Estuarine, intertidal, bedrock, open, eulittoral

Rocky intertidal areas in estuarine waters occur occasionally in the Puget Sound; some could be classified as artificial substrata (riprap), while some are classified separately as hardpan.  'Open' sites are in areas exposed to moderate waves or currents which keep silt from settling on the substratum.  The plants and animals seen on these rocky substrata are largely a freshwater-tolerant subset of those seen on marine shores. These habitats are used at high tide by sculpins and probably other fishes.  Few complete surveys have been done at such sites.