Estuaries

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Estuaries

Pass a Loutre is one of the large waterways in the Mississippi River Delta. One can see marshes in this photo, as well as chevron shaped sand bars that have developed in the Pass.

Estuaries have been used as a method of transportation for thousands of years. Native people used dugout canoes to reach estuarine resources such as oyster beds, as well as to move from village to village. Over the years, the size of vessels has greatly increased. In some estuaries, the water is naturally deep enough to accommodate large ships. In others, such as the estuaries of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, ship channels have to be dredged and maintained to accomodate shipping. In some estuarine areas, these channels can fundamentally change how water flows within the ecosystem and may impact organisms that live in those areas.

Photo of Mississippi River
Photo of birdfoot delta of the Mississippi River
Photo of Bayou La Fourche
Photo of Port Graham River
Pass a Loutre
Port Graham Bay
A waterman's shack on stilts over the water