Roanoke Sound
Outer Banks, NC
WHY ARE ESTUARIES IMPORTANT?
"Nurseries of the sea"
Estuaries are important because the environment is protected and the food is abundant. This provides a very good location for the underwater life to reproduce. Many fish spend majority of their life cycle in estuaries.
WILDLIFE AND PLANTS
In the Roanoke Sound, you can find cattails, sawgrass, cordgrass, and black needlerush. You can also find some trout, beavers, mallards, and blackducks.
WHAT FEEDS INTO ROANOKE SOUND?
The sound separates Roanoke Island from Bodie Island and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The sound eventually runs into a barrier island beach along with the Albemarle Sound and Pamlico Sound.
THREATS TO ROANOKE SOUND
This estuary is harmed by changes to the land and contamination of river and ocean water. Roads, bridges, sewage systems and some pipelines change the flow of water through that particular ecosystem. Wetlands will soak up the contamination from these human built adjustments and they will flow directly into the estuary.