Zonation?

The US National Park Service has installed informative signs along the Hammock Hills Nature Trail. Over the years I have read them, but recently I paid more attention. That's when I noticed the phrase "Zonation of Salt Marsh." Zonation?, I thought. It sounds like a made up word. Wouldn't "Zones of the Salt Marsh" be more elegant?

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It turns out that "zonation" is listed in several on-line dictionaries, and even in my Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Not surprisingly, it means "structure or arrangement in zones." 

One feature that makes the salt marsh so dynamic is the zonation! Saltmeadow hay, black needlethrush, and saltmarsh cordgrass thrive in the supratidal & intertidal zones (both above the subtidal zone which starts from the average low tide line and extends into the sound).  

Fishermen, kayakers, clammers, and other adventurous folks know that Pamlico Sound offers numerous opportunities to enjoy unparallelled beauty and tranquility at Ocracoke Island near the marsh, an area teeming with life, and vital to the health of our coastal waters.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is a brief history of the Soundfront Inn, one of the oldest structures on the island. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news102113.htm.