44 - Inland Tidal Sea of the Northeastern Pacific

Abstract

Inland seas are landlocked seas that are only connected to the ocean through narrow channels. They usually contain many islands, channels, sounds, and straits. Inland sea was first defined for the Seto Inland Sea, separating the three main islands of Japan and connected to the Pacific Ocean through narrow channels. It is one of the world's largest inland seas, encompassing 400 islands, 7,500 km of coastline, water depths to 650 m in the coastal fjords, and an overall marine area of 17,000 km2. This chapter summarizes the primary geomorphic features and identifies known associated habitat characteristics for the entire Inland Sea. There is a limited biological database for the Salish Sea, so only those biological features associated with geomorphic features that have been studied and published are presented. No quantitative studies of the biological communities exist for each geomorphic feature. There is considerable descriptive information pertaining to benthos of the Salish Sea, however, and based on this qualitative information several aspects of benthic habitat for some geomorphic features can be highlighted. The inland sea developed through Pleistocene glacial processes and the resultant geography provides for a meso- to macrotidal environment. Typical features found are shallow banks, deltas, fjords, glacial troughs, bedrock, subaqueous dune fields, and sponge reefs. The past and present physical processes have created a variety of habitats, such as steep, near-vertical rock walls, and stacked boulders, which offer habitat for juvenile and adult rockfish, subaqueous dunes that shelter sand lances, mud flats that provide habitat for a variety of shellfish and birds, and raised glacial banks that allow for the formation of siliceous (glass) sponge reefs.