Estuaries are coastal ecosystems where fresh river water mixes with salt ocean water, creating unique environments that support diverse wildlife and human activities. The balance of sediment in estuaries is crucial for both plant growth and marine traffic, with too much or too little sediment posing risks to their health and accessibility. Barrier islands protect these ecosystems but are vulnerable to natural threats, leading to ongoing conservation efforts.

1. Barrier Islands
and Estuaries
Compiled by
Kella Randolph M. Ed.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/SnowyEgretCB.jpg/220px-
SnowyEgretCB.jpg

2. Always changing
This water mixture also results in a
mixture of types of sediment.
Though estuaries have sediment
from both upstream rivers and
from the ocean, most of the
sediment is relatively fine grained
(McNally, pg. 3). The type of
sediment, and the abundance of it,
affects human and animal
involvement with estuaries. Too
much sediment makes it hard for
plants to photosynthesis and limits
human use of the estuary since
sediment can be deposited,
making the estuary unsuitable for
ship traffic. If there is too little
sediment in the estuary then the
land bordering it may be eroded
away and increase predation rates
in some species (McNally, pg. 2)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2zbou_PK10/Uu_20yXb5uI/AAAAAAAALGA/yV9S8PpsTws/s1600/gloss-barrier-
island.jpg

3. What is an estuary?
An estuary is where fresh river water and salt ocean water
mix.

4. Estuary
• Estuaries’ unique environment
makes them a great place for
humans and animals. Humans
benefit from the beauty of
estuaries and the food and
resources they provide.
Estuaries make great tourism
attractions or harbors and
ports. (EPA).
• Image:
https://rwu.pressbooks.pub/app/uploads/sites/7/2019/05/salt_wedge_estuary
_sm.jpg

5. Estuaries have a unique environment.
• The mix of fresh and saltwater makes a great feeding ground and
habitat for many types of wildlife (EPA).
• This water mixture also results in a mixture of types of sediment.
Though estuaries have sediment from both upstream rivers and
from the ocean, most of the sediment is relatively fine grained
(McNally, pg. 3). The type of sediment, and the abundance of it,
affects human and animal involvement with estuaries. Too much
sediment makes it hard for plants to photosynthesis and limits
human use of the estuary since sediment can be deposited,
making the estuary unsuitable for ship traffic. If there is too little
sediment in the estuary then the land bordering it may be eroded
away and increase predation rates in some species (McNally, pg.
2)

6. Wild things on the barrier islands
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/common
s/thumb/0/04/Ours_noir.jpg/220px-
Ours_noir.jpg
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/1100
00/nahled/wild-horses-at-the-beach.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/7447/16317653
859_7c2a762bc0.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org
/wikipedia/commons/6/65/
Ghost_Crab,_Corolla,NC.jpg
https://emammal.si.edu/sites/default/files
/aws_favorites/d26410s66i4.jpg
https://c.pxhere.com/photos/4b/d3/animal_beak_bea
utiful_bird_feather_flying_grass_green-1513959.jpg!s

7. Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems in the
world. Many animals rely on estuaries for food, places to breed,
and migration stopovers.
• Estuaries are delicate
ecosystems. Congress created
the National Estuarine Research
Reserve System to protect more
than one million acres of
estuarine land and water. These
estuarine reserves provide
essential habitat for wildlife, offer
educational opportunities for
students, and serve as living
laboratories for scientists.
(http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/f
acts/estuary.html)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2
/29/NCbarrierislandsmap.png/220px-
NCbarrierislandsmap.png

8. Estuaries are coastal bodies of
water that have mixed fresh
and salty water. The water in
estuaries is mixed because
they are fed by rivers but also
have a connection with
oceans. Estuaries have a
barrier to the sea, similar to
lagoons, that protects them
from ocean energy, but, unlike
lagoons, estuaries still connect
with the sea. Because of this
connection with the sea,
estuaries are strongly
influenced by tides (NOAA).
Barrier Islands Protect Estuaries
Photo : http://barrierjumpsgalleries.blogspot.com/2013/09/barrier-
islands.html

9. Estuaries and their surrounding wetlands are bodies of water
usually found where rivers meet the sea.
Photo courtesy of http://geo.libretexts.org/Core/Oceanography/09%3A_Coastal_Processes/9.1_Estuaries

10. What lives in the water of the North Carolina Estuaries?
https://images.app.goo.gl/B1HuQYdE1fKihHoj9
https://images.app.goo.gl/33DTmszu2a8ekAjH8
https://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/previous-
issues/2014-2/spring-2014/sharks-of-north-carolina/
Most sharks found in North Carolina’s sounds
and estuaries are transient, making a quick
trip into the estuary to feed or migrate
through. However, some will use the sounds
as nursery habitat and their young may stay
for months. Here are some species regularly
encountered in the sounds.

11. Northern Outer Banks Resort Beaches
https://wikitravel.org/upload/shared/6/6c/North_Carolina_Coastal_Plain_Banner.jpg

12. Barrier islands are highly vulnerable to relative sea-level rise,
erosion, and tropical storms
Image: http://barrierjumpsgalleries.blogspot.com/2013/09/barrier-islands.html

13. http://www.fishing-nc.com/outer-banks-maps.php
Copy the url above and paste it
into your search bar to see these
links.
One new tool we recently found is NOAA'a Online
Nautical Chart Viewer. It's very easy to use, highly
accurate and just what you'd hope it would be. Below are
the links for the North Carolina coast and Outer Banks:
Cape Hatteras to Charleston
Approaches to Cape Fear River
Cape Fear River Cape Fear to Wilmington
New River Inlet to Cape Fear
Intracoastal Waterway Neuse River to Myrtle Grove Sound
New River;Jacksonville
Cape Lookout to New River
Portsmouth Island to Beaufort, Including Cape Lookout
Shoals
Beaufort Inlet and Part of Core Sound;Lookout Bight
Morehead City Harbor
Pamlico Sound Western Part
Ocracoke lnlet and Part of Core Sound
Neuse River and Upper Part of Bay River
Intracoastal Waterway Albermarle Sound to Neuse
River;Alligator River;Second Creek
Pamlico River
Cape Hatteras-Wimble Shoals to Ocracoke Inlet
Cape May to Cape Hatteras

14. Barrier Islands (NOAA)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/NOAA-
_Outer_Banks.jpg/170px-NOAA-_Outer_Banks.jpg
https://www.viaggi-usa.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Outer-Banks-North-
Carolina.jpg

15. Maps of North Carolina Outer Banks Inlets
Image: http://www.fishing-nc.com/outer-banks-maps.php
Great maps of all the NC coastal and Outer Banks
inlets including COLREGS Demarcation Lines that
clearly show where inland waters end and the
Atlantic ocean begins. These maps are pretty
large, so be carefull if you are on a slower
connection.
Barden’s Inlet (Cape
Lookout)
Bear Inlet
Beaufort Inlet
Bogue Inlet
Browns Inlet
Cape Fear River Inlet
Carolina Beach Inlet
Drum Inlet
Hatteras Inlet
Lockwood’s Folly Inlet
Masonboro Inlet
Mason Inlet
New River Inlet
Ocracoke Inlet
Oregon Inlet
Rich Inlet
Shallotte Inlet
Topsail Inlets
Tubbs Inlet

16. This southeastern
coastal plain region
is best known by
the name given to it
by sea captains in
days of sail --Cape
Fear.
http://barrierjumpsgalleries.blogspot.com/2013/09/barrier-
islands.html
Barrier Islands

17. The Graveyard of the Atlantic
The outer banks are littered with the broken hulks of ships
https://live.staticflickr.com/6071/61
02375786_4b44aa6aba_b.jpg
https://farm3.staticflick
r.com/2665/37492999
81_56845007ee_z.jpg

18. Thank you for visiting
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Ghost_Crab,_Corolla,NC.jpg

19. References
• EPA. Retrieved from
http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/about.cfm.
• McNally, W. H., Mehta, A. J. Retrieved from
http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C09/E2-06-01-04.pdf.
• NOAA. Retrieved from
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_estuaries/welc
ome.html.
• ONA Retrieved from
http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/ocean/habitats/estuaries1.htm.