Every coastline holds a story layered across time.
Field notes, photography, history and science from the shores
of Alaska, the Pacific northwest, and California
— written by explorers.
— 55.7630 N, -133.248959 W — Winter Harbor
— Examples of recent dispatches
From the field log
Shipwrecks
What the Peter Iredale left behind
A century-old wreck, still surfacing from the sand.
Glaciers
The retreat of Mendenhall Glacier, mapped over 40 years
How satellite records and field photography tell one glacier’s story.
Lighthouses
Heceta Head and the keepers who stayed
A history of the light, and the families who tended it.
Beaches
Glass Beach’s slow-motion transformation
From dump site to tourist draw — and what’s left to find.
— Interactive
Map Explorer
Browse every place Coastview has visited and documented.
- Over 1,000 documented locations with more continually added
- Do a deep dive into each place to learn more.
— Browse by place or feature
The atlas
— Places
— Features
Coastview is reader-supported.
We’re a nonprofit — subscriptions and donations fund the science reporting and photography that make this project possible.