Chezzetcook Marsh

The Salt Marsh in Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia. Salt marshes occur from Cole Harbour east through Grand Desert, West and East Chezzetcook and Petpeswick, all important to both seasonal and resident shore birds and waterfowl. Each marsh is a little different, with Chezzetcook being perhaps the most unique. One phenomenon seen here is the predominance of circular stands of cord grass (spartina alterniflora), which are yellow in the centre but have a green band of growth around outside. This growth pattern results from the grass slowing the nutrient-bearing incoming tides, causing them to drop most of the silt suspended in the water at the outer edge. The periphery continues to make new green growth around the expanding circle.