Croatan Sound Estuary
Location: Outer Banks
The Importance of Estuaries
Estuaries are very important. They are home to thousands of marine species because it provides a protective environment and food source. Many birds use estuaries as nesting places or rest stops during migration. They have a very wide range of habitats, allowing a huge diversity in marine life to live here. Croatan Sound was also a place tourists would cross to enter the city of Manteo.
What Lives Here?
Many different marine life organisms live in the Croatan sound such as oysters, the red drum fish, loggerhead sea turtle, red wolves, cattails, and kingfish.
What Feeds Into Croatan Sound?
Some rivers that feed into the Croatan sound are the Pamlico, Roanoke, and Chowan Rivers.
Threats to Croatan Sound
Changes to the land surrounding the estuary are one threat to the estuary. Another is the large boats, or any boats at all, that pass through or dock in the estuary. Global warming is also a major problem. Because of this sea levels rise, and some estuaries can only deal with flooding for a certain amount of time. Pollution is another big problem, causing harm to marine life in estuaries.