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Mudflats (also tidal flats, tide flats, etc.) are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud
Bay mud

Bay mud consists of thick deposits of soft, unconsolidated silty clay, which is saturated with water; these soil layers are situated at the bottom of certain estuary, which are normally in temperate regions that have experienced cyclical glacial cycles....
, resulting from deposition of estuarine silt
Silt

Silt is soil or Rock derived granular material of a Particle size between sand and clay. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body....
s, clay
Clay

Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried and/or fired....
s and marine animal detritus
Detritus

Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...
.






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Brewster Mudflat
Mudflats (also tidal flats, tide flats, etc.) are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud
Bay mud

Bay mud consists of thick deposits of soft, unconsolidated silty clay, which is saturated with water; these soil layers are situated at the bottom of certain estuary, which are normally in temperate regions that have experienced cyclical glacial cycles....
, resulting from deposition of estuarine silt
Silt

Silt is soil or Rock derived granular material of a Particle size between sand and clay. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body....
s, clay
Clay

Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried and/or fired....
s and marine animal detritus
Detritus

Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...
. Most of the sediment within a mudflat is within the intertidal zone
Intertidal zone

The intertidal zone is the area that is exposed to the air at low tide and submerged at high tide, for example, the area between tide marks. This area can include many different types of habitats, including steep rocky cliffs, sandy beaches, or wetlands ....
, and thus the flat is submerged and exposed approximately twice daily.

Mudflats are typically important regions for wildlife, supporting a large population, although levels of biodiversity are not particularly high. They are often of particular importance to migratory birds. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 mudflats have been classified as a Biodiversity Action Plan
Biodiversity Action Plan

This article is about a conservation biology topic. For other uses of BAP, see BAP .A 'Biodiversity Action Plan' is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems....
 priority habitat.

The maintenance of mudflats is important in preventing coastal erosion. However, mudflats worldwide are under threat from predicted sea level rises, land claims for development, dredging
Dredge

Dredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location....
 due to shipping purposes, and chemical pollution
Soil contamination

Soil contamination is caused by the presence of man-made chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. This type of contamination typically arises from the rupture of underground storage tanks, application of pesticides, percolation of contaminated surface water to subsurface strata, oil and fuel dumping, leaching of wastes...
.

Major example areas

  • Wadden Sea
    Wadden Sea

    The Wadden Sea is the name for a body of water and its associated coastal wetlands lying between a section of the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the North Sea....
    : Netherlands
    Netherlands

    The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
    , Germany
    Germany

    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
    , Denmark
    Denmark

    Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
  • Bridgwater Bay
    Bridgwater Bay

    Bridgwater Bay is on the Bristol Channel, north of Bridgwater in Somerset, England at the mouth of the River Parrett and the end of the River Parrett Trail....
     and Morecambe Bay
    Morecambe Bay

    Morecambe Bay is a large bay in northwest England, nearly due east of the Isle of Man and just to the south of the Lake District National Park....
    , United Kingdom
    United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
  • Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania
    Mauritania

    Mauritania , officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara on the northwest....
  • Snettisham
    Snettisham

    Snettisham is a village and civil parish in the England county of Norfolk. It is located near the west coast of Norfolk, some 1 E3 m south of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, 1 E4 m north of the town of King's Lynn and 1 E4 m north-west of the city of Norwich....
     Norfolk
    Norfolk

    Norfolk is a low-lying Counties of England in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and with Suffolk to the south....
     England
    England

    native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
    , United Kingdom
    United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
  • Lindisfarne Island
    Lindisfarne

    Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England also known as Holy Island, the name of the civil parish. It has a population of 162 ...
    , England
    England

    native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
    , United Kingdom
    United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
  • Port of Tacoma
    Port of Tacoma

    The Port of Tacoma is an independent Port located in Tacoma, Washington , Washington. The port was created by a vote of Pierce County citizens on November 5, 1918....
    , United States
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
  • Cape Cod Bay
    Cape Cod Bay

    Cape Cod Bay is a large headlands and bays of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is enclosed by Cape Cod to the south and east, and Plymouth County, Massachusetts, to the west; to the north of Cape Cod Bay lie Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean....
    , United States
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
  • Minas Basin
    Minas Basin

    The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada....
    , Nova Scotia
    Nova Scotia

    Nova Scotia is a Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada located on Canada's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada....
    , Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
  • Yellow Sea
    Yellow Sea

    The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean peninsula....
    , China
    China

    China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
    , Korea
    Korea

    Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries, a civilization, and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia....


See also

  • Wetland
    Wetland

    File:Mangrove trees in Everglades.JPGA wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water....
  • Coastal wetland (foreshore)
  • Intertidal zone
    Intertidal zone

    The intertidal zone is the area that is exposed to the air at low tide and submerged at high tide, for example, the area between tide marks. This area can include many different types of habitats, including steep rocky cliffs, sandy beaches, or wetlands ....
  • Estuary
    Estuary

    An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
  • Humphrey the whale
    Humphrey the Whale

    Humphrey the Whale is arguably the most widely publicized humpback whale in history, having errantly entered San Francisco Bay twice, departing from his Mexico to Alaska migration....
  • Bay mud
    Bay mud

    Bay mud consists of thick deposits of soft, unconsolidated silty clay, which is saturated with water; these soil layers are situated at the bottom of certain estuary, which are normally in temperate regions that have experienced cyclical glacial cycles....