Cook Inlet tidal wetlands and the mudflats meet at low tide. 
 
Tidal wetlands are found in areas inundated by tides at least annually. Wetlands begin with the saturation of a land habitat. Many were formed at the end of the last ice age when glaciers retreated and the shallow depressions left over filled with water. Over time, sediment and organic debris collected in the depressions and the water became shallower until the accumulated sediment and debris filled in the water and left behind shallow wetland ponds surrounded by dry land.