The salt marshes and barrier islands of South Carolina appear to be tranquil and idyllic to most people who visit those enchanted shores. Gently waving palmetto trees and stately live oaks grace a landscape punctuated by wind-sculpted maritime forests and seemingly endless expanses of cordgrass and tidal creeks. Here, land and water meet intimately, blurring the distinctions between the two elements in subtle ways that defy the imagination. Beyond this brackish interface are dunes covered in sea oats and sandy beaches, each molded by winds and waves as the land finally gives way to the embrace of the Atlantic Ocean.