The Goodwin Islands are a

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

of uninhabited

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

islands off the coast of

York County, Virginia York County (formerly Charles River County) is a List of cities and counties in Virginia#List of counties, county in the eastern part of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, located in the Tidewater (region), Tidewater. As o ...

, at the mouth of the York River in

Chesapeake Chesapeake most often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian *Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated places In Virginia * ...

Bay. They are owned by the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

and are managed on the college's behalf by the

Virginia Institute of Marine Science The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) is one of the largest marine research and education centers in the United States. Founded in 1940, VIMS is unique among marine science institutions in its legal mandate to provide research, educatio ...

. The sole means of transportation to the Goodwin Islands is by boat, with permission being required to perform certain activities. The islands and their surrounding waters are home to many birds and fish, such as the

mummichog The mummichog (''Fundulus heteroclitus'') is a small killifish found along the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. Also known as Atlantic killifish, mummies, gudgeons, and mud minnows, these fish inhabit brackish and coastal waters in ...

.Ayers, Lisa Ann, "Finfish Communities of Two Intertidal Marshes of the Goodwin Islands, York River, Virginia" (1995). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. William & Mary. Paper 1539617679. Primary ecological community groups are situated on the islands, such as tidal meso-polyhaline marshes, maritime dune grasslands, salt scrub, and maritime upland forest. Salt marsh vegetation throughout the island primarily consists of salt marsh cordgrass and

salt meadow A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It i ...

hay.

Shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

vegetation is dominant at forested wet land ridges. The upland ridges of the largest island in the

are home to oak and pine tree species. Tides in the waters of the Goodwin Islands are

semi-diurnal A diurnal cycle (or diel cycle) is any pattern that recurs every 24 hours as a result of one full rotation of the planet Earth around its axis. Earth's rotation causes surface temperature fluctuations throughout the day and night, as well as we ...

Climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

has posed a significant threat to the islands, with shoreline erosion from storms frequently occurring and impacting local species. A water monitoring program and a biological monitoring program have been active since 1997. The Goodwin Islands are observed to harbor prehistoric and historic resources; however, an official archaeological survey has not been conducted.

References

River islands of Virginia Coastal islands of Virginia {{Virginia-stub