Let’s learn about wetlands

One spooky episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender features a mysterious, magical swamp. After the swamp lures our heroes into its trees, they get attacked by vines and separated. Wandering alone through the dense, dark wood, each character begins to have strange visions.

This portrayal of a wetland as a creepy or even haunted place is pretty common in movies and TV shows. But in real life, wetlands aren’t places to be feared. They’re vital ecosystems that need our protection. American Wetlands Month, which happens each May, highlights why they’re important.

Wetlands are, by definition, lands that are wet. They don’t have to be flooded year-round. Some are only seasonally soaked. But wetlands generally boast enough water that they can be home to both land and aquatic species of microbes, plants and animals.

These ecosystems are found across all 50 U.S. states and every continent except Antarctica. So wetlands vary a lot. Swamps, for instance, are lands that are permanently filled with water and home to lots of trees. Marshes are grassy landscapes that might be soaked with freshwater or saltwater. And coastal mangrove forests are made up of trees that stretch long, spidery roots down into warm, salty water.

Other types of wetlands include bogs, fens and wet meadows.

Wetlands are home to a splendid array of species that live on land and in water. But these ecosystems also filter extra sediment and pollutants out of the water that flows through them. That includes pesticides, oil and even sewage. This filtering improves the water quality downstream. As a result, wetlands are sometimes known as the “kidneys” of waterways.

Wetlands can also absorb water from storms and sea level rise, helping guard against floods and erosion. Some even lock up lots of climate-warming carbon. So while wetlands may get a bad rap in media, they are in many ways real-world habitat heroes. 

Want to know more? We’ve got some stories to get you started:

Analyze This: In movies, wetlands often get a bad rap Swamps in films are often linked to danger, death and strange things. But movies also highlight wetlands’ biodiversity and resources. (1/21/2025) Readability: 7.4

The Okefenokee’s dark waters hold secrets about climate and more This Georgia peat swamp’s vast stores of carbon and water are under threat from mining and pollution. Scientists and locals are fighting to protect it. (3/12/2026) Readability: 6.5

Hurricane Katrina shaped this coastal ecologist’s life and work Surviving Hurricane Katrina inspired Elliott White Jr.’s scientific journey to studying how humans and climate change impact wetlands. (4/22/2026) Readability: 7.5

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Wetlands of all types exist across the United States. Find one of these scenic habitats near you by consulting your local parks department or exploring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wetlands Inventory!