Living with the Changing California Coast

The revised edition of this excellent book is a must for coastal dwellers in the Golden State who need an introduction to the harsh realities of what can be a very punishing shoreline. Since everyone and their grandma seems to want to build on the coast (more punishment!) this book will help you grasp the consequence--and cost--of siting your dream home on that lovely marine terrace that appears oh so solid. Griggs has a sterling career in environmental and marine geology, and beach dynamics/sedimentation at UC Santa Cruz. He successfully brings together some of the best earth scientists in CA to cover, chapter by chapter (and almost step by step), the human impacts on the CHANGING geomorphology along segments of the CA coast. I have to mention that the line up includes the geographers A Orme who describes Morro Bay to Point Conception (see also the remarkable PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF NORTH AMERICA), and, Douglas Sherman out of USC who covers Santa Monica to Dana Point. Packed with telling photos (see especially the impacts of El Nino years) and detailed line drawings, you can't beat this title if you intend to build and want to know the hazards, or you simply want to read a great introduction to CA coastal processes when you hit your favorite beach, and perhaps wonder why a particular County allowed something hideous to be built at all--like Pajaro Dunes (see page 98). An ugly, gated, high-end development which is constantly under wave attack. The revised edition includes a chapter on sea-level and climate change as well.

Living with the Changing California Coast was an interesting book to read, and I'm keeping it as a reference book. It provides explanation for some of the bad surprises that occur with coastal development.