Introduction : a perspective on the coast of California ; The evolution of the California coast ; Weather, climate change, sea level and the coastline ; Understanding the shoreline ; The erosion of the coastline ; Building or buying on the coast ; Responding to coastal hazards / Gary Griggs, Kiki Patsch, Lauret Savoy -- California's coastal hazards : theory and practice / Charles Lester -- The northern California coast: The Oregon border to Cape Mendocino / Lauret Savoy, Gary Griggs and Derek Rust. Point Delgada to Point Arena / Dorothy Merritts, Lauret Savoy, Gary Griggs and Robert Walker. Point Arena to San Francisco / Lauret Savoy, Dorothy Merritts, Karen Grove and Robert Walker. The San Francisco coastline / Gary Griggs, Kim Fulton and Lauret Savoy. San Francisco to Ano Nuevo / Jerry Weber, Gary Griggs, Ken LaJoie and Scott Mathieson. Ano Nuevo to the Monterey Peninsula / Gary Griggs and Kiki Patsch. The Monterey Peninsula to Morro Bay / Cheryl Hapke. Morro Bay to Point Conception / Antony Orme. Point Conception to Rincon Point / Robert Norris and Kiki Patsch. Rincon Point to Santa Monica / Antony Orme -- The coast of southern California: Santa Monica to Dana Point / Douglas Sherman and Bernard Pipkin. Dana Point to the international border / Reinhard Flick -- App. A. References -- App. B. Geologic time line.