Estuary
Sites that are situated in an estuary, comprise one or more estuaries or are meaningfully linked to an estuary.
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Atlantic Forest South-East | "The site is part of the Serra do Mar domain and extends across the adjacent coastal plain, which includes the estuarine complex of Iguape-Cananéia-Paranaguá." "From mountains covered by dense forests with an abundance of orchids and bromeliads to coastal islands and estuaries with a wealth of vast mangroves, the property offers a natural environment of great beauty with tremendous terrestrial and marine biodiversity." (Official description) | |
| Cocos Island | "The property harbours a rare and complex mosaic of land and sea environments, including forested mountains, rivers, waterfalls, estuaries, cliffs, sandy and rocky beaches, bays, and extensive and highly diverse coral reefs and pelagic environments." (Official description - Crit ix) | |
| Cordouan Lighthouse | "The Lighthouse of Cordouan rises up on a shallow rocky plateau in the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Gironde estuary." (Official description) | |
| Donana National Park | "Doñana National Park in Andalusia occupies the right bank of the Guadalquivir river at its estuary on the Atlantic Ocean." (Official description) | |
| Ephesus | "Located within what was once the estuary of the River Kaystros, Ephesus comprises successive Hellenistic and Roman settlements founded on new locations, which followed the coastline as it retreated westward." (Official description) | |
| Forth Bridge | "This railway bridge, crossing the Forth estuary in Scotland, had the world's longest spans (541 m) when it opened in 1890." (Official description) | |
| Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats | "Each component represents one of four tidal flat subtypes (estuarine type, open embayed type, archipelago type and semi-enclosed type)." (Official description) | |
| Guanacaste | "(...) a diverse coastal-marine ecosystem containing important coral reefs, algal beds, estuaries, mangroves, sandy and cobble beaches, shore dunes and wetlands." (Official description - Crit ix) | |
| Joggins Fossil Cliffs | "the site groups remains of three ecosystems: estuarine bay, floodplain rainforest and fire prone forested alluvial plain with freshwater pools." (Official description) | |
| Kulangsu | "Kulangsu is a tiny island located on the estuary of the Chiu-lung River, facing the city of Xiamen." (Official description) | |
| Lower German Limes | "The fort at Valkenburg-Centrum was built on the western bank of the Roman Rhine, close to its estuary, immediately bordering the river channel." (Nomination file, p. 60) At Valkenburg-De Woerd, the "characteristic ribbon-like layout of a military vicus is combined (...) with measures taken to deal with the wet landscape of a river estuary." (Nomination file, p. 104) | |
| Migratory Bird Sanctuaries China | Yellow River Estuary | |
| Ningaloo Coast | "Intertidal systems such as rocky shores, sandy beaches, estuaries, and mangroves are also found within the property." (Official description) | |
| Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River | "The Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park (...) is of adequate size to protect all the various landforms and the estuarine ecosystem that conveys the Outstanding Universal Value of the property." (Official description) | |
| Quanzhou | "The Meishan Dock and Wenxing Dock (Estuary Docks) were built in the Song Dynasty and are located at the juncture of the river and the sea." (AB Ev) – The city is "located on the estuary plains". "The Shihu Dock and the Estuary Docks are selected because they are respectively the exemplification of "outer sea docks" and docks at the estuary" along the routes coming in and out of the Quanzhou Bay." (Nomination file, p. 57, 383) | |
| Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve | "Starting from the Caribbean Sea, there are estuarine and marine systems, sandy beaches, coastal lagoons of varying salinity, mangrove swamps, and pine savannah." (Official description) | |
| Saloum Delta | "Within the estuary component of the property.... " (IUCN eval) | |
| St. Petersburg | "The unique urban landscape of the port and capital city of Saint Petersburg, rising out of the Neva estuary where it meets the Gulf of Finland, was the greatest urban creation of the 18th century." (Official description) | |
| Sundarbans National Park | "Covering 133,010 ha, the area is estimated to comprise about 55% forest land and 45% wetlands in the form of tidal rivers, creeks, canals and vast estuarine mouths of the river." (Official description) | |
| The Sundarbans | "Areas of unique natural beauty, ethno botanical interest, special marine faunal interest, rivers, creeks, islands, swamps, estuaries, mud flats, and tidal flats are also included in the property." (Official description) | |
| Tower of Hercules | The Tower of Hercules is "a solitary lighthouse which (...) is located on the ocean shore at a height of 57 metres above sea level close to the entry channel of the estuary, acting as maritime signalling element away from the ancient port of Brigantium which was to be found sheltered from the storms in a natural inlet inside the estuary." (Nomination file, p. 79) | |
| Vizcaya Bridge | "Vizcaya Bridge straddles the mouth of the Ibaizabal estuary, west of Bilbao." (Official description) | |
| Wadden Sea | "It is a large, temperate, relatively flat coastal wetland environment, formed by the intricate interactions between physical and biological factors that have given rise to a multitude of transitional habitats with tidal channels, sandy shoals, sea-grass meadows, mussel beds, sandbars, mudflats, salt marshes, estuaries, beaches and dunes." (Official description) | |
| iSimangaliso Wetland Park | The park "includes a wide range of pristine marine, coastal, wetland, estuarine, and terrestrial environments which are scenically beautiful and basically unmodified by people." (Official description) |
Suggestions?
Do you know of another WHS we could connect to Estuary?
A connection should:
- Not be "self evident"
- Link at least 3 different sites
- Not duplicate or merely subdivide the "Category" assignment already identified on this site.
- Add some knowledge or insight (whether significant or trivial!) about WHS for the users of this site
- Be explained, with reference to a source