The coast known as the coastline or seashore, is the area where land meets the sea or ocean, or a line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the coastline paradox. There are around 620,000 km of coastline; the term coastal zone is a region where interaction of the land processes occurs. Both the terms coast and coastal are used to describe a geographic location or region. Edinburgh is an example city on the coast of Great Britain; the term pelagic coast refers to a coast that fronts the open ocean, as opposed to a more sheltered coast in a gulf or bay. A shore, on the other hand, can refer to parts of land adjoining any large body of water, including oceans and lakes; the somewhat related term stream bed or stream bank refers to the land alongside or sloping down to a river or body of water smaller than a lake. Bank is used in some parts of the world to refer to an artificial ridge of earth intended to retain the water of a river or pond.

While many scientific experts might agree on a common definition of the term coast, the delineation of the extents of a coast differ according to jurisdiction, with many scientific and government authorities in various countries differing for economic and social policy reasons. According to the UN atlas, 44% of people live within 150 km of the sea. Tides determine the range over which sediment is deposited or eroded. Areas with high tidal ranges allow waves to reach farther up the shore, areas with lower tidal ranges produce deposition at a smaller elevation interval; the tidal range is influenced by the shape of the coastline. Tides do not cause erosion by themselves. Waves erode coastline. Coastlines with longer shores have more room for the waves to disperse their energy, while coasts with cliffs and short shore faces give little room for the wave energy to be dispersed. In these areas the wave energy breaking against the cliffs is higher, air and water are compressed into cracks in the rock, forcing the rock apart, breaking it down.

Sediment deposited by waves comes from eroded cliff faces and is moved along the coastline by the waves. This forms an cliffed coast. Sediment deposited by rivers is the dominant influence on the amount of sediment located on a coastline. Today riverine deposition at the coast is blocked by dams and other human regulatory devices, which remove the sediment from the stream by causing it to be deposited inland. Like the ocean which shapes them, coasts are a dynamic environment with constant change; the Earth's natural processes sea level rises and various weather phenomena, have resulted in the erosion and reshaping of coasts as well as flooding and creation of continental shelves and drowned river valleys. The coast and its adjacent areas on and off shore are an important part of a local ecosystem: the mixture of fresh water and salt water in estuaries provides many nutrients for marine life. Salt marshes and beaches support a diversity of plants and insects crucial to the food chain; the high level of biodiversity creates a high level of biological activity, which has attracted human activity for thousands of years.

More and more of the world's people live in coastal regions. Many major cities have port facilities; some landlocked places have achieved port status by building canals. The coast is a frontier that nations have defended against military invaders and illegal migrants. Fixed coastal defenses have long been erected in many nations and coastal countries have a navy and some form of coast guard. Coasts those with beaches and warm water, attract tourists. In many island nations such as those of the Mediterranean, South Pacific and Caribbean, tourism is central to the economy. Coasts offer recreational activities such as swimming, surfing and sunbathing. Growth management can be a challenge for coastal local authorities who struggle to provide the infrastructure required by new residents. Coasts face many human-induced environmental impacts; the human influence on climate change is thought to contribute to an accelerated trend in sea level rise which threatens coastal habitats. Pollution can occur from a number of sources: industrial debris.

Fishing has declined due to habitat degradation, trawling and climate change. Since the growth of global fishing enterprises after the 1950s, intensive fishing has spread from a few concentrated areas to encompass nearly all fisheries; the scraping of the ocean floor in bottom dragging is devastating to coral and other long-lived species that do not recover quickly. This destruction alters the functioning of the ecosystem and can permanently alter species composition and biodiversity. Bycatch, the capture of unintended species in the course of fishing, is returned to the ocean only to die from injuries or exposure. Bycatch represents about a quarter of all marine catch. In the case of shrimp capture, the bycatch is five times larger, it is believed that melting Arctic ice w

James Richard Mastin was an American sculptor and painter, best known for his public monuments of life-sized bronze figures commemorating significant historical events and individuals. The hallmark of his work was emotional content, his most recognized public works are the Bahamian National Monument, "Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden" in Green Turtle Cay, The Bahamas, the "Key West Historical Memorial Sculpture Garden" in Key West, "Les Chasseurs Volontaires" in Savannah, Georgia. The Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden was declared a national monument of The Bahamas, it consists of a central monument depicting two Loyalist women arriving in The Bahamas surrounded by 24 busts of descendants of Loyalist families. The Loyalists were those individuals who remained loyal to the British Crown after the American war of independence in 1776. Many Loyalists in the northern American colonies fled to Canada, while Loyalists in the more southern American colonies fled to the islands of the Bahamas with their slaves.

The Loyalist Memorial Sculpture Garden was commissioned by the Historical Society of Green Turtle Cay. The Key West Historical Memorial Sculpture Garden was commissioned by the Friends of Mallory Square, Key West, its central monument, "The Wreckers" pays tribute to the brave men engaged in salvage operations that made Key West the richest city on the east coast of the United States south of New York in the nineteenth century. Les Chasseurs Volontaires was commissioned by the Haitian American Historical Society and the City of Savannah, commemorates the free Haitian soldiers who fought in the American Revolution in 1776 alongside the American colonial army in Savannah, Georgia to assist in the American efforts towards independence from Great Britain; the drummer boy depicted in the monument was a young Henri Christophe, who became one of the original leaders of the Haitian government, after Haiti obtained its independence from France. Mastin created a maquette, or model, for a larger than life-sized sculpture he contemplated called "Circle of Love" to celebrate the native American Lucayan people who lived in South Florida and in the Caribbean basin at the time of the arrival of European immigrants from Spain.

James Mastin grew up in Los Angeles, California. He was a classically trained artist, with degrees from Pasadena City College, the Art Center of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Art Institute, the Chouinard Art Institute, studied under Sergei Bongart, as well as the Massachusetts Conservatory of Art and Music. Mastin pursued an acting career and sold artwork to support his studies. After military service, he opened a commercial art studio in California. A large number of his paintings were put into print by Windsor Art. In the 1960s Mastin traveled the American Southwest, he began sculpting in the 1970s working in clay and wax, as well as plaster and resins. He opened his permanent art studio, James Mastin Galleries, he remained in Miami until his death. Over the course of his career, Mastin created many allegorical and abstract works exploring the human condition, explored a variety of media and styles. Although his monumental, public works were heroic figurative pieces full of emotion, his personal work included oil and watercolor landscapes and portraits.

He experimented with mixed media, incorporating lights and sound generated by video images, LED light arrays and water elements. For his monumental work, Mastin sculpted in clay, casting his pieces in bronze using the ancient lost wax method of casting, finishing them with a chemical patina to add color and protect the pieces from the elements. Les Chasseurs Volontaires, Franklin Square, Georgia – Life sized monument to commemorate the Battle of Savannah during American Revolution. Six life-sized Haitian soldiers engaged in active combat and equipped in accurate 18th century French military garb. Installed in 2007, Georgia. Toussaint L’Ouverture – Seven foot high full length bronze statue of Father of the Haitian Revolution. Commissioned by City of Miami. Installed 2005, Miami. Mayor McCoy – Life-sized bronze portrait bust of Monroe County Mayor. Commissioned by Monroe County, Florida. Installed 2004, Key West, Florida California Pioneers – Life sized bronze portrait busts of historical pioneers to Southern California.

Commissioned by Historic Tours of San Diego, California. Installed in Old Town Market, San Diego, 2003. Toussaint L'Ouverture, Henri Christophe, Madame Kolo, Alexandre Petion – each 9 foot high bronze monuments honoring historical heroes of the Haitian war of independence in the 18 the century. Commissioned by the Musee du Pantheon Nationale Haitien. Installed 1998, 1999 and 2003 Port au Prince, Haiti. Key West Historical Sculpture Garden, Mallory Square, Key West, Florida – Public sculpture park consisting of central life-sized bronze monument "The Wreckers" and 39 bronze portrait busts of dignitaries selected by the city of Key West. Commissioned by Friends of Mallory Square, Inc. Installed 1997; the dignitaries include President Harry Truman, Ernest Hemingway, Henry Flagler. In 2018, Mastin's bust of Tennessee Williams was installed; the central monument depicts two brave wreckers rescuing a child and salvaging cargo from a foundering vessel off the shores of Key West. Hanukiah – Illuminated outdoor Hanukah Menorah of copper, 12 feet high.

Commissioned by Beth David Congregation, Florida. Installed in 1994. Ship Fountain – Kinetic fountain of copper and stainless steel.

NPO Politiek is a public television channel operated by the NOS, the public broadcaster which supplies news and sports to all national public television and radio networks. Programmes come live from The Hague. In the summertime when the parliament is not in session the NPO Politiek channel changes into NPO Sport supplied by NOS. On 10 March 2014, Politiek 24 changed its name into NPO Politiek. In the summer months the channel does reports of sporting events in which certain parts are not seen on the open channels of the NPO; these competitions, such as the World Cup/European Athletics Championships, World Cup/European Swimming Championships, World Equestrian Games, World Championships and Vuelta a España will be broadcast on this channel. Official Website NPO Politiek