America's Coastlines

Enjoy this sampling of America's 95,000 miles of coastline and the adjacent coastal regions. NOAA and its predecessor agencies have been observing, studying, and surveying America's coastline for nearly 200 years. Indeed, the Coast Survey, the forerunner of all United States science agencies, was formed specifically to chart the United States coastline and the immediate offshore waters.

The coastline pictures that you will see in this album have come from personnel associated with virtually all elements of NOAA including latter-day Coast Surveyors, fisheries scientists, oceanic and atmospheric researchers, weather observers, and even NOAA librarians. Although most images are relatively recent, there are sketches and drawings dating back to the early Nineteenth Century found within this album. Come join us now and view the waves and flying spray, rocky shores and sandy beaches, marshes and mangroves, and seaside villages and great port cities that collectively make up America's Coastline.