And now, of course, its winding coastline is under sustained assault from Hurricane Sandy.
The more coveted homes sit south, on Old Greenwich's nearly eight miles of winding coastline, which encompasses coves, ponds and rocky points, close to named microenclaves like Lucas Point, Tomac and Shorelands.
Partly, it is because it is difficult to get to: Although, as the crow flies, the state isn't that large, it has well over 3,000 miles of winding coastline, and most of the prime destinations are located at inconvenient distances from the nearest commercial airports.
The movement of buoyant, surface-drifting seaweed rafts is constrained by near-shore circulation patterns, wind, coastline morphology, tidal currents and river plumes, although the prevailing shelf/slope circulation patterns also play a role in offshore transport.
How is it possible that the same winding, 538-mile coastline that has recently been colonized by condominium developers chasing wealthy New Yorkers, themselves chasing waterfront views, had been, for decades, a catch basin for many of the city's poorest residents?
The mostly aerial shots that tracked the bikes along the coastline displayed charmingly winding roads, granite peaks, blue-green ocean waves splashing against rocks and houses (some pink) quaintly clinging to hillsides.
In Tarifa, she found the wind-swept coastline that she expected.
These have been summarized and examined in A Treatise on Limnology, by the American limnologist G.E. Hutchinson, which includes treatment of tectonism, volcanism, landslides, glaciation, solution, river action, wind action, coastline building, organic accumulation, animal activity, meteoritic impact, and human activity.
Due to the small radius of maximum winds, the coastline was spared from strong gusts, although the system dropped 93.8 mm of rainfall in Inhambane over 48 hours.
In 1962, Congress created Point Reyes National Seashore, a wind-swept coastline that feels remote despite its location an hour north of San Francisco.
It follows the coastline, and is thus extremely winding and narrow, with very little room for cars to pass.
