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Coastal Atlas · Region

Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

The roaring forties and furious fifties grow kelp on a heroic scale: giant forests sheltered inside the Strait of Magellan, mile-thick beds around the Falklands, and bull kelp so buoyant it rips free and rafts entire communities of life between islands thousands of kilometres apart. Down here the kelp forest is infrastructure — feeding colonies of sea lions, penguins and albatross, and exporting carbon and nutrients into the biggest ocean on Earth.

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Stylised world map highlighting 19 Coastal Atlas guides in Patagonia & the Southern OceanAleutian Islands — Otters, urchins and the far-western arc of bull kelpHaida Gwaii — Kelp forests at the edge of the continentVancouver Island — The wild west coast — swell, wolves and kelpOlympic Coast — Washington’s wilderness kelp below the Olympic rainforestPoint Reyes — Where the upwelling engine feeds a forestMendocino Coast — Life — and loss — on California’s bull kelp frontierMonterey Bay — The submarine canyon that feeds kelp, otters and whalesChannel Islands — California’s kelp forest crown jewelsCatalina Island — Clear water, garibaldi and a living kelp laboratoryBaja California — The warm-water southern frontier of giant kelpKangaroo Island — Kelp, seadragons and serious southern swellGreat Southern Reef — Australia’s forgotten kelp continentTasmania, east coast — The front line of southern-hemisphere kelp lossTasmanian giant kelp — What happened to the vanishing forests — and what’s being doneMaria Island — Tasmania’s island kelp sanctuaryJervis Bay — Kelp, seagrass and famously white sandMornington Peninsula — Melbourne’s kelp — dragons, piers and the HeadsStewart Island / Rakiura — New Zealand’s southernmost kelp strongholdHokkaido — Kombu grades, kelp roads and the Shiretoko wildsSanriku Coast — Ria-coast kelp, recovery and resilience after the tsunamiLofoten — Kelp forests under the northern lightsWest Scotland — Oarweed forests among the HebridesBrittany — Europe’s largest kelp forests — and its seaweed harvestRías of Galicia — Where kelp meets the harvest — and the mussel raftsCape Peninsula — Kelp at the edge of Africa, in two oceans at onceChile, Humboldt coast — The world’s richest kelp frontier, run by fishersStrait of Magellan — Subantarctic kelp at the end of the worldFalkland Islands — Mind-bending kelp beds that feed the Southern OceanSitka Sound — Herring, kelp and cultures beneath Mount EdgecumbePuget Sound — Bull kelp in the inland sea, at a city doorstepHood Canal — A natural fjord of octopus dens, wolf eels and breathless depthsSonoma Coast — Abalone country, after the bull kelpCasino Point — A kelp cathedral in a protected underwater parkFortescue Bay — Tasmania’s deep kelp gardens on the Tasman PeninsulaWellington south coast — Kelp at the capital’s doorstep, inside a marine reserveFiordland — Kelp beneath the mountains; black coral in the shallowsIse-Shima — Kelp gardens and the ama divers of JapanShakotan Peninsula — Hokkaido’s blue-water kelp coastInner Hebrides — Sea lochs, otters and kelp on Mull and SkyeFalse Bay, Cape — Snorkelling the Cape kelp beside a penguin colonyGarden Route — South Africa’s sunny kelp coastParacas, Peru — Kelp and anchoveta where desert meets upwellingGulf of Maine — Kelp meeting one of the fastest-warming seas on EarthNova Scotia — Kelp beds of the North Atlantic lobster coastNewfoundland & Labrador — Cold-water kelp and old cod grounds on Canada’s far eastVancouver Island — Sea otters, bull kelp and First Nations stewardshipOregon Coast — Bull kelp holding on at the upwelling edgeBass Strait — The rough water between two seas — kelp on the island reefsOtago — New Zealand’s southern swell forestsFiordland fiords — Cold-water diving beneath the rain-shadowed peaksBrittany — Europe’s great laminaria bedsOrkney & Shetland — Kelp at Britain’s northern rimNorway, taretrawling coast — How industrial kelp harvest shaped a nation’s coastNorway, mid-coast — Trondheim to the tangle kelp frontierSouth Africa — Where two oceans grow one forestSaldanha & Langebaan — South Africa’s quiet west-coast kelpSkeleton Coast, Namibia — Kelp at the desert’s edge on the Skeleton CoastMonterey Breakwater — The easy kelp forest shore dive, step by stepCornwall — Britain’s Celtic edge — seals, spring blooms and golden kelpShetland Islands — Otters, wrecks and clear Atlantic water at 60° NorthSenja, Arctic Norway — Kelp forests where mountains dive into the Barents SeaLoch Carron, Scotland — Maerl beds and kelp mazes in a sheltered Highland sea lochMilford Sound, Fiordland — A kelp forest that never sees the sun — under a freshwater ceilingOtago Peninsula — Royal albatross overhead, bull kelp and sea lions belowRickett’s Point, Melbourne — Melbourne’s pocket marine sanctuary of the Great Southern ReefCape Point, Cape Town — Two-ocean kelp diving among sharks and granite coresSydney — The crayweed comeback on the city coastKamchatka — Kelp forests on the Pacific’s wild far shoreIceland — Kelp forests where warm and Arctic currents collideFaroe Islands — Kelp in one of the world’s strongest tidal landscapesHelgoland — Germany’s only kelp island — and a century of marine recordsGreenland, southwest coast — The kelp frontier — forests expanding in a warming ArcticHudson Bay — Churchill coast — Sugar kelp under half a year of sea ice, belugas in the estuarySvalbard — Kelp in polar light — the High Arctic’s underwater forestsBanks Peninsula — Drowned-volcano harbours, kelp and Hector’s dolphinsCook Strait — Kelp in the torn narrows between two islandsChatham Islands — Bull kelp forests alone in the roaring fortiesSnares & Antipodes — New Zealand’s most remote kelp wildernessAmakusa, Kyushu — Nori and wakame craft on Kyushu’s island fringeBay of Fundy — Kelp and rockweed under the highest tides on EarthGulf of St Lawrence — Green kelp under the Magdalen tidesMagdalen Islands — Red sandstone, seals and kelp in the island gulfHakai Passage — Cold green water, sea otters and a living kelp laboratoryIreland, west coast — Storm kelp and harvest memory on the Wild Atlantic WayIsle of Man — An island-scale kelp census in the Irish SeaPortugal — The southern edge of the European kelp rangeLundy Island — England’s original marine reserve and its kelp wallsWhite Sea — Kelp forests under ice in a sheltered Arctic seaBruny Island — Tasmania’s southern kelp garden at the bottom of the mapWilsons Promontory — granite reefs and kelp forests at mainland Australia’s southern tipPortsea Pier — A shallow weedy-seadragon shore dive under a working timber pier at the edge of the HeadsRapid Bay Jetty — Leafy seadragons under twin jetties on the Fleurieu PeninsulaMontague Island — Australia’s fur-seal snorkel capital on kelp-fringed granite off NaroomaHead of Bight — Whales above the cliffs, kelp at their feetLeeuwin Capes — Kelp at the warm edge where the Leeuwin Current beginsPort Phillip Bay — Melbourne’s sheltered kelp and seadragon city gardenEsperance & the Recherche — Granite islands, white sand and golden kelpSydney, crayweed coast — The city that planted its forest backGough Island — World Heritage kelp beds at the world’s loneliest weather stationKerguelen Islands — Giant kelp in one of Earth’s most remote archipelagosTristan da Cunha — Kelp ringing the remotest inhabited island on EarthPrince William Sound — Kelp recovery in Alaska’s great fjorded seaKodiak Archipelago — Bears above, kelp below on Alaska’s emerald coastWhytecliff Park, Vancouver — Vancouver’s front-yard kelp wall, an easy shore diveDeception Pass, Washington — Current, wharf piles and bull kelp in the narrowsPoint Lobos, Monterey — The reserved slot at California’s crown-jewel cove diveMacquarie Island — Subantarctic giant kelp on a celebrated recovery storyBicheno, Tasmania — Tasmania’s quiet red-rock reef — sponges, kelp and clear waterKapiti Island — A marine reserve inside Wellington’s wild weatherPoor Knights Islands — Golden kelp in clear subtropical water at the boundary currentNorthland — Where New Zealand’s warm and cold currents meet — kelp, kina and the recovery lessonAuckland & Campbell Islands — The kelp kingdom nobody visits — New Zealand’s subantarctic wildsKorea, East Sea coast — Ecklonia cava forests and the haenyeo of the east coastJeju Island — The haenyeo coast and Korea’s living seaweed cultureKuril Islands — Kelp forests on the Pacific’s fiercest volcanic arcTaiwan, northeast coast — Kelp, Longdong’s dive reefs and the Kuroshio edgeMoray Firth — Dolphins, salmon and kelp on Scotland’s northeast shoulderPembrokeshire — Kelp, islands and tidal races on the Welsh frontierIsles of Scilly — Kelp, seals and clear Atlantic water off England’s far westChannel Islands, UK — Kelp at the warm edge of the English Channel rangeChiloé Island — Kelp, salmon country and the working coast of southern ChileChilean Patagonian channels — Kelp inside Chile’s drowned Andes — fjords, corals and whalesBeagle Channel — Kelp where Darwin first saw the forestSouth Georgia — Giant kelp at the edge of the iceGreat Bear Rainforest — Kelp forests beneath the world’s largest intact temperate rainforestHowe Sound — Vancouver’s fjord — glass sponges and recovering kelpBarkley Sound — Broken islands, kelp and a living laboratoryGerstle Cove, Salt Point — Sonoma’s reserve cove — abalone country turned sanctuaryPoint Loma, San Diego — One of the world’s great giant kelp forests at a city’s edgeGoat Island, Leigh — New Zealand’s first marine reserve and its easy kelp snorkelFoveaux Strait — Oyster grounds and bull kelp in New Zealand’s torn southern straitMurmansk coast — Arctic kelp where the Gulf Stream finally runs out of heatBohuslän, Sweden — Granite skerries and kelp on Sweden’s west coastBornholm — The Baltic’s last real kelp, clinging to a granite islandDevon — Kelp along England’s southwest peninsulaIroise Sea, Finistère — France’s great kelp reserve at the corner of BrittanyCantabria, Spain — Kelp at the southern edge of its European rangeAzores — Deep golden kelp gardens on mid-Atlantic volcanoesAzores — Volcanic shores holding the Atlantic’s oceanic kelp frontierRhode Island — Kelp on New England’s warm southern edgeCape Ann — Granite ledges and cold-water kelp on Boston’s doorstepGaspé Peninsula — Cold clear kelp water at the mouth of the St LawrencePenínsula Valdés — Kelp, whales and orcas on Argentina’s Patagonian shoreGulf of San Matías — Patagonia’s sea within a sea — giant kelp, scallops and seven-metre tidesCrozet Islands — Giant kelp wrapping the subantarctic’s loneliest archipelagoAmsterdam Island — A narrow giant-kelp ring on one of Earth’s most isolated specks of landThe Snares / Tini Heke — Storm-built bull kelp and endemic penguins on granite you may not touchTristan da Cunha — Giant kelp ringing the most remote inhabited archipelago on EarthPrince Edward Islands — Kelp, albatross and seals in the roaring fortiesGulf St Vincent — Adelaide’s shallow inverse-estuary sea of kelp and seadragonsAlgoa Bay — Where the great Cape kelp forest reaches its eastern limitAnglesey — Kelp, tidal races and bird islands off North WalesBig Sur — Giant kelp clinging to California’s steepest coastlineCape Breton Island — Kelp where the Gulf meets the open AtlanticThe Catlins — Bull kelp on New Zealand’s forgotten southern coastSecond Valley, SA — Shore-diving leafy seadragon country on the FleurieuCounty Donegal — Storm kelp on Ireland’s wild northwest cornerDorset, Jurassic Coast — Kelp ledges beneath England’s fossil cliffsFirth of Clyde — A grand sea on Scotland’s west coast, slowly recoveringNorthern Gulf of California — Kelp holding its warm-water edge in the Sea of CortezHeard & McDonald Islands — Kelp in the shadow of an active subantarctic volcanoIzu Peninsula — Japan’s warm kelp coast within reach of TokyoKing George Sound, Albany — A sheltered kelp jewel on Western Australia’s south coastLabrador — The subarctic kelp coast almost nobody seesMarion Island — Kelp, mice and albatross in the roaring fortiesMarlborough Sounds — Kelp in the drowned valleys at the top of the South IslandCotentin Peninsula — Normandy’s tidal kelp races at the corner of the ChannelNoto Peninsula — Home of satoumi, Japan’s art of coastal stewardshipOuter Hebrides — Tangle kelp on Scotland’s Atlantic frontierSado Island — Kelp, tub boats and the gold-mining coastYellow Sea (Shandong) — The farming heartland where kelp feeds a nationAzores — Volcanic reefs and kelp at the Atlantic’s midpointCanary Islands — Kelp forests on the edge of the SaharaCook Inlet, Alaska — Kelp beds in the land of bore tides and glacial siltGulf of Alaska — A thousand leagues of wild kelp shoreThe Kattegat — Kelp forests holding on in brackish waterKermadec Islands — Where New Zealand’s kelp reaches toward the tropicsLüderitz, Namibia — Benguela kelp growing against a desert shoreNewfoundland, east coast — Kelp and cold water in Iceberg AlleyRías Baixas, Galicia — Kelp, harvesters and the Galician tideSan Juan Islands — Bull kelp in the Salish Sea’s racing channelsHoutman Abrolhos — Where kelp and coral share the same reefDalmatian Coast — Cystoseira forests on the drowned karst of CroatiaEden, Twofold Bay — Kelp, whales and whaling history on the Sapphire CoastBoston Harbor Islands — Rockweed shores and kelp minutes from downtown BostonCape Arago, Oregon — Tidepools and bull kelp on Oregon’s rugged headlandFalkland kelp belt — Kelp so dense it damps the wavesKaikōura — Kelp, canyon currents and whales on one coastCalifornia’s Lost Coast — Roadless kelp wilderness under the King RangeCascais coast — Kelp on Lisbon’s rocky doorstepSaltstraumen — Kelp in the world’s strongest tidal currentShetland Islands — Britain’s far-north kelp, otters and sea cavesSicily — Where canopy Cystoseira still rules the rocksAsturias — Green Spain’s kelp cliffs and cider-coast reefsThe Baltic coasts — Bladderwrack meadow seas at the edge of salinityBasque Coast — Kelp ledges and fishing ports between Geopark cliffsEast Lothian — Kelp, castles and fulmars on Scotland’s southeast shoreGalápagos — A kelp forest rediscovered at the equatorIsle of Man (flora) — Species by species through the Manx tide racesScottish sea lochs — Sheltered kelp down the long, still lochsShikoku — Kelp brooms and a warm current on Shikoku’s Pacific shoreStrait of Juan de Fuca — Bull kelp standing in the gateway to the Salish SeaSydney platforms — Sandstone platforms striped with seaweedWestfjords, Iceland — Iceland’s kelp wilderness of seals and eiderSeto Inland Sea — Seaweed gardens inside Japan’s island seaBantry Bay, West Cork — Kelp forest in a drowned valley — and Ireland’s great harvest battleBasque surf coast — Swell, flysch and the kelp beneath the surf breaksBrowns Bank — An offshore kelp bank science has watched for fifty yearsCorsica — Cystoseira canopy, Posidonia meadows and the Med’s deep-water kelpZhoushan archipelago — A legendary fishing ground where the Yangtze meets the seaEsperance, remote east — Expedition kelp beyond the postcards — Cape Arid to Israelite BayBahía Magdalena — A gray-whale lagoon with kelp holding the outside shoreMagdalena Bay — Standing on the cold–warm seam of kelp’s southern worldIsla Guadalupe — White sharks, fur seals and kelp at the southern edgePribilof Islands — Fur seals, seabird cities and shelf-edge kelp far at seaCommander Islands — Fog-bound kelp wilds at the Aleutian arc’s western endAcadia coast, Maine — Rockweed shores and cold kelp ledges beneath Acadia’s graniteArraial do Cabo, Brazil — Deep, upwelled kelp growing where kelp should not beGreat Barrier Island — Auckland’s wild outer-gulf island of kelp reefs and dark skyPortland–Discovery Bay — Golden kelp in heavy swell on Victoria’s far westWestern Port — Mangroves, mudflats and kelp in Melbourne’s quiet second bayAlaska Peninsula — An 800-km volcanic finger splitting two seas, fringed in kelpPhillip Island — Little penguins above, golden kelp forests belowBlack Sea coast — No true kelp — but ancient Cystoseira forests on brackish reefsSardinia — The Mediterranean’s Cystoseira canopy at its most beautifulNorthumberland coast — Castles on crags, eider ducks and kelp along England’s empty northeastBay of Plenty — Warm-current kelp at its subtropical limit, with volcanic islands offshoreCoromandel Peninsula — Golden kelp, snapper nurseries and the Cathedral Cove marine reserveDerwent Estuary — Kelp restoration in Hobart’s front yard — an industrial estuary healingPort Stephens — The northern hinge of the Great Southern Reef — kelp beside sponge gardensSulu Archipelago — Eucheumatoid seaweed farms staked across Coral Triangle shallowsMontenegro coast — Cystoseira forests beneath the drowned canyon of the Bay of KotorAlbanian Riviera — Karst reefs and algal forests on the Mediterranean’s least-studied coastChonos Archipelago — Chile’s drowned coastal range — kelp channels beside mussel farms and whalesArraial do Cabo — a wind-driven upwelling that parks cold, nutrient-rich water on Brazil’s warm coastBahía de Concepción — Humboldt-fed kelp beds beside Chile’s industrial coast and artisanal dive fisheriesEnsenada — giant kelp at its warm southern range edge, off Bahía de Todos SantosSt Helena Bay — The upwelling heart of the West Coast kelp fringeAbel Tasman / Golden Bay — Split-apple granite, golden-sand anchorages and fern-hung kelp coastAntarctic Peninsula — Seaweed forests clinging to the frozen edge of the kelp worldBig Sur — Vertical cliffs, deep kelp and the steepest shelf in CaliforniaLa Jolla — Kelp canopy growing above the twin submarine canyonsMalibu coast — Historic Hollywood kelp beds, restored beside the cityWest coast, Vancouver Island — Surf-beaten outer coast of glassy swells, canyons and bull kelpBarkley Sound & Bamfield — Broken Group islands, tongue of ocean swell and a century of marine scienceStrait of Georgia — The Salish Sea’s deep central basin between island and mainland mountainsKachemak Bay — Tide-raced Alaskan bay of bull kelp at the end of the roadResurrection Bay — A glacial fjord of kelp walls within easy reach of AnchorageSt Abbs–Eyemouth — Britain’s celebrated marine reserve — kelp walls in East Coast swellAleutian Islands — The wildest, loneliest kelp arc on EarthAnacapa Island — Compact kelp gardens in lee and surge, close to a million peopleBodega Head — A granitic hammerhead of bull kelp and marine-lab memoryCarmel Bay — Four decades of protection under the cypressesClayoquot Sound — Kelp beds at the feet of the ancient rainforestGlacier Bay — New kelp forests colonising the wake of retreating icePoint Lobos — The crown-jewel reserve of American kelp divingPoint Reyes — Wind, fog and upwelling at a continental corner

Stylised position plot, not to scale — teal dots mark guides in Patagonia & the Southern Ocean; faded dots are coastlines elsewhere in the atlas.

19 coastline guides

Waters: Southern Indian Ocean · Southern Ocean / Weddell margin · Subantarctic Pacific · South Pacific–Atlantic gateway · South Atlantic · Southern Ocean / Indian sector · South Atlantic / Antarctic convergence · South Atlantic / Southern Ocean · South Pacific / South Atlantic gateway

Aerial view of a remote volcanic island at morning light, its rocky coast wrapped in a dark ring of giant kelp beds against deep indigo Southern Ocean water.

Southern Indian Ocean

Amsterdam Island: Kelp at the Bottom of the World

A narrow giant-kelp ring on one of Earth’s most isolated specks of land.

8 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

An Antarctic seaweed forest of Desmarestia fronds rising from dark volcanic rock under brash ice and pale polar light

Southern Ocean / Weddell margin

The Antarctic Peninsula: Seaweed Forests at the Frozen Edge of the Kelp World

Seaweed forests clinging to the frozen edge of the kelp world.

7 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

Subantarctic Pacific

New Zealand's Subantarctic Islands: The Kelp Kingdom Nobody Visits

The kelp kingdom nobody visits — New Zealand’s subantarctic wilds.

6 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

The Beagle Channel at dusk between glaciated Andean peaks, a band of golden-brown giant kelp fringing the calm steel-blue shoreline.

South Pacific–Atlantic gateway

The Beagle Channel: Kelp Where Darwin First Saw the Forest

Kelp where Darwin first saw the forest.

8 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

Subantarctic Pacific

The Chatham Islands: Bull Kelp in the Roaring Forties

Bull kelp forests alone in the roaring forties.

6 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

South Atlantic

The Falkland Islands: Kelp So Thick Boats Push Through It

Kelp so dense it damps the waves.

8 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

South Atlantic

Gough Island: Kelp at the Edge of the World Heritage Map

World Heritage kelp beds at the world’s loneliest weather station.

9 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

Southern Ocean / Indian sector

Heard & McDonald Islands: Kelp Beneath an Active Volcano

Kelp in the shadow of an active subantarctic volcano.

9 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

A wind-lashed giant kelp canopy streaming at the surface off a remote sub-Antarctic island coast, with dark volcanic cliffs and penguins on the gravel shore behind.

Southern Ocean / Indian sector

Kerguelen: Giant Kelp in the Sub-Antarctic

Giant kelp in one of Earth’s most remote archipelagos.

11 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

Southern Ocean / Indian sector

Marion Island: Kelp, Mice and Albatross in the Roaring Forties

Kelp, mice and albatross in the roaring forties.

9 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

Subantarctic Pacific

The Snares and Antipodes: New Zealand's Subantarctic Kelp Wilderness

New Zealand’s most remote kelp wilderness.

11 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

Subantarctic Pacific

The Snares: Bull Kelp in New Zealand's Subantarctic

Storm-built bull kelp and endemic penguins on granite you may not touch.

8 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

South Atlantic / Antarctic convergence

South Georgia: Giant Kelp at the Edge of the Ice

Giant kelp at the edge of the ice.

9 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

A volcanic island rising from grey South Atlantic swell, its rocky shore ringed with dark giant kelp beds under low cloud.

South Atlantic

Tristan da Cunha: Kelp Around the Loneliest Island

Kelp ringing the remotest inhabited island on Earth.

9 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

South Atlantic / Southern Ocean

Tristan da Cunha: The Kelp Coast at the End of the Map

Giant kelp ringing the most remote inhabited archipelago on Earth.

8 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

Giant kelp fronds streaming in cold green South Atlantic water off a rocky Falkland Islands shoreline, with schooling fish in the canopy lanes.

South Atlantic

Falkland Islands: The Engine of Southern Ocean Kelp

Mind-bending kelp beds that feed the Southern Ocean.

9 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

South Pacific / South Atlantic gateway

The Strait of Magellan: Kelp at the End of the World

Subantarctic kelp at the end of the world.

9 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

Southern Ocean / Indian sector

Prince Edward Islands: South Africa's Subantarctic Kelp Outpost

Kelp, albatross and seals in the roaring forties.

8 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

Giant kelp fronds streaming in cold current beneath the surface off a subantarctic volcanic island, with dark basalt boulders below and king penguins passing above the waterline.

Southern Ocean / Indian sector

Crozet Islands: Subantarctic Kelp Kingdoms of the Indian Ocean

Giant kelp wrapping the subantarctic’s loneliest archipelago.

8 min read · Patagonia & the Southern Ocean

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The Northeast PacificAustralia & the Great Southern ReefNew ZealandEast AsiaEuropeThe Northwest AtlanticThe North Atlantic & ArcticSouthern AfricaSouth America

Where Tidewright works

Several coastlines in the atlas host Tidewright restoration programs — see the global map and the work itself.

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