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{{short description|Inlet or estuary that is affected by ebb and flow of ocean tides}}
{{Other uses|Creek (disambiguation)}}
[[File:11-09-04-fotoflug-nordsee-by-RalfR-024.jpg|thumb|Aerial photo of North Sea, tidal channels between the islands of [[Nigehörn]] (left) and [[Scharhörn]] (right)]]A '''tidal creek''' or '''tidal channel''' is a narrow [[inlet]] or [[estuary]] that is affected by ebb and flow of ocean [[Tide|tides]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Healy|first=Terry R.|title=Tidal Creeks|date=2005|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3880-1_313|work=Encyclopedia of Coastal Science|pages=949–950|editor-last=Schwartz|editor-first=Maurice L.|place=Dordrecht|publisher=Springer Netherlands|language=en|doi=10.1007/1-4020-3880-1_313|isbn=978-1-4020-3880-8|access-date=2021-04-02}}</ref> Thus it has variable [[salinity]] and [[electrical conductivity]] over the tidal cycle, and flushes salts from inland soils. Tidal creeks are characterized by slow water velocity resulting in buildup of fine, organic sediment in wetlands. Creeks may often be a dry to muddy channel with little or no flow at low tide, but with significant depth of water at high tide. Due to the temporal variability of [[water quality]] parameters within the tidally influenced zone, there are unique [[Biota (ecology)|biota]] associated with tidal creeks which are often specialised to such zones. Nutrients and organic matter are delivered downstream to habitats normally lacking these, while the creeks also provide access to inland habitat for salt-water organisms.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook for Restoring Tidal Wetlands|publisher=CRC Press|year=2001|editor-last=Zedler|editor-first=Joy B.|chapter=Hydrology and Substrate}}</ref>[[File:11-09-04-fotoflug-nordsee-by-RalfR-011.jpg|thumb|Aerial photo of North Sea, tidal inlets from the [[Wadden Sea]] on Scharhörn]]
==Names==
In [[British English]] and in many other countries in the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], such as [[List of rivers of the Bahamas|The Bahamas]], as well as some parts of the United States (near the [[Chesapeake Bay]], parts of [[New England]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sprucecreekassociation.org/sprucecreek.html|title=About the Spruce Creek Watershed |access-date=2009-06-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703211312/http://www.sprucecreekassociation.org/sprucecreek.html |archive-date=2008-07-03 }}</ref> and southern Florida{{efn|name=Florida|"Creek" is used in the names of tidal creeks on the Florida mainland such as [[Snapper Creek]], [[Arch Creek, Florida|Arch Creek]] and Frog Creek<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://floridadep.gov/fco/nerr-rookery-bay/media/terra-ceia-aquatic-preserve-dep-staff-randy-runnels-frog-creek|title=Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve -DEP-staff-Randy-Runnels-Frog-Creek {{!}} Florida Department of Environmental Protection|website=floridadep.gov|access-date=2018-12-18}}</ref> and in the [[Florida Keys]] in the names of tidal channels such as [[Jewfish Creek Bridge|Jewfish Creek]], [[Snake Creek Bridge|Snake Creek]] and [[Caesar's Rock|Caesar Creek]].}}), a creek is a [[Tide|tidal]] water channel. In the tidal section of the [[River Thames]] in London, the names of the rivers that flow into it all become Creeks for the lower section that is tidal; thus, for example the [[River Lea]] becomes [[Bow Creek (England)|Bow Creek]] in its tidal section. In parts of southwest England and [[Wales]], the term 'pill' is used,<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1971|volume=II (P–Z)|pages=2174}}</ref> and is found in placenames such as [[Huntspill]].

A narrow channel between islands in the [[Florida Keys]] is known there as a creek.{{efn|name=Florida}} On the [[India]] and [[Pakistan]] borders the term also applies to the salt water inlets enclosed by [[mangroves]]. Creeks are found dispersed all along the Indian coast.

== Development ==
Whereas areas of coastline that experience high wave activity are usually characterized by [[Beach|beaches]], areas sheltered from wave action may develop tidal [[wetland]] systems. In these areas, upland creeks drain towards the shore, draining the high part of the coast. At some point they become [[Tide|tidal]], technically [[estuarine]].

As they come closer to shore they often become very sinuous, due to the flatness of the land. In addition to draining upland fresh water (in many instances) tidal creeks form by the ebb [[tide]] seaward flow and downward incision of the water as it flows from inland to the shore. At high tide (and certainly at spring tide) large areas are covered with water. This huge volume of water retreats at the start of the ebb tide in a surge. Later on during the ebb tide, water remains only in the creeks and the current is mainly a river (drainage) current and not tidal. Tidal creeks deposit sediment in a process called [[Accretion (coastal management)|accretion]], during the flood tide, which can maintain a flat plain by counteracting [[sea level rise]] or land [[subsidence]]. High tidal flow will maintain channels, while slower flow velocity can lead to closure of tidal creeks as they become clogged with sediment. Well-developed wetlands have sharp-banked tidal creeks, with vegetation stabilizing the sides of the creeks. Such tidal creeks will also be connected in networks: a multitude of smaller creeks called first-order creeks will feed into large ones, creating complex patterns of drainage.

== Human impact ==
Especially in areas prone to [[Compaction (geology)|compaction]] or [[subsidence]] - like peat wetlands - human use of tidal creek flow can lead to the expansion of the creeks. Natural subsidence is compounded by anthropogenic sediment compaction, lowering the land level. Deforestation and other human-development-related processes can destabilize the banks of creeks and increase the amount of sediment in them. This slows the velocity of the water, which means that instead of cutting deeper channels the water flows gently farther inland in shallow channels.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pierik|first=Harm Jan|last2=Stouthamer|first2=Esther|last3=Schuring|first3=Tim|last4=Cohen|first4=Kim M.|date=2018-09-25|title=Human-caused avulsion in the Rhine-Meuse delta before historic embankment (The Netherlands)|journal=Geology|language=en|volume=46|issue=11|pages=935–938|doi=10.1130/g45188.1|issn=0091-7613|bibcode=2018Geo....46..935P|hdl=1874/374673|doi-access=free}}</ref> Human development in tidal areas often results in [[Levee|diking]], which changes the course of the tidal creeks and the salinity of the tidal area into freshwater.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Karberg|first=Jennifer M.|last2=Beattie|first2=Karen C.|last3=O’Dell|first3=Danielle I.|last4=Omand|first4=Kelly A.|date=2018-06-18|title=Tidal Hydrology and Salinity Drives Salt Marsh Vegetation Restoration and Phragmites australis Control in New England|journal=Wetlands|language=en|volume=38|issue=5|pages=993–1003|doi=10.1007/s13157-018-1051-4|issn=0277-5212}}</ref>

[[Restoration ecology|Restoration]] of tidal wetlands begins with restoration of the creek systems, which determine the shape of the land, the nutrient and salinity levels, and the type of vegetation and animal communities in a wetland.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Isdell|first=Robert E.|last2=Bilkovic|first2=Donna M.|last3=Hershner|first3=Carl|date=2018|title=Shorescape-level factors drive distribution and condition of a salt marsh facilitator (Geukensia demissa)|journal=Ecosphere|language=en|volume=9|issue=10|pages=e02449|doi=10.1002/ecs2.2449|issn=2150-8925|url=https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1704&context=vimsarticles|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Li|first=Runxiang|last2=Yu|first2=Qian|last3=Wang|first3=Yunwei|last4=Wang|first4=Zheng Bing|last5=Gao|first5=Shu|last6=Flemming|first6=Burg|date=2018|title=The relationship between inundation duration and Spartina alterniflora growth along the Jiangsu coast, China|journal=Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science|volume=213|pages=305–313|doi=10.1016/j.ecss.2018.08.027|issn=0272-7714|bibcode=2018ECSS..213..305L}}</ref>

==Examples==
There are thousands of examples of tidal creeks throughout the world. A few specific ones are:
*[[Burn of Ayreland]], Mainland, Orkney
*[[Americano Creek]], California, USA
*[[Crooked River (Florida)|Crooked River]], Florida, USA, a {{convert|41|km|mi|adj=on}}-long tidal channel connecting two estuaries
*[[Ennore Creek]], Chennai, India
*[[Thane Creek]], Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Maharashtra, India
*[[Gorai Creek]], Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
*[[Vasai Creek]], Thane, Maharashtra, India
*[[Dubai Creek]], United Arab Emirates

==See also==
*[[River delta]]
*[[Salt marsh]]
*[[Tidal course]]

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Water streams]]

Tidal creek - Revision history

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