why are salt marshes called salt marshes?

Question

and please don't say 'because they have salt in them'

Answer 1

here you go hope this answers your question.

Salt marshes are coastal wetlands rich in marine life. They are sometimes called tidal marshes, because they occur in the zone between low and high tides. Salt marsh plants cannot grow where waves are strong, but they thrive along low-energy coasts. They also occur in areas called estuaries, where freshwater from the land mixes with sea water. A distinctive feature of salt marshes is the color - the plants are various shades of gray, brown, and green.


What Are Salt Marshes?

Salt marshes are composed of a variety of plants: rushes, sedges, and grasses. Florida's dominant salt marsh species include: black needle rush (Juncus roemerianus), the grayish rush occurring along higher marsh areas; saltmeadow cord grass (Spartina patens), growing in areas that are periodically inundated; smooth cord grass (Spartina alterniflora), found in the lowest areas that are most frequently inundated; and sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense), which is actually a freshwater plant that sometimes grows along the upper edges of salt marshes. All are tolerant of the salt in sea spray.

Salt marshes are important for many reasons. Hidden within the tangle of salt marsh plants are animals in various stages of life. Animals can hide from predators in marsh vegetation, because the shallow brackish area physically excludes larger fish. Many of Florida's popular marine fisheries species spend the early part of their lives protected in salt marshes.

Young fish often have a varied diet, foraging for food in the muds of the marsh bottom, on the plants themselves, and on smaller organisms that also dwell in the marsh system. As salt marsh plants die and decompose, they create organic detritus, another food source for many marsh dwellers. Tidal waters move up into the marsh and then retreat, distributing detritus throughout the estuary. Algae are also an important food source in salt marshes.

Answer 2

I searched the text [1] of the bill and found nothing specificially about neither the salt marsh mouse nor San Fransisco nor wetland conservation. A little more search, and I turned up an article that had this to say: "One peak behind the bureaucratic curtain has yielded the following examples of hidden program information that is not included in the language of the bill or report." [2] The article then names (along with other claims) the $30 million that you are questioning. I don't know exactly what a "peak behind the bureaucratic curtain" is exactly. But I don't doubt that Pelosi, as the bill's sponsor, has some pull to get projects that she wants.

Answer 3

You're not gonna like this, but it's because they have salt in them. More precisely, salt marshes are usually near estuaries with brackish water, i.e. a mixture of salt and fresh water.

Answer 4

The previous answers are spot on - it really is because they have salt in them. The salt having come from the seas bays, estuaries etc along the coastlines of which can be found salt marshes.

There's more from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_marsh

Answer 5

well its marshland with salt from the ocean