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The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of Marine habitat with various species of Marine life, such as seastars, , and many species of coral with regional differences in biodiversity. Sometimes it is referred to as the littoral zone or coast, although those can be defined as a wider region.
The intertidal zone also includes steep rocky , sandy , or wetlands (e.g., vast ). This area can be a narrow strip, such as in that have only a narrow tidal range, or can include many meters of shoreline where shallow beach slopes interact with high tidal excursion. The peritidal zone is similar but somewhat wider, extending from above the highest tide level to below the lowest. Organisms in the intertidal zone are well-adapted to their environment, facing high levels of interspecific competition and the rapidly changing conditions that come with the tides. The intertidal zone is also home to several species from many different Phylum (Porifera, Annelida, Coelenterata, Mollusca, Arthropoda, etc.).
The water that comes with the tides can vary from , fresh with rain, to highly Seawater and dry salt, with drying between tidal inundations. Wave splash can dislodge residents from the littoral zone. With the intertidal zone's high exposure to sunlight, the temperature can range from very hot with full sunshine to near freezing in colder climates. Some in the littoral zone are moderated by local features and larger plants such as . in the littoral zone allow the utilization of supplied in high volume on a regular basis from the sea, which is actively moved to the zone by tides. The edges of habitats, in this case the land and sea, are themselves often significant , and the littoral zone is a prime example.
A typical rocky shore can be divided into a spray zone or splash zone (also known as the supratidal zone), which is above the Spring tide and is covered by water only during storms, and an intertidal zone, which lies between the high and low tidal extremes. Along most , the intertidal zone can be clearly separated into the following subzones: high tide zone, middle tide zone, and low tide zone. The intertidal zone is one of a number of or , including estuary, the neritic zone, the photic zone, and Profundal zone.
Depending on the substratum and topography of the shore, additional features may be noticed. On , form in depressions that fill with water as the tide rises. Under certain conditions, such as those at Morecambe Bay, quicksand may form.
The burrowing that make up large portions of sandy beach ecosystems are known to travel relatively great distances in cross-shore directions as beaches change on the order of days, semilunar cycles, seasons, or years. The distribution of some species has been found to correlate strongly with geomorphic datums such as the high tide strand and the water table outcrop.
Since the foreshore is alternately covered by the sea and exposed to the air, organisms living in this environment must be adapted to both wet and dry conditions. Intertidal zone biomass reduces the risk of shoreline erosion from high intensity waves. Typical inhabitants of the intertidal rocky shore include , , , , , isopods, , starfish, and many marine gastropod such as and . Sexual and asexual reproduction varies by inhabitants of the intertidal zones.
Humans have historically used intertidal zones as foraged food sources during low tide . Migratory birds also rely on intertidal species for feeding areas because of low water habitats consisting of an abundance of mollusks and other marine species.
For privately owned beaches in the United States, some states such as Massachusetts use the low-water mark as the dividing line between the property of the State and that of the beach owner; however the public still has fishing, fowling, and navigation rights to the zone between low and high water. Other states such as California use the high-water mark.
In the United Kingdom, the foreshore is generally deemed to be owned by the Crown, with exceptions for what are termed several fisheries, which can be historic deeds to title, dating back to King John's time or earlier, and the Udal Law, which applies generally in Orkney and Shetland.
In Greece, according to the L. 2971/01, the foreshore zone is defined as the area of the coast that might be reached by the maximum climbing of the waves on the coast (maximum wave run-up on the coast) in their maximum capacity (maximum referring to the "usually maximum winter waves" and of course not to exceptional cases, such as ). The foreshore zone, a part of the exceptions of the law, is public, and permanent constructions are not allowed on it. In Italy, about half the shoreline is owned by the government but leased to private beach clubs called lidos.
In the and West Indian Ocean, intertidal zone management is often neglected of being a priority due to there being no intent for collective economic productivity. According to workshops performing questionaries, it is stated that eighty-six percent of respondents believe mismanagement of mangrove and coastal ecosystems are due to lack of knowledge to steward the ecosystems, yet forty-four percent of respondents state that there is a fair amount of knowledge used in those regions for fisheries.
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