Embayments

Embayments

884 protected lagoons, embayments, estuaries and inlets were historically mapped in Puget Sound

Salish Sea References

• Ecology Shoreline Photography Viewer
• The Encyclopedia of Puget Sound provides a peer reviewed version of the wiki
• PRISM Project Search
• Washington Coastal Atlas
• UW River History Project

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Embayments are "protected estuaries and lagoons within which there is too little wave action to form beaches. The term pocket estuary has been widely used on Puget Sound to describe these features. Most of these small embayments are tidally influenced, but they also include isolated lagoons and wetlands. Estuaries are those with a significant input of freshwater – for example, from a surface stream, whereas lagoons have limited freshwater input. A large number of the estuaries and lagoons on Puget Sound are formed and enclosed by barrier beaches, emphasizing an important geomorphological relationship between the wave-dominated beach environments and these small protected estuarine environments." (From Shipman 2008)

Cereghino et al 2012 proposes two classes of embayment site for the purpose of conservation planning:

• Coastal Inlets - these embayments are formed in drowned stream valleys or other post glacial landforms, such that their protected shallow structures are not dependant on beach dynamics for their existance. An estimated 260 such site were identified in Puget Sound.
• Barrier-type Embayments - these embayments are embedded in a beach systems, in that they are to some extent dependant of a barrier beach for wave protetion and wetland development. In these systems the embayments are integral to the beach drift cell -- 518 of 812 shoreline process units in Puget Sound contain one or more barrier-type embayments.

While this is a useful differentiation, many embayments commonly have attributes of both coastal inlets and barrier-type embayments. Both Shipman 2008 and McBride et al 2009 have proposed slightly different taxonomies to describe variation in Puget Sound coastal embayments.

Embayment Topics

The following topics are related to embayments:

• Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Grade
• Olympia Oyster Restoration
• Eelgrass
• Nearshore Monitoring Strategy
• Beneficial use of dredge materials
• Nearshore Salmon Recovery Planning
• Wood Waste
• Non-natal Nearshore Rearing of Salmon

Embayment Sites and Places

The following sites are in embayments:

Embayment Efforts

The following efforts are being implemented by workgroups in embayments:

• Titlow Lagoon Restoration
• Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project
• Nearshore Strategies Analysis
• Crescent Harbor Lagoon Restoration
• Salmon Creek Estuary Fill Removal
• Jefferson County Eelgrass Protection
• Clallam County Oil Spill Preparedness and Response
• Nisqually river to point defiance nearshore restoration assessment
• Livingston Lagoon Restoration
• Henderson Inlet Community Shellfish Farm
• Integrated Nearshore Priorities Project
• Jimmycomelately Restoration
• Kilisut Restoration
• Tidal Fish Passage & Connectivity
• Tidal Channel Restoration Guidelines
• Maximizing Benefits of Shoreline Armor Removal
• Use of Large Wood in Shoreline Restoration
• PREDICTING SHOREFORM EVOLUTION IN PUGET SOUND Guidelines and Tools to Estimate Gravel Transport
• Puget Sound Tidal Restriction and Wetland Mapping
• Puget Sound Nearshore Habitat Conservation Calculator

Embayment Documents

The following pages cite documents about embayments:

• File:Beamer et al 2003 importance of non-natal pocket estuaries.pdf
• Kairis & Rybczyk 2010
• French & Stoddart 1992 marsh hydraulics
• File:Beamer et al 2006 whidbey pocket estuary fish.pdf
• Collins & Sheik 2005 reconstruction of puget sound tidal marsh
• Simenstad & Cordell 2000 habitat assessment for salmon
• Vines et al 2000 creosote and herring spawn
• File:WDNR 2013 piling and creosote removal BMP.pdf
• File:Mickelson et al 2009 crescent harbor monitoring plan.pdf
• File:Heatwole 2004 crescent harbor barrier marsh insects and plants.pdf
• File:Mickelson 2009 crescent creek freshwater input analysis.pdf
• File:NOSC 2009 salmon estuary monitoring plan.pdf
• File:Long et al 2011 snow-salmon estuary restoration monitoring report.pdf
• File:Wait et al 2007 west whidbey nearshore fish use.pdf
• Gelfenbaum et al 2006 nearshore research strategy
• File:Redmond et al 2005 nearshore salmon recovery plan.pdf
• File:Cereghino 2014 DRAFT Integrated Nearshore Assessment.docx
• File:Cereghino 2014 DRAFT nimble spatial reassessment.pdf
• File:Cardno-entrix 2013 snow creek design report.pdf
• File:Hughes et al 2014 nursery functions of estuaries.pdf
• Finlayson 2005 lowland puget sound topobathymetry
• File:Cereghino 2015 accelerating estuary restoration.pdf
• File:Cornu et al 2008 large wood placement in tidal wetlands.pdf
• File:Breems & Goodman 2009 wood waste assessment and remediation.pdf
• File:DNR 2008 fidalgo bay management plan.pdf
• File:Kramer et al 2010 shoreline no net loss framework.pdf
• File:Rossenkotter et al 2007 nearshore salmon recovery gap analysis.pdf
• File:Shreffler et al 2008 jimmycomelately lessons learned.pdf
• File:Dethier 1990 puget sound shoreline classification.pdf
• File:Zu Ermgassen et al 2016 oyster restoration objectives for ecosystem services.pdf
• File:Cereghino 2014 sub-estuary inventory in puget sound.pdf
• File:Ehinger et al 2015 nearshore habitat value HEA.pdf
• File:Lanksbury et al 2017 mussel monitoring survey 2015-2016.pdf
• File:Goetz et al 2004 PSNERP restoration principles.pdf
• File:Fresh 2006 juvenile salmon in nearshore.pdf
• File:Schlenger et al 2011 PSNERP strategic needs assessment.pdf
• File:Beechie et al 2017 salmon habitat status monitoring.pdf
• File:Berry et al 2001 shorezone users manual.pdf
• Raymond et al 2022 heat wave and shellfish
• File:Hall et al 2019 DRAFT pocket estuary inventory protocol.pdf
• File:Lambert & Chamberlin 2023 non-natal rearing.pdf
• File:Bloch et al. 2019 coastal stream and embayment restoration prioritization.pdf
• File:ESA et al. 2022 coastal stream and embayment fish access framework.pdf
• Koski 2009 coho nomads
• File:Tuohy et al. 2018 chum non-natal habitat use.pdf
• File:Johannessen et al 2014 marine shoreline design guidance.pdf
• Beamer et al 2006 whidbey pocket estuary fish

The following embayment documents are uploaded to this wiki:

• File:Beamer et al 2003 importance of non-natal pocket estuaries.pdf
• File:Beamer et al 2006 whidbey pocket estuary fish.pdf
• File:WDNR 2013 piling and creosote removal BMP.pdf
• File:Mickelson et al 2009 crescent harbor monitoring plan.pdf
• File:Heatwole 2004 crescent harbor barrier marsh insects and plants.pdf
• File:Mickelson 2009 crescent creek freshwater input analysis.pdf
• File:NOSC 2009 salmon estuary monitoring plan.pdf
• File:Long et al 2011 snow-salmon estuary restoration monitoring report.pdf
• File:Wait et al 2007 west whidbey nearshore fish use.pdf
• File:Redmond et al 2005 nearshore salmon recovery plan.pdf
• File:Cereghino 2014 DRAFT Integrated Nearshore Assessment.docx
• File:Cereghino 2014 DRAFT nimble spatial reassessment.pdf
• File:Cardno-entrix 2013 snow creek design report.pdf
• File:Hughes et al 2014 nursery functions of estuaries.pdf
• File:Cereghino 2015 accelerating estuary restoration.pdf
• File:Cornu et al 2008 large wood placement in tidal wetlands.pdf
• File:Breems & Goodman 2009 wood waste assessment and remediation.pdf
• File:DNR 2008 fidalgo bay management plan.pdf
• File:Kramer et al 2010 shoreline no net loss framework.pdf
• File:Rossenkotter et al 2007 nearshore salmon recovery gap analysis.pdf
• File:Shreffler et al 2008 jimmycomelately lessons learned.pdf
• File:Dethier 1990 puget sound shoreline classification.pdf
• File:Zu Ermgassen et al 2016 oyster restoration objectives for ecosystem services.pdf
• File:Cereghino 2014 sub-estuary inventory in puget sound.pdf
• File:Ehinger et al 2015 nearshore habitat value HEA.pdf
• File:Lanksbury et al 2017 mussel monitoring survey 2015-2016.pdf
• File:Goetz et al 2004 PSNERP restoration principles.pdf
• File:Fresh 2006 juvenile salmon in nearshore.pdf
• File:Schlenger et al 2011 PSNERP strategic needs assessment.pdf
• File:Beechie et al 2017 salmon habitat status monitoring.pdf
• File:Berry et al 2001 shorezone users manual.pdf
• File:Hall et al 2019 DRAFT pocket estuary inventory protocol.pdf
• File:Lambert & Chamberlin 2023 non-natal rearing.pdf
• File:Bloch et al. 2019 coastal stream and embayment restoration prioritization.pdf
• File:ESA et al. 2022 coastal stream and embayment fish access framework.pdf
• File:Tuohy et al. 2018 chum non-natal habitat use.pdf
• File:Johannessen et al 2014 marine shoreline design guidance.pdf

a beach formed in the absence of a eroding bluff through transport