Schorre morphology on the south shore of theSaint Lawrence Estuary

The salt marshes are characteristic of a cold-temperature region. Ice is an important morpho-sedimentological agent. A large quantity of boulders and coarse sediments are brought by drift ice which also digs and ploughs the surface of the schorre during winter and spring. Four types of salt marshes are common: The first is characterized by numerous shallow subcircular or irregular shaped pans, the second by an abundance of erratics, mostly crystalline boulders, the third by a rocky platform overlaid by a thin veneer of mud, and the fourth is a muddy schorre similar to common marshes of the Atlantic coast of southeastern Canada. The first three have never been described as such in coastal literature. Schorre is a Dutch word that refers to that part of a salt marsh covered by high tides.