PHOTO PATTERN DATA ELEMENTS: TIDAL FLAT (BASIN)
The Coastal Plain- The coastal plain is a simple, nearly flat structure consisting of
unconsolidated layers of marl, sand, silt and clay recently elevated above the ocean floor.
From the Piedmont the plain grades easterly imperceptibly to the coast where low-level
formations such as estuaries and elliptical bays are found. (Wet, Subtropic)
Form
Plain, extremely level, gently sloping to sea.
Drainage
Dendritic pattern, meander streams, parallel features.
Gully Characteristics
None developed.
Special Features
Broad, meandering dendritic systems of drainage.
Color (Photo Gray Tones) Organic depressions are dark; may occur where vegetation
covered or in blocked drainage ways; usually gray in mud
flats.
Land Use
Where cleared and drained, intense agriculture is practiced,
elsewhere usually wildlife refuges.
Vegetation
Marsh grasses.
Source: Terrain analysis procedural guide for surface configuration, US Army engineer
topographic laboratories, p. 7-35