The seven continents of our world are made up of many different types of environments. Some have dry deserts, while others have mountains that reach high into the sky, plains that stretch out into the horizon, hills covered with thick forests and many more. Most continents have a mixture of different types of environments, but one environment that all continents share is the coast. The coast is the part of the land that runs into the sea, and in every part of the world the coast looks a little different. In California, the land near the sea is rocky and sharp, whereas in South Carolina, the land consists of mostly beaches and marshes that transition more softly into the water. In Chetumal, we get to see a whole different type of coastal ecosystem!
Chetumal is a city that sits right on the edge of the coast where México meets the Caribbean Sea. Unlike California, it is not very rocky at all, and its coast is made mostly of beaches and a very special ecosystem called mangrove forests. Mangroves are trees that are not very tall in height but have an incredibly large system of roots that seem to stick out of the water in all directions. Mangroves like to live in warm areas with salty, slow-moving water and they can even grow in soil with very little oxygen or few nutrients.
