Introduction to California's Beaches and Coast

California Natural History Guides #99

by Gary B. Griggs

From sunny beaches where thousands escape the summer’s heat to wild and isolated rocky cliffs, California boasts one of the most spectacular and diverse shorelines in the world. Accompanied by numerous color photographs, diagrams, and maps, this guide explains why California’s Pacific Coast looks and works the way it does. Gary Griggs explores the dynamic forces that have created beaches and the coastline through lively discussions of tectonics, the formation of waves, rain and wind, changing climates and sea levels, human impacts, and coastal erosion. The guide answers such questions as:

• Where does all that sand come from?

• Can we harness the energy of waves?

• How fast does the coastline erode?

• What lies just off shore beneath the waves?

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

328 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2010

Reviews

[Daniel Kolman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential book if you are living in California close to coastline. Covers everything from wave shape, beach lifecycle, tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides, coast erosion... It's a must read if you plan to buy a house close to the ocean.

[Haley Canales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved using this book in Dr.Griggs UCSC class, made for easy to understand information on all the local wonders we appreciate in CA! Highly recommend the book, the class, and the teacher!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first read of a California Natural History Guide (#99 in the series) and I look forward to reading some of the other Introductory Guides from the University of California press. Very nice presentation of photographs and science.