A wetland is an area of land covered by water or land that is waterlogged for long periods of time during the growing season. Many wetlands are difficult to identify because they may be dry for most of the year, but during a substantial part of the growing season, there is far to much water for the land to absorb thus creating standing pools of water or saturated soil. Wetlands may also be referred to as swamps, marshes, or bogs according to the type of soil and plant life they contain.
 

Photograph Courtesy of Tim Daniel ~ ODW

Swamps and marshes both occur in low-lying areas near rivers or on flat areas along coasts between the high and low watermarks. Both swamps and marshes have mineral soils because they have access to mineral-rich groundwater. Barred owls, tree frogs, leopard frogs, garter snakes, herons and ducks, are just a few types of wildlife that may be abundant in the wetlands, depending on the diversity of the wetland's plant life. Wetland plant life consists of grasses, flowers and trees.