IV-42 



SECTION 3. THE BIOPHYSICAL ESTUARINE REGIONS 



Each estuarine system along the coastline is affected to some 

 extent by all of these dominating environmental factors. In 

 some cases, as in the example already given, the dominance of 

 one particular factor is readily apparent. It is much more often 

 the case that the competing environmental factors are so evenly 

 balanced that none can be said to dominate and the estuarine 

 zone appears to be composed of a bewildering variety of unique 

 systems. 



Yet, as an individual person can be identified as a member 

 of the human species by general common characteristics and as 

 a member of particular race by more specific characteristics, 

 so can individual estuarine systems be recognized as belonging 

 to regional and national groupings. 



Table IV. 1.5 summarizes tne dominating environmental factors 

 in tne estuarine zone of the United States. Combinations of 

 environmental conditions characteristic of various parts of 

 the coastline permit the grouping of the national estuarine 

 system into ten biophysical estuarine regions of dissimilar 

 Environmental characteristics (Figure IV. 1.19). 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BIOPHYSICAL REGIONS 



North Atlantic Estuarine Region : Canadian border to Cape Cod. 



