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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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. In Grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a Noun or Pronoun, giving more information about the 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". Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. (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. Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit ^[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. Photosynthesis is a Metabolic pathway that converts Light Energy into Chemical energy.

Dunes in littoral of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. Buenos Aires Province (ˈbwenos ˈaiɾes Spanish: Provincia de Buenos Aires is the most populated province of Argentina. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. 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. Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open The natural movement of the littoral along the coast is called the littoral drift. Longshore drift (sometimes known as shore drift, LSD or littoral drift) is a geological process by which Sediments such as sand 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. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean Relative humidity. A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the Climate differs from the surrounding area

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. The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each Continent and associated Coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such

See also

• Foreshore
• Supralittoral zone
• Sublittoral zone
• Benthic zone
• Limnetic zone
• Profundal zone
• Intertidal zone
• Littoral combat ship
• Littoral warfare
• Shingle beach
• Marine debris

References

1. ^ Fisheries lake surveys. The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a Body of water such as an Ocean or a Lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface The limnetic zone is the well-lit open surface waters in a lake away from the shore The profundal zone is a deep zone of a Body of water, such as an Ocean or a Lake, located below the range of effective light penetration The Littoral Combat Ship is the first design of the US Navy 's next-generation surface combatants Littoral combat in military and naval warfare refers to operations in the littoral area within a certain distance of shore including surveillance mine-clearing and support A shingle beach is a Beach which is armoured with Pebbles or small to medium sized cobbles Retrieved on 2006-03-17. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger