Location
These landscapes are found on the larger of the east flowing rivers in the county the Butley River and the rivers Blyth, Deben, Orwell, Alde and Stour.
Geology, landform and soils
The majority of this area consists of marine alluvium and some outcrops of clay forming mud flat with only a few comparatively small areas in the form of saltmarsh.
Landholding and enclosure pattern
There is no visible enclosure pattern in these landscapes. All the units consist of wild unimproved land
Settlement
This is an unsettled landscape - although it is integral to the setting of notable features such as Pin Mill.
Vegetation cover
The saltmarsh consists of inter tidal flats dissected by creeks and covered with a low vegetation consisting principally of cord grass and samphire.
Visual experience
Often these landscapes are small and form a fringing element to the upland or costal grazing marsh, however in the larger areas of mud on the flats such as Holbrook Bay a powerful sense of isolation and wildness can be found.
Condition
The remnant saltmarsh in the county is, with one exception at Orford Ness, not able to behave naturally in response to sea level change so is suffering from coastal squeeze and the associated erosion.
All images in this page are copyright of SCC except © which is Malcolm Farrow