A Coast to Explore Coastal Geology and Ecology of Central California

About this book

Coasts have always enchanted us with their wild beauty. A Coast to Explore offers an accessible guide to what we see when we look at a coastline: the wave-cut rock cliffs, sea caves, and sea stacks, as well as sand and gravel beaches and coastal dunes. Focusing specifically on North America's Pacific coast, Hayes and Michel explain how the San Andreas Fault system created a new and complex shoreline that has enthralled visitors from around the world, and he shows how the coastline has changed through erosion driven by El Niños, the effects of tsunamis, the formation of spectacular raised marine terraces created as a result of the changing sea level during the ice ages, and the continuing rise of the Coast Ranges. Richly illustrated with original diagrams, photographs, and satellite imagery, A Coast to Explore paints a truly complete picture of a complicated topic smoothly distilled from the scientific literature and personal observations along the coast.

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Biography

Dr Miles O. Hayes is a renowned coastal geomorphologist with over fifty years of research experience. He has authored over 250 articles and reports and three books on topics relating to tidal hydraulics, river morphology, petroleum exploration, and more. He has taught at the Universities of Massachusetts and South Carolina and is considered to be the “Father of Coastal Geology.” He is chairman of the board of Research Planning, Inc.

Dr Jacqueline Michel is an internationally recognized expert in oil and hazardous materials spill response and assessment, participating in numerous research projects across thirty-three countries. Since 1982 she has been a part of the Scientific Support Team to the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a member of the Ocean Studies Board at the National Academy of Sciences and is a lifetime associate of the National Academies. One of the original founders of Research Planning, Inc., she now serves as the company’s president.