The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the Somerset Levels to its mouth at Burnham-on-Sea, into the Bridgwater Bay nature reserve on the Bristol Channel, the Parrett and its tributaries drain an area of 660 square miles (1,700 km2) – about 50 per cent of Somerset's land area, with a population of 300,000.
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone. Estuaries are subject both to marine influences such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water and to fluvial influences such as flows of freshwater and sediment. The mixing of seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world.
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into coastal lagoons and atoll lagoons. They have also been identified as occurring on mixed-sand and gravel coastlines. There is an overlap between bodies of water classified as coastal lagoons and bodies of water classified as estuaries. Lagoons are common coastal features around many parts of the world.
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It often refers to those submerged ridges, banks, or bars that rise near enough to the surface of a body of water as to constitute a danger to navigation. Shoals are also known as sandbanks, sandbars, or gravelbars. Two or more shoals that are either separated by shared troughs or interconnected by past or present sedimentary and hydrographic processes are referred to as a shoal complex.
The River Dee is a river in the United Kingdom. It flows through parts of both Wales and England, forming part of the border between the two countries.
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal flat ecosystems are as extensive globally as mangroves, covering at least 127,921 km2 (49,391 sq mi) of the Earth's surface. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries; they are also seen in freshwater lakes and salty lakes alike, wherein many rivers and creeks end. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of estuarine silts, clays and aquatic animal detritus. Most of the sediment within a mudflat is within the intertidal zone, and thus the flat is submerged and exposed approximately twice daily.
Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuary. Strategically the area has been and remains an important part of the region's maritime economy particularly for larger vessels for the unloading and exporting of heavier goods as well as in industry including warehousing, light industry, electrical power and sanitation. The area contains a junction of and is connected to the south by the M5 motorway and other roads, railway tracks and paths to the north, south-east and east.
Pulicat Lagoon is the second largest brackish water lagoon in India,, measuring 759 square kilometres (293 sq mi). Major part of the lagoon comes under Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. The lagoon is one of the three important wetlands to attract northeast monsoon rain clouds during the October to December season. The lagoon comprises the following regions, which adds up 759 square kilometres (293 sq mi) according to Andhra Pradesh Forest Department: 1) Pulicat Lake 2) Marshy/Wetland Land Region (AP) 3) Venadu Reserve Forest (AP) 4) Pernadu Reserve Forest (AP) The lagoon was cut across in the middle by the Sriharikota Link Road, which divided the water body into lagoon and marshy land. The lagoon encompasses the Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary. The barrier island of Sriharikota separates the lagoon from the Bay of Bengal and is home to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
The Dee Estuary is a large estuary by means of which the River Dee flows into Liverpool Bay. The estuary starts near Shotton after a five-mile (8 km) 'canalised' section and the river soon swells to be several miles wide forming the boundary between the Wirral Peninsula in north-west England and Flintshire in north-east Wales. The Dee Estuary's largest towns along it include Hollywell, Flint, Connah's Quay, Shotton, Queensferry, Saltney Ferry, Chester (City), Heswall, West Kirby and Neston as well as other villages and towns alongside it. The A548 also passes along the estuary in Wales and parts of Cheshire West and Chester and Merseyside in England. The North Wales Coast Line follows the course of the Dee Estuary between Prestatyn and Chester.
The Severn Barrage is any of a range of ideas for building a barrage from the English coast to the Welsh coast over the Severn tidal estuary. Ideas for damming or barraging the Severn estuary have existed since the 19th century. The building of such a barrage would constitute an engineering project comparable with some of the world's biggest. The purposes of such a project have typically been one or several of: transport links, flood protection, harbour creation, or tidal power generation. In recent decades it is the latter that has grown to be the primary focus for barrage ideas, and the others are now seen as useful side-effects. Following the Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study (2008–10), the British government concluded that there was no strategic case for building a barrage but to continue to investigate emerging technologies. In June 2013 the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee published its findings after an eight-month study of the arguments for and against the Barrage. MPs said the case for the barrage was unproven. They were not convinced the economic case was strong enough and said the developer, Hafren Power, had failed to answer serious environmental and economic concerns.
The Hayle Estuary is an estuary in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is one of the few natural harbours on the north coast of south-west England and during the prehistoric and early medieval periods was important for trade and the movement of people and ideas.
The Fylde is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile-long (21-kilometre) square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to the east which approximates to a section of the M6 motorway and West Coast Main Line.
The Fivel was a historical river in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. It received its water from peat bogs around Kolham and Slochteren, flowed past Woltersum, Wittewierum and Ten Post, and meandered north of Winneweer. The Fivel debouched into a wide estuary of the Wadden Sea.
The River Dysynni is a river in mid Wales. Its source is the Tal-y-llyn Lake just south of the Cadair Idris massif and its mouth is in the Cardigan Bay area of the Irish Sea to the north of Tywyn. It measures about 16 mi (26 km) in length.
The Batiquitos Lagoon is a coastal wetland and estuary located between southern Carlsbad and Encinitas, in the North County region of San Diego County, California. The lagoon itself consists of 610 acres with a drainage basin of about 55,000 acres. Its primary freshwater tributaries being San Marcos Creek from the east and Encinitas Creek which flows north along Green Valley, entering the lagoon under El Camino Real and La Costa Avenue, respectively. It is one of the few remaining tidal wetlands on the southern California coast.
Waikawa is a small settlement at the mouth of the Waikawa River in Southland, New Zealand, at the southwestern edge of The Catlins.
The Bullo Pill Railway was an early British railway, completed in 1810 to carry coal mined in the Forest of Dean Coalfield to a port on the River Severn near Newnham, Gloucestershire. It was later converted to a broad gauge steam line by the Great Western Railway, and was closed in the 1960s.
The River Thaw is a river in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. At 20 kilometres/12.4 miles, it is the longest river entirely in the Vale of Glamorgan.
The coal industry in Wales has played an important role in the Industrial Revolution. Coal mining in Wales expanded in the eighteenth century to provide fuel for the blast furnaces of the iron and copper industries that were expanding in southern Wales. The industry had reached large proportions by the end of that century, and then further expanded to supply steam-coal for the steam vessels that were beginning to trade around the world. The Cardiff Coal Exchange set the world price for steam-coal and Cardiff became a major coal-exporting port. The South Wales Coalfield was at its peak in 1913 and was one of the largest coalfields in the world. It remained the largest coalfield in Britain until 1925. The supply of coal dwindled, and pits closed in spite of a UK-wide strike against closures. The last deep mine in Wales, Tower Colliery, closed in 2008, after thirteen years as a co-operative owned by its miners.
Adur Estuary is a 62.2-hectare (154-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the western outskirts of Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. Part is a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve.
