Is it still possible to make a voyage of discovery here in Maryland, the nation's fifth most densely settled state? In The Great Marsh: An Intimate Journey into a Chesapeake Wetland, David W. Harp's vivid photography and Tom Horton's eloquent prose produce a compelling portrait of one such journey in an intriguing and endangered habitat. Into this remarkable territory-whose shrinking dimensions frighten every naturalist and ecologist-Harp and Horton embarked on a canoe trip, exploring, documenting, and photographing the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County. This volume, at its core, is the story of a single crossing of the Blackwater's length, east to west, while the accompanying essays discuss how the marsh functions as a refuge for migrating butterflies, the wetlands sustain a lonely trapper, and the bogs yield archeological treasures-remnants of American Indian hunting forays and colonial boat building. The edges of the Chesapeake Bay offer Americans some of their loveliest (and most sensitive) wetlands.
The fertile waters and soggy vegetation provide a home to ducks, geese, eagles, and dozens of other species of birds; muskrats, squirrels, and foxes; and of course insect varieties almost too numerous to count. The environmental importance of the marshes lies in their capacity to filter pollutants, retard erosion, and help maintain a natural balance among the critters.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
The Great Marsh, An Intimate Journey into a Chesapeake Wetland creates the kind of wonderful synergy that happens when collaborators are at the top of their game. Harp has never made better, more varied images; Horton... compliments Dave's superb photography with text as graceful as it is informative. -- Frank Van Riper Washington Post Full of stunning images and insightful prose, it's the next best thing to paddling a canoe through the wild and wonderful area that has been dubbed 'The Chesapeake's Everglades.' Baltimore Magazine Exquisitely illustrated with photographs on nearly every page. Northeastern Naturalist
Sprache
Verlagsort
Illustrationen
120, 120 colour illustrations
Maße
Höhe: 248 mm
Breite: 248 mm
Dicke: 16 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-8018-6777-4 (9780801867774)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
David W. Harp, former staff photographer for the Baltimore Sun Magazine, has received awards from the Maryland, Delaware, and D.C. Press Associations and the National Press Photographers Association. His photography is regularly featured in national environmental and lifestyle magazines. Tom Horton reported on the Chesapeake Bay for the Baltimore Sun for fifteen years before becoming a freelancer in 1987. Horton's first book, Bay Country, won the John Burroughs Medal for our nation's best natural history book of the year. David Harp and Tom Horton's previous book, Water's Way: Life Along the Chesapeake, is also available from Johns Hopkins.
