everglades represent the largest contiguous freshwater marsh in the entire world.^[3] This immense marsh covers 4,200 square miles (11,000 km²) and is located in the southern tip of Florida. Continued human development, including drainage for development and polluted agriculture runoff, as well as alterations in the water cycle threaten the existence of the Everglades. The remaining parts of the Everglades are grasses, sedges and other emergent hydrophytes.^[4]

See also

• Brackish marsh
• Salt marsh

References

Aquatic ecosystem topics
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Coastal geography
Landforms	Anchialine pool Archipelago Atoll Avulsion Ayre Barrier island Bay Baymouth bar Bight Bodden Brackish marsh Cape Channel Cliff Coast Coastal plain Coastal waterfall Continental margin Continental shelf Coral reef Cove Dune cliff-top Estuary Firth Fjard Fjord Freshwater marsh Fundus Gat Geo Gulf Gut Headland Inlet Intertidal wetland Island Islet Isthmus Lagoon Machair Marine terrace Mega delta Mouth bar Mudflat Natural arch Peninsula Reef Regressive delta Ria River delta Salt marsh Shoal Shore Skerry Sound Spit Stack Strait Strand plain Submarine canyon Tidal island Tidal marsh Tide pool Tied island Tombolo Windwatt
Beaches	Beach cusps Beach evolution Coastal morphodynamics Beach ridge Beachrock Pocket beach Raised beach Recession Shell beach Shingle beach Storm beach Wash margin
Processes	Blowhole Cliffed coast Coastal biogeomorphology Coastal erosion Concordant coastline Current Cuspate foreland Discordant coastline Emergent coastline Feeder bluff Fetch Flat coast Graded shoreline Headlands and bays Ingression coast Large-scale coastal behaviour Longshore drift Marine regression Marine transgression Raised shoreline Rip current Rocky shore Sea cave Sea foam Shoal Steep coast Submergent coastline Surf break Surf zone Surge channel Swash Undertow Volcanic arc Wave-cut platform Wave shoaling Wind wave Wrack zone
Management	Accretion Coastal management Integrated coastal zone management Submersion
Related	Bulkhead line Grain size boulder clay cobble granule pebble sand shingle silt Intertidal zone Littoral zone Physical oceanography Region of freshwater influence
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