Boat Tour Through The Mangroves

The boat tour entered the mangroves from the sea through the mouth of a large river. As we moved upstream the river became progressively smaller.

Mangroves from the center of a wide river.


Strange looking prop roots on this species.


Moving through a slighly narrower river.




Getting still narrower.


You can see that the water appears brown and dirty. However, the water is not dirty, it is just stained. The leaves of many mangrove plants contain tannins that are added to make the leaves taste bad to herbivores. When the leaves fall into the water the tannins seep out of the leaves into the water making it darker. Sort of like tea.


Prop roots can get quite thick and tangled.