Our fascination with shorelines may have begun aeons ago when distant ancestors crawled from the water and began breathing and moving about on legs. There are practical explanations for our attraction to the water's edge. It provides access to water for daily needs, and proximity to convenient transportation. The boundary between land and water is one of the richest, most productive ecological zones on earth. Fish and other forms of marine life are born, grow, and live there.
Food abounds for terrestrial animals and birds as well.
Until recently in human history, most people hunted and gathered their own food, and so they too were drawn to the water's edge by the nourishment available there. Today, few of us draw water or food directly from a river or lake, yet we are still attracted to the water's edge. Though increased urbanization has drawn us away from the water's edge, it has also served to increase the water's magnetism. Whether contained by the shores of a northern lake, rushing in torrents down the slopes of the continental divide, moving majestically toward the sea, or crashing with fury on rock-bound coasts, the awe and creativity inspired by water are a global response. Canada, with an abundance of water, spawns a culture particularly rich in water imagery.