A beautifully illustrated field guide to the Mid-Atlantic region, from Jersey Shore to Cape Hatteras.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina and the beaches of the Mid-Atlantic coast are among the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. This book is a richly illustrated field guide that examines the geology, environmental history, natural history, and human history of a region spanning the East Coast, from Sandy Hook in New Jersey to Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

It is organized around environments, not specific locations. It includes the geology of barrier beaches and islands and the environmental history of the region, as well as detailed looks at the natural history of beaches, dunes, maritime forests, coastal marshes, and estuaries. Also covered are topics related to human activity and climate change, which have become dominant forces shaping the geophysical and biological environments.

This guide will allow users to walk through a marsh or a beach and recognize much of what they see.