Where Waters Meet at First Landing
At First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, water can taste less salty than the ocean but saltier than a river. The park sits near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, a huge estuary where fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from the Atlantic Ocean. This mixture helps create habitats for many kinds of plants and animals.
A changing mixture
Fresh water flows toward the bay from rivers and streams. At the same time, ocean water moves into the bay. The tides, which are the regular rise and fall of water, help move and mix these waters. Water that is partly fresh and partly salty is called brackish.
The amount of salt in brackish water is not always the same. After heavy rain, more fresh water may flow into an area, making it less salty. During drier periods, saltier water may reach farther up the bay. Tides can also change the mixture over the course of a day. Animals living in these places must be able to handle some changes in saltiness.
Marshes and sheltered water
- habitats:
- Places where living things find what they need to survive.
- currents:
- Movements of water in a particular direction.
- predators:
- Animals that hunt other animals for food.
- filter:
- To remove small things from a liquid as it passes through.
- particles:
- Very small pieces of material.
- nutrients:
- Substances that living things need to grow.
- pollution:
- Harmful substances or waste in the environment.
One passage, many ways to practice
Reading-skill questions, word work and writing prompts — all built from this text.
Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
Use clues in the passage to work out what words mean. A separate printable Vocabulary worksheet is also available.
Summarize
Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Purpose
Analyze what the author aims to do and how choices serve audience and purpose.
Structure
Analyze how sections and organizational choices build the text's ideas or effects.
Vocabulary
Practice words from the passage with a printable worksheet.
Writing Prompts
Use the passage as a springboard for short written responses, from personal reflection to evidence-based arguments.
Fix the Sentence
Practice editing sentences drawn from this passage with a printable worksheet.
Ready to use this passage in class?
Start free with the Mixed worksheet and 3 PDF downloads each week. Focused skill sets depend on plan.
Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What is the main idea of the report? Give two details that support it.
- 2How can heavy rain and dry periods affect the saltiness of bay water?
Where this passage belongs
You Might Also Like
About this report passage for Upper Elementary
“Where Waters Meet at First Landing” is a report reading passage about Estuary habitats, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 4 minutes to read (529 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.