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Marshes 

MarshIn Alberta, marshes are often called sloughs. Marshes are formed in depressions in the landscape where water runs through channels or where water collects as standing pools. A slough is a type of marsh lying in a depression, surrounded by dry land. Many emergent plants are seen in abundance in marshes: cattails, rushes, reeds, sedges and grasses. The roots of marsh plants are flooded for most of the summer. Marshes are often bordered by grassy meadows and stands of trees and shrubs. Small marshes in the rolling hills of the prairies are known as potholes. These pothole depressions were left behind by glaciers and are generally isolated from other marshes by higher ground.

Reprinted from Focus On Wetlands  (1994) with permission of Alberta Environment.

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