Littoral zone

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Ocean habitats

aquatic ecosystem
continental shelf
neritic zone
littoral zone
intertidal
pelagic zone
demersal zone
benthic zone
benthic life
coral reefs
estuaries
seamounts
fishing banks
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It has been suggested that Supralittoral zone and Sublittoral zone be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

"Littoral" redirects here. For other uses, see Littoral (disambiguation).

The United States Navy divides the littorals into several zones.

Littoral refers to the coast of an ocean or sea, or to the banks of a river, lake or estuary. It is usually used as an adjective, but may also be used as a noun. The littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It includes the intertidal and sublittoral zones. The word 'littoral' is derived from the Latin noun litus, litoris, meaning "shore". (The doubled 't' is a late mediaeval innovation and the word is sometimes seen in the more classical-looking spelling 'litoral'.)

In lakes, where tides are usually negligibly small, other definitions of "littoral" must be used. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources defines littoral as that portion of the lake that is less than 15 feet in depth.^[1] This zone is home to most of the aquatic plantlife (both rooted and floating) in a pond or lake because the high amount of sunlight reaching it allows for significant photosynthetic activity.

Dunes in littoral of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. 389 km altitude. Source: NASA

The adjacency of water gives a number of distinctive characteristics to littoral regions. Water's erosive power results in particular types of landforms, such as sand dunes, and estuaries. The natural movement of the littoral along the coast is called the littoral drift. Biologically, the ready availability of water enables a greater variety of plant and animal life, and the additional local humidity due to evaporation usually creates a microclimate supporting unique types of organisms.

The littoral zone is bordered by the supralittoral zone, also known as the "spray zone", and the sublittoral zone, which runs to the edge of the continental shelf.