Where is wetlands located

In total, wetlands cover about 1. One type of wetland in particular that occurs in the eastern half of South Dakota is the prairie pothole. Prairie potholes are depressional wetlands found in much of the Upper Midwest, which were formed by glaciers and fill with snowmelt and rain in the spring. Some are temporary, while others may be essentially permanent. In South Dakota, there can sometimes be more than prairie potholes in just one square mile! These wetlands are home to North American migratory waterfowl and over fish, 25 mammal, 17 amphibian, and 10 reptile species, including muskrats, red foxes, tiger salamanders and cricket frogs.

Take some time to catch a glimpse of these wetlands and species in person by visiting:. Despite the Appalachian Mountains running through the eastern parts of Tennessee, there are still wetlands that exist there, known as mountain bogs.

Mountain bogs are swampy areas with layers of waterlogged peat and mud covered with thick moss and other vegetation. They can be located at high elevations such as Shady Valley — this South Appalachia wetland can be found in far northeastern Tennessee and is a broad, flat bowl of green fields.

Shady Valley supports at least 26 rare plants and animals and is one of two places in the state where cranberries grow. The bog turtle, a federally listed threatened species, also calls this wetland home. Visit seven National Wildlife Refuges in Tennessee to see more wetlands and wildlife. With Texas being the second largest state in area in the United States, you might think that it contains many different kinds of wetlands.

Well, you would be right! In fact, you can break up the state into six wetland regions: playa lakes in the northwest panhandle, trans-peco springs and riparian wetlands in the west, riparian and spring-fed wetlands in the central parts, bottomland hardwoods in the upper northeast, coastal marshes and prairie depressions in the southeast, and South Texas resacas and depressions in the south.

What are resacas? They are marshes and ponds that were filled in with silt and water after being cut off from the Rio Grande River. These types of wetlands are ephemeral, meaning they are seasonally dependent on the amount of water they receive. Overall, over 5 million migrating waterfowl depend on Texas wetlands for food, shelter, and nesting grounds.

Learn more about the types of wetlands that exist in Texas and take a trip to some National Wildlife Refuges to see them in person! In Utah, a good place to find wetlands, or small pools, is in Arches National Park. Called potholes, these wetlands form in the spring when precipitation collects in depressions in the sandstone bedrock. For this reason, the potholes cannot sustain fish and insect life that would require permanent waters, eliminating many predators for the smaller invertebrates that call these pools home.

Without a large predator population exerting pressure on the pothole species, these niche organisms have had very little need to evolve over time. Learn more about pothole wetlands and Arches National Park. You can find as many as 14 different types of wetlands in the state of Vermont. Included on this list are upland shores, hardwood forests, hardwood swamps, vernal pools, and open peatlands. They provide habitat for fish and wildlife, help control erosion, protect water quality, and provide recreational opportunities.

Follow these steps to help you out:. Wetlands make up about 4. More than , acres of that area are non-tidal wetlands, meaning they do not fluctuate with the tides of the ocean, and over , acres of isolated wetlands exist in Virginia. Isolated wetlands lack an obvious connection to surface water and are fed by groundwater and rainfall.

They perform the same functions as other wetlands, such as recharging streams, storing flood waters, filtering pollutants from water and providing wildlife habitat. Their isolated existence supports unique and often rare plants and animals, which only occur in these unique habitats. Some examples of isolated wetlands located in Virginia include:.

Over , acres of wetlands exist within the Washington, ranging from forested wetlands, shrub wetlands, marshes, and swamps, just to name a few.

Did you know that certain wetlands in the state of Washington are dependent on beavers? The water turns to standing water and feeds nutrients back into the ground for future forest generations.

It is a give and take relationship. The wetlands count on beavers and the beavers count on the wetlands. Wetlands show us how interconnected nature can be.

Visit these refuges and natural areas throughout Washington to see wetlands first hand and to learn more about them! West Virginia is home to just over , acres of wetlands, which provide valuable habitat for species such as the snapping turtle, muskrat, blue heron, sedge wren, and wood duck.

They also provide flood protection, erosion control, and even serve as pasture for livestock. The types of wetlands found in West Virginia can be broken down into three categories: emergent wetlands, shrub wetlands and forested wetlands. Emergent wetlands, commonly called marshes and wet meadows, consist of grass, sedge and other non-woody vegetation.

Shrub wetlands, including swamps and bogs, consist of woody vegetation that is less than 20 feet tall. And finally, forested wetlands, including wooded swamps and bottomland forests, are dominated by trees that grow 20 feet or taller. Take a visit to some unique natural areas in West Virginia to catch a glimpse of these beautiful wetlands in person:.

The amount of wetland acreage in Wisconsin is about the same size as the states of Connecticut and Delaware combined! So, what types of wetlands make up the Wisconsin landscape? Some of the more prominent types include marshes, sedge or wet meadows, forested, scrub, aquatic beds, and coastal wetlands. These are all characterized by soil type, vegetation, and degree of water saturation.

You can also find fens, seeps, swamps, and peatlands in Wisconsin. Peatlands are areas with or without vegetation that have an accumulated peat layer — a layer of partially decomposed plant material that has accumulated over time. They can be some of the most and least productive ecosystems in the world. However, they serve the same functions as other wetlands, including reducing flooding. Check out these National Wildlife Refuges:. In Wyoming, there are over , acres of palustrine wetlands — inland wetlands without flowing water.

These include nontidal wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, and mosses. Wetlands provide a great opportunity to get outside and experience nature. Visit these National Wildlife Refuges to check out wetlands in person:. Skip to main content. Uryadnikov Sergey. You are here Home. Click on the links below to learn more about wetlands in your state. For the best wildlife observation experience, remember these tips: Find a good place to sit quietly—this allows the wildlife to get used to your presence.

Listen as well as look! Many species are masters of camouflage, so often you can hear more than you can see. At these wetland sites, winter is the best time to look for migratory species.

If you plan your trip for summer, try looking instead for permanent residents, such as great egrets or muskrat. These animals can be sorted into three categories: Drought escapers : These species have some way of leaving the pool when it dries, whether by wing or by foot, using the water primarily to lay eggs and develop.

Drought resistors : These species will revert to a dormant stage once their home has dried, sheltering themselves from desiccation within a tough, waterproof exoskeleton, and burrowing into the fine layer of mud coating the bottom of the pothole in order to avoid the damaging sun. When precipitation refills the pothole, drought tolerators will become rehydrated and fully functional, a process known as cryptobiosis.

Visit the three National Wildlife Refuges in Florida listed below to explore different types of wetlands in person: St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge , established in , encompasses 70, acres spread across three counties in the eastern part of the Florida panhandle. You can see coastal marshes, islands, tidal creeks and estuaries here. The Refuge consists of 35, acres, including mangrove habitats, brackish marshes, and scattered ponds.

National Key Deer Refuge , located in the Florida Keys, has over 9, acres of land consisting of salt marsh wetlands, mangrove forests, hardwood hammocks, and freshwater wetlands. Learn more about Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge. Here are a few parks and refuges you can visit: Cuyahoga Valley National Park contains over 1, wetlands. The largest contiguous coastal marsh wetland on Lake Erie is found here.

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge provides high quality food and cover for migrating waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, and wetland-dependent wildlife. Permanent and semi-permanent wetlands are found here. Here are some oxbow lakes you can find in Oklahoma: Okmulgee Wildlife Management Area is located in eastern Oklahoma, a few miles northwest of Okmulgee. This refuge features lush hardwood forests surrounding oxbow lakes. Here are some to check out: Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge covers 40, acres and includes the largest freshwater marsh in the Pacific Northwest.

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge is home to habitats that include emergent, shrub and forested wetlands, riparian forests, pine meadows and more. This refuge is located just outside Portland. Bog turtles, opossum, and migratory birds can be in the refuge and you can see a number of different wetlands here, including vernal pools. Erie National Wildlife Refuge is located in northwestern Pennsylvania.

This refuge contains over 5, acres of wetlands, including marshes, swamps, and beaver-induced wetlands. Some species that call these habitats home are mussels, raptors, wood duck, blue-winged teals, and mallards. Take some time to catch a glimpse of these wetlands and species in person by visiting: Waubay National Wildlife Refuge , where over species of birds have been observed. Follow these steps to help you out: Review maps. Look for wetland indicators.

Is there water present? Are wetland plants present? What kind of soil is there? Does the area fall within wetland regulations? Revisit the wetland indicators link above to review the Vermont Wetland Rules. Ask yourself: Is it too wet to mow over the land? Do you think you would sink when driving heavy equipment? Is the vegetation different than surrounding areas?

Do you hear frogs in the spring? Answering yes to any of these questions may indicate that you have a wetland! Shenandoah Valley is home to karst depressional, or sinkhole, wetlands. The decomposition of underlying minerals forms these unique areas, which intersect with groundwater. Visit them in Augusta, Page, and Rockingham counties.

Take a visit to some unique natural areas in West Virginia to catch a glimpse of these beautiful wetlands in person: Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge is located in northeast West Virginia at the tippy-top of the Monongahela National Forest.

Its position in the Allegheny Mountains gives it a cool, moist climate and features bogs, shrub swamps and wet meadows. New River Gorge National River is a park that covers over 70, acres, located in the southern part of West Virginia. Here you can discover small ponds and beaver-influenced wetlands. Within these small ponds you might catch a glimpse of a snapping turtle.

Dominant wetlands include sedge meadows, wet prairies and shallow marshes. Coastal wetlands exist here and are influenced by wave action and ice movement, as well as sediments being dumped by Whittlesey and Little Whittlesey Creeks. Visit these National Wildlife Refuges to check out wetlands in person: Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge , located in southwest Wyoming is a 27, acre refuge consisting of riparian, wetland and upland shrub habitats that are vital to more than species of resident and migrant wildlife.

Bamforth National Wildlife Refuge , located just outside of the city of Laramie, is 1, acre refuge with marshes and wetland areas around small ponds and Bamforth Lake. American white pelicans, California gulls, and snowy egrets, among others, use this area during migration.

New Mexico. South Dakota. North Carolina. Some tidal freshwater wetlands form beyond the upper edges of tidal salt marshes where the influence of salt water ends.

Inland wetlands include marshes and wet meadows dominated by herbaceous plants, swamps dominated by shrubs, and wooded swamps dominated by trees. Certain types of inland wetlands are common to particular regions of the country. For more information, see Wetland Classifications and Types for a full list.

Many of these wetlands are seasonal they are dry one or more seasons every year , and, particularly in the arid and semiarid West, may be wet only periodically. The quantity of water present and the timing of its presence in part determine the functions of a wetland and its role in the environment.

Even wetlands that appear dry at times for significant parts of the year -- such as vernal pools-- often provide critical habitat for wildlife adapted to breeding exclusively in these areas. For more information about wetlands, please visit our Wetland Factsheet Series. Skip to main content. Contact Us. Visitors can freely access the data via the online map or by download, while registered users can verify data and add their own. It was launched last month on the sidelines of the 15th International Peat Congress in Kuching, Malaysia.

The Global Wetlands Map is an interactive, web-based map showing global distribution of wetlands, histosols and carbon stocks. It covers tropical and subtropical regions up to 30 degrees North and 70 degrees South. Monthly precipitation data was taken from the WorldClim global dataset, and evapotranspiration data was taken from the FAO-adopted monthly reference produced by the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.

The level of wetness can range from permanently inundated, such as in the case of a water body, to an area that is periodically drained and rewetted. Countries with a huge amount of wetlands are now looking to define where those areas are and how to report them.

Organic matter, such as plant and animal remains, decomposes slowly where water is present. So histosols are full of these organic materials and are important reservoirs of carbon. It is measured by tons per hectare.

By mapping wetlands and histosols, which are mainly carbon-rich systems, one can have a better estimate of carbon stocks in spatial terms. For example, if a particular country wants to see in more detail where its wetlands are, this data can easily be found by looking at the map. The IPCC [ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ] recently published guidelines on how to conduct greenhouse gas inventories in wetlands, so countries with a huge amount of wetlands are now looking to define where those areas are and how to report them.

Knowing about carbon stocks in spatial terms will allow us to identify potential areas for climate change mitigation by conserving the existing carbon-rich pools and enhancing carbon sequestration and storage. The map is also a useful tool to locate and prioritize restoration activities, such as rewetting and revegetating, as measures for climate change adaptation. They might not be soil scientists per se , or even interested in climate change. But if they are experts in their own right they can certainly contribute.