Marsh is a kind of wetland where nonwoody plants, such as cattails and grasses, grow in shallow water. A marsh is flooded with water for most or all of the year. One well-known marsh is the Everglades in Florida, also called the “River of Grass.”
Freshwater marshes are usually found along the shores of lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. Plants that live in freshwater marshes include bulrushes, cattails, horsetails, and sawgrass.
Saltwater marshes, called salt marshes, appear along coasts where fresh water flows into the sea, such as at the mouths of rivers. Salt marshes are exposed to fresh and salt water and undergo daily changes in water level due to tides. Grasses are common in salt marshes, especially smooth cordgrass and salt-meadow cordgrass.
Marshes support abundant wildlife, including frogs, muskrats, turtles, and a variety of birds and insects. They also filter water and protect shorelines from erosion.
People have destroyed many marshes to prepare land for agriculture and construction or to control mosquitoes. People also harm marshes by diverting away water and by polluting them. Many marshes are protected by law, but marshes continue to be damaged and destroyed.
