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Tampa Bay is on the west central coast of Florida between 27.5° and 28°N latitude. The average annual temperature is a balmy 72°. The Tampa Bay area receives an average of 55 inches of precipitation each year and about 60% of the annual rainfall occurs during June through September.
- What kind of estuary is Tampa Bay?
- Why is Tampa Bay water Brown?
- What is an estuary in Florida?
- What is Florida's largest estuary?
- Is Tampa Bay fresh water?
- Why is the Tampa Bay estuary important?
- Why are estuaries so special?
- What fish are in estuaries?
- Are estuaries part of the intertidal zone?
- How far across is Tampa Bay?
- Why are estuaries are called the cradle of the ocean?
- Why is Tampa Bay so shallow?
- Are there alligators in Tampa Bay?
- Are there sharks in Tampa Bay?
What kind of estuary is Tampa Bay?
Estuary Classification
Approximately 6,000 years ago, Tampa Bay formed as a brackish drowned river valley type estuary with a wide mouth connecting it to the Gulf of Mexico.
Why is Tampa Bay water Brown?
The FWC describes red tide – also known as a harmful algal bloom – as a higher-than-normal concentration of microscopic algae. A bloom happens when there are large concentrations of cells, which can discolor water – making it reddish or brown.
What is an estuary in Florida?
An estuary is a body of water partly surrounded by land where fresh water from rivers and streams runs into and mixes with salt water from the ocean. Estuary is another name for bay, sound, inlet, harbor, lagoon – what's important is the mixing of fresh and salt water.
What is Florida's largest estuary?
Tampa Bay is the largest open-water estuary in Florida,including nearly 400 square miles and bordering three counties that include Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas.
Is Tampa Bay fresh water?
Tampa Bay is Florida's largest open-water estuary, extending over 400 square miles (1,000 km2) and forming coastlines of Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties. The freshwater sources of the bay are distributed among over a hundred small tributaries, rather than a single river.
Why is the Tampa Bay estuary important?
As Florida's largest open-water estuary, Tampa Bay harbors a rich and diverse assemblage of plants and animals, along with a rapidly growing human population that has made the region the second largest metropolitan area in the state. ... Tampa Bay is also a focal point of the region's premier industry – tourism.
Why are estuaries so special?
Estuaries are home to unique plant and animal communities that have adapted to brackish water—a mixture of fresh water draining from the land and salty seawater. ... Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Many animals rely on estuaries for food, places to breed, and migration stopovers.
What fish are in estuaries?
From salmon and trout to perch and flounder, the waters of an estuary are typically full of fish that call both salt water and fresh water home. Lying along the mud flats or scurrying along the bottom is an amazing array of shellfish that range from crabs and clams to starfish and anemones.
Are estuaries part of the intertidal zone?
Intertidal zones are areas of the shore that are above the water at low tide and below at high tide, like some estuaries and rocky tide pools. These areas are important habitat for invertebrates like abalone that often form the base of the food web along coasts.
How far across is Tampa Bay?
Tampa Bay, arm of the Gulf of Mexico, indenting the west coast of Florida, U.S., covering about 400 square miles (1,000 square km). The bay, shaped roughly like a crescent some 40 miles (65 km) long, is partly sheltered from the gulf on the west by the Pinellas Peninsula.
Why are estuaries are called the cradle of the ocean?
Why are estuaries referred to as "The Cradle of the Ocean"? ... The eggs develop into larvae (immature forms) that are transported into estuaries by tides and currents. The shallow water, salt marshes, seagrasses, and mangrove roots provide excellent hiding places from larger, open-water predators.
Why is Tampa Bay so shallow?
The most numerous creature in the bay sediment is a primitive, fishlike invertebrate about 2 inches long, branchiostoma. On average, Tampa Bay is only 12 feet deep. Because it is so shallow, manmade shipping channels have been dredged to allow large ships safe passage to the Port of Tampa and other bay harbors.
Are there alligators in Tampa Bay?
While alligators can be found throughout the Southeastern U.S., the crocodile footprint in the U.S. is generally limited to South Florida, though they have occasionally been spotted as far north as the Tampa Bay area. That makes Florida the only ecosystem in the world where alligators and crocodiles peacefully coexist.
Are there sharks in Tampa Bay?
About a dozen shark species frequent Tampa Bay. Tenants include hammerheads, bonnetheads, nurse sharks, blacktips, lemon sharks and bull sharks to name a few. Sharks migrate in and out of Florida's waters each year.
