This handbook on ecology and paleoecology is infused with insights on the origins and development of Mexicos Sea of Corts during a span of more than 12 million years. It makes the connection between a beautiful shell washed onto a beach with the discovery of the same or a similar fossil shell from a nearby limestone cliff. The concept of natural history appears less often in increasingly specialized literature, nowadays, failing to draw a connection between the present and the distant past. This book makes the connection and brings the past alive. It deals with multiple and interlocking ecosystems and their fossil counterparts, providing a holistic overview on geography, ecology, and geology. Students, scholars, and outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds will find this guide an indispensable resource for exploration of virtually any stretch of coastline on the Gulf of California.