Key B-1: Key to Inland Landforms


1. Wetland occurs on a noticeable slope (e.g., greater than a 2 percent slope)........Slope Wetland

Go to Key D-1 for water flow path


Modifiers can be applied to Slope Wetlands to designate the type of inflow or outflow as Channelized Inflow or Outflow (intermittent or perennial, stream or river), Nonchannelized Inflow or Outflow (wetland lacking stream, but connected by observable surface seepage flow), or Nonchannelized-Subsurface Inflow or Outflow (suspected subsurface flow from or to a neighboring wetland upslope or downslope, respectively).

  1. Wetland does not occur on a distinct slope.        2


2. Wetland forms an island....................................................................................Island Wetland

(Go to Key D-1 for water flow path)


Note: Can designate an island formed in a delta at the mouth of a river or stream as a Delta Island Wetland; other islands are associated with landscape positions (e.g., lotic river island wetland, lotic stream island wetland, lentic island wetland, or terrene island pond wetland). Vegetation class and subclass from Cowardin et al. 1979 should be applied to characterize the vegetation of these wetland islands; vegetation is assumed to be rooted unless designated by a modifier - "Floating Mat" to indicate a floating island.


  1. Wetland does not form an island.        3


  1. Wetland occurs within the banks of a river or stream or along the shores of a pond, lake, or island, or behind a barrier beach or island, and is either: (1) vegetated and typically permanently inundated, semipermanently flooded (including their tidal freshwater equivalents plus seasonally flooded-tidal palustrine emergent wetlands which tend to be flooded frequently by the tides) or otherwise flooded for most of the growing season, or permanently saturated due to this location or (2) a nonvegetated bank or shore that is temporarily or seasonally flooded .....Fringe Wetland

Go to Couplet "a" below for Types of Fringe Wetlands

Then Go to Key D-1 for water flow path Attention: Seasonally to temporarily flooded vegetated wetlands along rivers and streams (including tidal freshwater reaches) are classified as either Floodplain, Basin, or Flat landforms

- see applicable categories.


    1. Wetland forms along the shores of an upland island within a lake, pond, river, or stream......................................................................................................................b

a. Wetland does not form along the shores of an island.....................................................d


    1. Wetland forms behind a barrier island or beach spit along a lake..............Lentic Barrier Island Fringe Wetland or Lentic Barrier Beach Fringe Wetland

Modifier: Drowned River-mouth

b. Wetland forms along another type of island...................................................................c



    1. Wetland forms along an upland island in a river or stream...................Lotic River Island Fringe Wetland or Lotic Stream Island Fringe Wetland
  1. Wetland forms along an upland island in a lake or pond..................Lentic Island Fringe Wetland or Terrene Pond Island Fringe Wetland


  1. Wetland forms in or along a river or stream..........................Lotic River Fringe Wetland or Lotic Stream Fringe Wetland

d. Wetland forms in or along a pond or lake......................................................................e


e. Wetland forms along a pond shore.................................................................................f

e. Wetland forms along a lake shore.................................................Lentic Fringe Wetland

Modifier: Drowned River-mouth


f. Wetland occurs along an in-stream pond.........................................Lotic River or Stream Fringe Pond Wetland Throughflow

f. Wetland occurs in another type of pond.............................Terrene Fringe Pond Wetland


Note: Vegetation is assumed to be rooted unless designated by a modifier to indicate a floating mat (Floating Mat).

  1. Wetland does not exist along these shores.        4


  1. Wetland occurs on an active floodplain (alluvial processes in effect)........................Floodplain Wetland* (could specify the river system, if desirable).        Go to Key D-1 for water flow path Sub-landforms are listed below.


    1. Wetland forms along the shores of a river island....................Floodplain Island Wetland a. Wetland is not along an island.......................................................................................b


    1. Wetland forms in a depressional feature on a floodplain........Floodplain Basin Wetland or Floodplain Oxbow Wetland (a special type of depression)

b. Wetland forms on a broad nearly level terrace...........................Floodplain Flat Wetland


*Note: Questionable floodplain areas may be verified by consulting soil surveys and locating the presence of alluvial soils, e.g., Fluvaquents or Fluvents, or soils with Fluvaquentic subgroups. While most Floodplain wetlands will have a Throughflow water flow path; others may be designated, e.g., Inflow, Outflow, or Isolated.  Former floodplain wetlands are classified as Basins or Flats and designated as former floodplain.


Modifiers: Partly Drained; Confluence wetland - wetland at the intersection of two or more streams; River-mouth or stream-mouth wetland - wetland at point where a river and stream empties into lake; Meander scar wetland - floodplain basin wetland, the remnant of a former river meander.


  1. Wetland does not occur on an active floodplain.        5
  2. Wetland occurs on an interstream divide (interfluve)...................................Interfluve Wetland or specify regional types of interfluve wetlands, for example: Carolina Bay Interfluve Wetland, Pocosin Interfluve Wetland, and Flatwood Interfluve Wetland (Southeast). Sub-landforms are listed below.        Go to Key D-1 for water flow path
    1. Wetland forms in a depressional feature.................................. Interfluve Basin Wetland

a. Wetland forms on a broad nearly level terrace ............................Interfluve Flat Wetland

Modifiers: Partly Drained.

  1. Wetland does not occur on an interfluve.        6
  2. Wetland exists in a distinct depression in various positions on the landscape (i.e., surrounded by upland, along smaller rivers and streams, along in-stream ponds, along lake shores, or on former floodplains or interfluves)............ Basin Wetland or Basin Wetland Former Floodplain (including Basin Oxbow Wetland Former Floodplain) or Basin Wetland Former Interfluve. Can specify regional types: Carolina Bay Basin Wetland and Pocosin Basin Wetland (Atlantic Coastal Plain), Cypress Dome Basin Wetland (Florida), Prairie Pothole Basin Wetland (Upper Midwest), "Salt Flat" Basin Wetland (arid West), Playa Basin Wetland (Southwest), West Coast Vernal Pool Basin Wetland (California and Pacific Northwest), Interdunal Basin Wetland (sand dunes), Woodland Vernal Pool Basin Wetland (forests throughout the country), Polygonal Basin Wetland (Alaska), Sinkhole Basin Wetland (karst/limestone regions), Pond Wetland Basin (throughout country), or some type of Island Basin Wetland for basin wetlands on islands.

Go to Key D-1 for water flow path

Modifiers may be applied to indicate artificially created basins due to beaver activity or human actions or artificially drained basins including: Beaver (beaver-created); wetlands created for various purposes or unintentionally formed due to human activities - may want to specify purpose like Aquaculture (e.g., fish and crayfish), Wildlife management (e.g., waterfowl impoundments), and Former floodplain, or to designate former salt marsh that is now nontidal (Former estuarine wetland).  Other modifiers may be applied to designate the type of inflow or outflow as Channelized (intermittent or perennial, stream or river), Nonchannelized-wetland (contiguous wetland lacking stream), or Nonchannelized-subsurface flow (suspected subsurface flow to neighboring wetland), or to identify a headwater basin (Headwater) or a drainage divide wetland that discharges into two or more watershed (Drainage divide), or to denote a spring-fed wetland (Spring- fed), a wetland bordering a pond (Pond basin wetland) and a wetland bordering an upland island in a pond (Pond island border). For lotic basin wetlands, consider additional modifiers such as Confluence wetland - wetland at the intersection of two or more streams; River-mouth or Stream-mouth wetland - wetland at point where a river and a stream empties into a lake. For lentic basins associated with the Great Lakes, possibly identify Drowned River-mouth wetlands where mouth extends into the lake basin. Partly drained may be used for ditched/drained wetlands.


6. Wetland exists in a relatively level area.................................................................Flat Wetland or specify regional types of flat wetlands, for example: Salt Flat Wetland (in the Great Basin) or flats that are fragments of once-larger interfluve flats or former floodplains: Flat Wetland, Former Interfluve or Flat Wetland, Former Floodplain.

Go to Key D-1 for water flow path


Note: If desirable, a modifier for drained flats can be applied (Partly drained). Other modifiers can be applied to designate the type of inflow or outflow as Channelized (intermittent or perennial, stream or river), Nonchannelized-wetland (contiguous wetland lacking stream), or Nonchannelized-subsurface flow (suspected subsurface flow to neighboring wetland). For lotic flat wetlands, consider additional modifiers such as confluence wetland - wetland at the intersection of two or more streams; river-mouth or stream-mouth wetland - wetland at point where a river and a stream empties into a lake.


Created with the Personal Edition of HelpNDoc: Free HTML Help documentation generator