The circulation and particle transport through a narrow inlet (Kelvin number <0.5) and onto a sloping shelf are numerically examined using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The model domain consists of an estuarine basin with vertical density stratification separated from a well-mixed sloping shelf by a narrow inlet. Forcing is supplied by semidiurnal tides and buoyancy differential. Strong ebb flows resulting from this combined forcing transport estuarine water seaward through the inlet to form a radially spreading buoyant surface plume over the shelf. A series of radial density fronts corresponding with the ebbing tidal outflow are found on the seaward side of the inlet mouth and are convergence zones for floating particles. Strong anticyclonic frontal flow advects particles around the boundary of the outflow plume. Particles released nearest the seaward side of the inlet mouth are able to enter the inlet at depth and remain, while those particles released farther offshore rarely enter the inlet. This result has clear implications for the shelf-to-estuary transport of pollutants or the larval phase of marine species. Asymmetric tidally induced eddies which appear on both sides of the inlet also contribute to the near-field circulation. Calculations of gradient Richardson number in the inlet show that regions susceptible to enhanced mixing occur during periods of maximum tidal velocities due to increased shear. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996