Littoral zone

The littoral zone is the part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes this intertidal zone and is often used to mean the same as the intertidal zone. However, the meaning of "littoral zone" can extend well beyond the intertidal zone.

There is no single definition. What is regarded as the full extent of the littoral zone, and the way the littoral zone is divided into subregions, varies in different contexts (lakes and rivers have their own definitions). The use of the term also varies from one part of the world to another, and between different disciplines. For example, military commanders speak of the littoral in ways that are quite different from marine biologists.

The adjacency of water gives a number of distinctive characteristics to littoral regions. The erosive power of water results in particular types of landforms, such as sand dunes, and estuaries. The natural movement of the littoral along the coast is called the littoral drift. Biologically, the ready availability of water enables a greater variety of plant and animal life, and particularly the formation of extensive wetlands. In addition, the additional local humidity due to evaporation usually creates a microclimate supporting unique types of organisms.

Littoral (disambiguation)

Littoral or Litoral can mean:

Geographic

Current entities

Historical entities and informal regions

Other

Slovene Littoral

The Slovene Littoral (Slovene: Primorska, pronounced [priˈmóːrska];Italian: Litorale; German: Küstenland) is one of the five traditional regions of Slovenia. Its name recalls the former Austrian Littoral (Avstrijsko Primorje), the Habsburg possessions on the upper Adriatic coast, of which the Slovene Littoral was part.

Geography

The region forms the westernmost part of Slovenia, bordering with the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It stretches from the Adriatic Sea in the south up to the Julian Alps in the north.

The Slovene Littoral comprises two traditional provinces: Goriška and Slovenian Istria. The Goriška region takes its name from the town of Gorizia (Slovene: Gorica) now in Italy; the neighbouring conurbation of Nova Gorica and Šempeter-Vrtojba today is the urban centre of the Slovene Littoral. Slovenian Istria comprises the northern part of the Istria peninsula and provides, on the Slovenian Riviera coastline with the ports of Koper, Izola, and Piran, the country's only access to the sea.