Aquatic Culture

– where water serves art and society

Klamath River: Historic Dam Removal and Restoration
It’s the largest dam-removal project in U.S. history. The Klamath River, once controlled by four dams, is once again flowing free unimpeded by manmade structures after more than a century. Here’s a look at this massive undertaking, and why nature and people stand to benefit. ...
Seaweed Secrets
In summer 2023, seaweed drew widespread concern and media attention as a giant “blob” of sargassum invaded Florida as well as parts of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Despite the bad press, messy beaches and pungent odor, a look beneath the surface reveals a vast world of diverse complexity, beauty and practical potential. ...
For the Love of Sea Turtles
Are sea turtles medicine? To survive, sea turtles need our help and are the perfect group of animals for Wildlife Conservation Therapy, which helps us in return, explained the late Wallace J. Nichols in this widely read essay on the importance of sea turtles. ...
Peace & Pleasure at the Water’s Edge
Working for one of the leading pond suppliers and builders in the U.S., Jennifer Zuri has seen countless examples of beautiful, naturalistic watershapes. When it came time to installing a pond for her and her family, even with all her experience, she wasn’t completely prepared for the positive impact it would have on their lives. ...
Essential Connections
While our innate need to be in the presence of water, and have constant access to it is both philosophical and biological, Kevin Woodhurst argues it is also practical from a business perspective. Not only essential for survival, as the desire for water is the primary factor underpinning the existence of the watershaping industry, and arguably modern civilization itself. ...
The Hidden Wonder of Abiqua Creek
Time spent in the company of natural waters can become an obsession, and those experiences can fuel the creative spirit with inspiration and endless “design” ideas. Here Eric Herman recalls a day trip to a place in Oregon that stands as a perfect example of the serendipity of days devoed to seeking hidden wonders. ...
Blistering Ocean Temps Break Records
The water temperatures of the world’s oceans are rapidly on the rise. The result of elevating atmospheric carbon dioxide levels that are causing a host of extreme weather conditions the world over. Ocean-temperature rise is accelerating at unprecedented rates with a host of serious possible ramifications in its wake. ...
The Two-Ocean Stream
It's the only feature of its kind in North America: a place in Wyoming where visitors can watch a flow of water divide on the crest of the Continental Divide, beginning journeys that lead thousands of miles in opposite directions, eventually flowing into the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. ...
A Question of Leadership
As the pool and spa industry continues to surge into a seemingly bright future, veteran designer Kevin Woodhurst asks big questions about where our industry will find the leaders of tomorrow. The answers, he believes, come from within those who have witnessed the industry’s dynamic evolution. ...
Feeding Lake Mead
Managing water levels and flow through rivers systems and reservoirs might rightly be considered watershaping on the grandest possible scale. That unique skillset has come into play in a big way recently as refreshened water resources are distributed through drought-worn Colorado River system. ...