Estuarine Wetlands
Habitat code: 512
This wetland (5) (viewed in the bottom 1/3 of this picture) is an estuarine (1) salt marsh that empties into Puget Sound. This estuary exhibits only emergent herbs/shrubs (2), (e.g., which means eel grass and other grasses stick out of the water at high tide.)

There are conifer trees in the picture, but when coding this particular habitat we're only considering the dominant plants which are in the estuary itself.

Estuary wetlands include salt marshes, mud flats and channels. Salt marshes are only flooded at high tide and have grasses and other emergent plants (plants that stick out of the water). Mud flats may look barron but are actually teaming with algae and invertebrates. Most are microscopic and form the base of a healthy food chain. That's why so many shore birds, ducks, Great-blue herons, salmon, and eagles can be seen here. Eelgrass is a common submerged plant in estuaries that is valuable habitat for many species including Dungeness crab, smelt, herring, perch, ducks, and Brant geese.

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