There are said to be only four places in the world where two major rivers--with entirely separate watersheds--converge at their mouths to form a common delta.

Three are famous, having loomed large in the histories and economies of their regions: the Sacramento, San Joaquin delta in California; Tigris, Euphrates delta in Iraq; and the Ganges, Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh. The fourth is Merrymeeting Bay in Maine. It is unfamiliar to most people, even within its immediate vicinity.

Frank Burroughs has lived and knocked around on Merrymeeting Bay for three decades, gaining a familiarity with its natural and human history--with its birds, fish, and mammals, and with the local people who know it best. His wonderfully fluid essays explore the ecology, environment, and activities in this unusual bay, as Heather Perry's beautiful photographs show us the details.