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Saturday, September 6, 2008

Ten Endangered U.S. Beach Towns Named

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Rincón, Puerto Rico

This undated picture shows Domes Beach, at Punta Higuero Rincón.

Beach erosion at this picturesque tourist town has led to the construction of a patchwork of seawalls that protect the buildings but amplify the rate at which the five-mile-long (eight-kilometer-long) beach has been receding.

This is a problem, since the beach has already retreated about 230 feet (70 meters) over the past 70 years.

Although human activity is contributing, the erosion appears to have been going on since before the area was developed, said Robert Thieler of the U.S. Geological Survey.

—Richard A. Lovett

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—Photograph by Robert Fried/Alamy