Asilah, Morocco: A Coastal Town Seeking Modernity; By Celie Dailey

Asilah is a beautifully revived town on the Atlantic coast of Morocco whose medina is white washed every year in preparation for its annual arts festival. Outside the medina walls lapped by ocean tides, there is a craggy shore with bright green algae growing on its eroded rocks. To the north, there are wide, flat sandy beaches but to the south, cliffs and caves are found on shoreline.

Balneário Dunas Altas, Southern Brazil; By Andrew Cooper

A small beach community on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul province in Brazil, Dunas Altas comprises a set of holiday homes, occupied only in the summer. Dunas Altas is near the northern end of a beach that runs unbroken for 300 km from Rio Grande to Tramandai.

St. Ninian’s Tombolo, Shetland, Scotland; By Norma Longo

Despite its icy temperatures, a Shetland beach has been named among the best places in the world to swim, alongside those in the Caribbean, Australia and the Mediterranean. This beach is St. Ninian’s Tombolo, a coastal feature that connects the southwest Shetland Mainland with St. Ninian’s Isle.

The Colors Of Beach Sand; By Gary Griggs

The color of any beach reflects the mineral composition of the sand grains. Whether derived from the local bluffs or cliffs, the rivers and creeks that drain to the coast, or the organisms that may populate the near shore area, or coralline algae, mollusks, foraminifera or any of a number of other invertebrates that make hard skeletons or shells, it is these locally derived materials that make each beach a little different and somewhat unique.

Dauphin Island, AL; By George Crozier and John Dindo

Dauphin Island is a “drumstick” shaped barrier island (16miles/26 km) on the western side of the main pass at Mobile Bay about 48 km (30 miles) south of Mobile, Alabama. The relationship between the east end of the island and the ebb tidal delta, referred to as the “Sand Island/Pelican Island” complex, is extraordinarily dynamic and complex.

Monterey Bay, California: Beach Sand Mining from a National Marine Sanctuary; By Gary Griggs

The 30-mile long, continuous sandy shoreline around Monterey Bay is the most visited stretch of shoreline on the central coast. Yet, it holds the dubious distinction of being the only active beach sand mining operation along the entire United States shoreline. To make matters even worse, it all takes place along the shoreline of a protected National Marine Sanctuary. Something is seriously wrong with this picture.