Take a walk on the beach with three coastal experts who reveal the secrets and the science of the North Carolina shoreline. What makes sea foam? What are those tiny sand volcanoes along the waterline? You'll find the answers to these questions and dozens more in this comprehensive field guide

Take this book to the beach; it will open up a whole new world. Illustrated throughout with color photographs, maps, and graphics, it explores one of the planet’s most dynamic environments—from tourist beaches to Arctic beaches strewn with ice chunks to steaming hot tropical shores. The World’s Beaches tells how

"Descriptive accounts, distribution maps, and 265 color photographs describe 252 species of mollusk shells as beachcombers are likely to find them"--P. [4] of cover.

Shells on a Desert Shore is a fresh, original look at an indigenous culture of North America having a deep and intimate knowledge of the Gulf of California. Cathy Moser Marlett offers a richly illustrated ethnographic work, describing the Seri knowledge of mollusks and their cultural importance.

Once, all barrier islands were natural places where sand dunes and sea grasses, waterbirds and beach creatures flourished, undisturbed by human development. Matagorda Island still is. Part of a chain of five major barrier islands that shelter the Texas coastline from the Gulf of Mexico, Matagorda Island is the only