![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Wetlands Definitions
Generally, wetlands are lands where saturation with water is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities living in the soil and on its surface (Cowardin, December 1979). Wetlands vary widely because of regional and local differences in soils, topography, climate, hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation, and other factors, including human disturbance. Indeed, wetlands are found from the tundra to the tropics and on every continent except Antarctica.
For regulatory purposes under the Clean Water Act, the term wetlandsmeans "those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that undernormal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typicallyadapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally includeswamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas."
[taken from the EPA Regulations listed at 40 CFR 230.3(t)]
Wetlands Overview (PDF) (4 pp, 928K, About PDF)
Additional information on the characterization of wetlands and deep water habitats