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Mudflats near Oban on Stewart Island, New Zealand.

Mudflats in Brewster, Massachusetts, USA, extending hundreds of yards offshore at the low tide. The line of seashells in the foreground indicates the high water mark.

The tidal flat in Japan. Twilight of the Kaburasaki（蕪崎） seashore.

Mudflats (also tidal flats, tide flats, etc.) are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of estuarine silts, clays and marine animal detritus.

Mudflats are typically important regions for wildlife, supporting a large population, although levels of biodiversity are not particularly high. They are often of particular importance to migratory birds. In the United Kingdom mudflats have been classified as a Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitat.

The maintenance of mudflats is important in preventing coastal erosion. However, mudflats worldwide are under threat from predicted sea level rises, land claims for development, dredging due to shipping purposes, and chemical pollution.

Major example areas

• Wadden Sea: Netherlands, Germany, Denmark
• Bridgwater Bay and Morecambe Bay, United Kingdom
• Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania
• Snettisham Norfolk England, United Kingdom
• Lindisfarne Island, England, United Kingdom
• Port of Tacoma, United States
• Cape Cod Bay, United States
• Minas Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Yellow Sea, China, Korea

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mudflat

• Wetland
• Coastal wetland (foreshore)
• Intertidal zone
• Estuary
• Humphrey the whale
• Bay mud

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• This page was last modified on 5 December 2008, at 19:31.

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