Rock on the ocean coast covered with green algae.

Coasts & Shallow Water

two mangrove trees in the crashing waves

Mangroves Overview

Are you a student researching mangroves or someone looking to learn more about mangrove forests? This overview dives into everything to know.

Read More

Featured Content

How Hurricanes Shape Wetlands in Southern Louisiana

The grasses and animals living in marshes help to filter water and stabilize shorelines, along with providing habitat for a variety of mammals, fish, shellfish and amphibians and a haven for migratory waterfowl.

Spirals in Time: A Walk at the Seashore

Rough periwinkles sit on a bed of barnacles.

Beyond the Sea: How Oil Spills in the Ocean Affect Birds On Land

With their brown and yellow markings, seaside sparrows (Ammodramus maritimus) blend in well with marshgrass.

Are You An Educator?

At Smithsonian Ocean, we have lesson plans, activities, and resources to help you engage your students in the wonders of our oceans.
see all lesson plans Lesson Plan: Secrets of the Sediments

Coasts & Shallow Water Articles

Bugs and Slugs: The Hidden Secret to Healthy Seagrasses

Neptune grass (Posidonia oceanica) is a slow-growing and long-lived seagrass native to the Mediterranean.

Mangrove Restoration: Letting Mother Nature Do The Work

Mangroves on the edge of the water.

The Marine Sanctuary: A Safe Harbor for Ocean Life

A map of NOAA's 13 marine protected areas

The Design of a Beautiful Weapon

This male dancing fiddler crab (Uca terpsichores) has built a sand “hood” at the entrance to his burrow, which he hopes will attract females to his humble abode—as if that big beautiful claw of his weren't enough!

Images: Conserving Endangered Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles

A Kemp's Ridley sea turtle is returned to the ocean.

The Great Hermit Crab Migration

A Caribbean hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus) crawls on the forest floor.