LINKS to other Beachcomb, Sea Glass and Coastal Science Sites
Below is a compilation of resources I refer to most often in my own research. Please feel free to email me other resources you find helpful and I’ll check them out. Also, if the book or website’s purpose is more commercially-oriented – like many sea glass sites - then it is not included in this compendia. if you are interested in those sites, Google Etsy, Ebay or the internet where you will find a plethora of sea glass products and information).
BEACH BOOKS (for the spirit)
BEACHCOMBING (in general)
BEACH BOOKS (for the spirit)
Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Beachcombing at Miramar: The Quest for an Authentic Life, Richard Bode
The Star Thrower, Loren Eiseley
An Island to Myself, Tom Neale
A Walk on the Beach, Joan Anderson
A Beachcomber’s Odyssey: Treasures from a Collected Past, S. Deacon Ritterbush
BEACHCOMBING (General)
BEACH EDUCATION and ECOLOGY
Berrill, N.J. and Jacquelyn, 1001 Questions Answered About the Seashore,
Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1957
Trefil, James S., A Scientist at the Shore, Collier Books, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1984
The Beachcomber’s Companion is an educational project sponsored by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Virginia Institute of Marine Science -This web site links to several websites featuring information about marine invertebrates.
NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program’s Online Marine Life Field Guild offers information on marine species found in US marine sanctuaries.
A Picture Guide to Shelf Invertebrates from the Northern Gulf of Mexico An online picture guide to Invertebrates of the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
Ocean Globe UCLA - This site offers information, charts, and marine invertebrates lesson plans for middle and high school students.
How People Affect Ocean Animals and Plants National Geographic explores this topic with activities and resources for classroom participation.
Enchanted Learning (One of my favorite sites. Informative for both adults and kids.)
All About Macology - All about Mollusks
All About Sea/Beach Glass - Easy Science for Kids
BEACH TREASURES
COINS & METALS
Treasure Enterprises an excellent source on the discovery, identification, and cleaning of coins
FOSSILS
Fossils of Calvert Cliffs , Ashby, Wallace L.; Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons, Md. 1979
Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States, Burns, Jasper; Johns Hopkins University press, Baltimore/London, 1991
POTTERY
SAND
SEA BEANS
SEA GLASS, BOTTLES & FISHING FLOATS
Source site for info on old bottles, bottle shows and fishing floats
SEA GLASS ON-LINE COMMUNITIES
SeaGlass Lovers – the oldest and largest sea glass community site http://seaglasslovers.ning.com
Offers a selection of books on fishing floats and beachcombing in the PNW:
SHELLS
A Collector’s Guide to Seashells of the World, Eisenberg, Jerome M.
McGraw-Hill Book Company, N.Y., 1981
Guide to Shells of the World, Oliver, A.P.H.; A Firefly Book, Buffalo, N.Y., 2004
Shells, Dance, S. Peter; A Dorling Kindersley Handbook, N.Y., 1992
Shells, Arthur, Alex; Eyewitness Books, Alfred A. Knopf, NY, 1989
Shells, Cassie, Brian; National Audubon Society First Field Guide, Scholastic, Inc., 2000
Shells, Douglass, Jackie Leatherbury, Peterson’s First Guides, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1989
Seashore, Parker, Steve, Eyewitness Books, Alfred A. Knopf, NY, 1989
Layman’s Guide To Amateur Seashell Collecting, Conchologists of America. Good information on cleaning shells and sea urchins.
Florida’s Seashells: A Beachcomber’s Guide, Witherington, Blair and Dawn, Pineapple Press,
STONES
Cape Cod’s Magic Quartz Pebbles, Odale, Robert N.; The Cape Naturalist, 1997, pp 44-45
Beach Stones, Iselin, Josie and Carruthers, Margaret W.; Harry N. Abrams, Inc. NY, 2006
MISCELLANY
TJIPETIR rubber blocks
GEO-SITES
(United States)
This site, maintained by the Oceanside Meadows Institute for the Arts and Sciences (Prospect Harbor, Maine) features excellent introductory information about Maine’s coastal habitats and their inhabitants.
Beach-Net is geared for visitors to the Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia coasts, but this checklist for beachcombers is appropriate at any beach.
New Jersey Scuba Diver’s Marine Biology Page.
Information on NJ beaches with helpful tips on beachcombing and being at the beach with kids.
Oregon
Northwest Coast, Romantic Oregon Coast
Excellent research on beachcombing techniques, treasures to find, and beaches to go to.
Virginia - Assateague Island Sand Dollars
GEO-SITES
(International)
MUSEUMS
Connecticut
Mystic Seaport Museum, 75 Green Manville Ave, Mystic, CT 06355
(860) 572-0711
Delaware
DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum, 708 Coastal Highway, Fenwick Island
888-743-5524
Zwaanendael Museum, 102 Kings Hwy, Lewes, DE. (302) 645-1148
Treasures of the Sea Museum, at Delaware Technical Community College, 18800 Seashore Hwy., Georgetown, DE 19947 302-856-5700
District of Columbia
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.
10th St. & Constitution Ave. NW 20560 (fossils, shells)
National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.
(Indian artifacts, including spear tips, arrowheads)
Florida
Baily-Mathews Shell Museum, Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel 33957
(Shells)
McLarty Treasure Museum, Sebastian Inlet StatePark, Sebastian Inlet, FLA. 772-589-2147
(shipwreck treasure)
Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society and Museum, 200 Greene Street, Key West 33040 (Pirate booty, 16th-19c shipwreck artifacts)
Hawai’i
Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, 27-717 Old Mamalohoa Hwy, Onomea, Big Island
(sugar plantation artifacts, drift seeds, sea shells)
Maryland
Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons Island 20688
(Miocene fossils, manmade/summer colony artifacts)
Massachusetts
Sandwich Glass Museum, Sandwoch, MA
New York
Central Park West and 79th Street, New York City
(shells, fossils)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, NY
(porcelain, metals,
Corning Glass Museum, Corning, N.Y.
North Carolina
Outer Banks Beachcomber Museum, 4008 S Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head, NC 27959 Open sporadically. Check times.
Oregon
North Lincoln Historical Society, Lincoln City ,OR.
(fishing floats)
Washington
Burke Museum of Natural History, U. of Washington, Seattle, Wa.
(fossils, Native American Artifacts, shells)
Museum of the North Beach, 4658 State Rte. 109, Moclips, Wa. (360)276-4441
(fishing floats, beach plastics, a variety of beach artifacts)
Coastal Interpretive Center, Ocean Shores, WA.
John’s Beachcomber Museum, 143 Andersonville Ave., Forks, WA.
(360) 640-0320 Message him on Facebook to set up a tour
England
The British Museum, London
(mudlark treasures including buttons, coins, pipes, toys)
Herne Bay Museum, Fire Station/High St, Herne Bay CT6 5NG, UK
Scotland
(Scottish spongeware)
Netherlands
ARMCHAIR TRAVELER (video clips)
FISHING FLOATS
Beachcombing Japanese Glass Balls along the North Pacific Subarctic Gyre
(a favorite YouTube video)
ENGLSIH SEA GLASS BEACHCOMBING:
Dangers of Sea Glass Collection (video)
FORT BRAGG GLASS BEACH - Directions
SEASHELLS: The Luck of the HUNT (an ethical comber, too, who tosses back shells with living mollusks)
INT’L BEACHCOMBING CONFERENCE 2013
Japanese fishing floats, Photo by Deacon Ritterbush