IV-53 



MORPHOLOGY OF THE ESTUARINE ZONE 



Those characteristics shown in Table IV. 1.6 describe differences 

 in structure and form of the estuarine zone among the estuarine 

 regions. The descriptive ratios presented in this table result 

 from combining areas and distances characteristic of the estuarine 

 zone of each region. Such ratios are numerical indices of the 

 relative sizes of the estuarine zone 1n each region and also give 

 quantitative measures of its relative composition among regions. 

 Their greatest value, however, 1s in comparing Individual estuarine 

 systems so as to apply the lessons learned 1n one estuary to the 

 problems of another. 



Alaska has by far the longest general coastline and tidal shoreline 

 as well as the greatest estuarine water area of any estuarine region, 

 but the Chesapeake Bay region has a much greater Droportion of estuarine 

 shoreline and area for Its size than any of the other regions. 

 Estuarine systems within the Chesapeake Bay region consist of a 

 group of branched rivers entering the Chesapeake Bay Itself, which 

 1s in turn the former valley of the Susquehanna River. The estuar- 

 ine systems on the western side of the Bay tend to be surrounded 

 with somewhat hilHer land and less extensive marsh areas than 

 those on the eastern shore, though nearly all systems tributary 

 to the Bay are drowned river valleys. 



