A Southern California Town Reckons With Its Disappearing Beaches

On a sunny fall morning, waves crashed against a slope made up of huge boulders, or riprap, sending spray over the adjacent railroad tracks. These tracks, south of San Clemente State Beach in Southern California, are part of the only freight rail line that connects the Port of San Diego with the rest of the country. This is also the route of the popular Amtrak Surfliner that hugs the coast all the way up to San Luis Obispo in Central California.