IV-45 



Cool, fertile waters with a large tidal range strike a steep, 

 indented coast with deep water close inshore, but protected 

 from trie full force of the ocean waves by a wide continental 

 shelf. Moderate precipitation with neavy snowfall leads to 

 heavy spring river runoff which dominates local circulation. 

 Natural erosion and sedimentation are not severe problems, 

 and the evolution of drowned river valley estuaries is in an 

 early stage in this region. 



Middle Atlantic Estuarine Region : Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras, 

 exclusive of Chesapeake Bay. 



A wide, gently sloping continental shelf with a smooth shore- 

 line is cut by the entrances of several major river systems 

 carrying moderate amounts of sediments. The same cool, 

 fertile waters as in the North Atlantic estuarine region wash 

 this coastline but with a smaller tidal range. The evolution 

 of drowned river valleys into coastal marshes is in a secondary 

 stage in tne larger estuarine systems, with sand spits and 

 barrier islands forming. 



Chesapeake day Estuarine Region : All of the Chesapeake Bay 

 system from Cape Charles and Cape Henry inland. 



Isolation from direct oceanic effects in much of the greatly 

 branched system, the many subsystems with major river flows, 

 and the reduced concentration of the ocean salt throughout the 



