Interested in how king tides impact the Southern California coastline? You can learn all about it at a special city-sponsored beach event on Saturday.

The Urban Tides Beach Walk will take place on January 10 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., starting at the Strand and 38th Street.

The walk is a first-ever event, the result of a partnership between the city of Manhattan Beach and USC Sea Grant. USC Sea Grant launched Urban Tides as a community science effort  in 2015 to document tidal lines, beach erosion, coastal flooding, and other changing coastal conditions. The Urban Tides initiative supports the broader efforts of the California King Tides Project. 

USC Sea Grant's Urban Tides Program invites individuals to visit the Southern California coast during extreme tide events and to take photos of the changing shoreline and any impacts on beaches or nearby communities. Extreme tides, particularly king tides (the highest tides of the season), can help identify current flooding hotspots and visualize what future sea level rise will look like for the coastline. Photos of these events help fill gaps in documenting coastal issues as well as identify areas of concern to assist in local planning and policy efforts.