The Maplin Sands are mudflats on the northern bank of the Thames estuary, off Foulness Island, near Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, though they actually lie within the neighbouring borough of Rochford. They form a part of the Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation due to their value for nature conservation, with a large colony of dwarf eelgrass (Zostera noltei) and associated animal communities.[1]
To the northeast, the Maplin sands are contiguous with the Foulness sands, which are bordered to the north by the Whitaker Channel; the seaward continuation of the River Crouch.[2] To the south runs the Swin Channel.[3]
- ^ "Essex Estuaries Site details". JNCC. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ Crouch (River) inc Burnham and Fambridge at visitmyharbour.com, accessed 1 April 2018
- ^ Prostar Sailing Directions 2006 North Sea Enroute (Tenth ed.). 2006. p. 89. ISBN 9781577857549. Retrieved 29 March 2018.