New Jersey Kayaking

Sedges & Reeds

Sedges and Reeds are superficially similar, but actually quite different. But unless you are a biologist - who cares? ( Reeds are grasses, sedges are sedges. )

Sedges

Sedges tolerate a wide range of salinity, from freshwater to seawater, although they seem to grow best in brackish water. So, like above, if you are exploring a bay or inlet, that stuff all around you is most likely sedge.

Channels like the one above are not natural, they are cut primarily for mosquito control. Mosquito larvae need still water, and the tidal flow helps flush them out, while also allowing access for fish to feed on them. That's the idea, but it is not 100% effective, so bring your bug spray.

-- Wikipedia

Reeds

One well-known reed is the Cattail. This member of the grass family tolerates brackish water, but is found most often in fresh.

Cattail bloom

-- Wikipedia

Plants, Wildlife,

Blue Holes

A New Jersey "Blue Hole" is a sand quarry that has filled with water from the aquifer below. These are very dangerous places. This is because, although the visible part may look like a Caribbean beach, the underwater sides of the quarry are steep and unstable, and merely walking near the edge can cause a collapse into the hole. The water is deep and cold, and the victim is quickly overcome by shock and hypothermia and drowns.

I have marked a few of the bigger and more notorious Blue Holes that might look like good places to go on a satellite image. They are not. Most Blue Holes are either state-owned or private property, and strictly illegal to trespass.

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