The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark, to coastal areas that are permanently submerged — known as the foreshore — and the terms are often used interchangeably. However, the geographical meaning of littoral zone extends well beyond the intertidal zone to include all neritic waters within the bounds of continental shelves.
The littoral zone of an ocean is the area close to the shore and extending out to the edge of the continental shelf.
The intertidal zone of a beach is also part of the littoral zone.
Estuaries are also in the littoral zone.
Shoreline of a lake with nearly unvegetated littoral zone
A sea is a large body of salty water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the wider body of seawater.
Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections of the oceanic sea, or certain large, nearly landlocked bodies of water.
Atlantic Ocean near the Faroe Islands.
Composite images of the Earth created by NASA in 2001
The 2004 tsunami in Thailand
Praia da Marinha in Algarve, Portugal
