Over the last two decades many scholars across the sciences, arts, and humanities have participated in a ‘turn to water’. This exploration of ‘hydro-logics’ (as opposed to geo- or earth-logics) attempts to challenge how we think and feel about the world when we focus on our relations with water worlds – as fluid, unpredictable, often wild environments, where humans are out of their ‘element’. From the rise of the ‘blue humanities’, to a focus on ‘ocean literacy’, cultural geographies are well placed to integrate natural and social science understanding together to protect and value our water worlds.

Explore the pages within this section to get a taste for how and why a range of engagements with water worlds, including surf-riding and kayaking, can be so important to the identity, health, and well-being of humans.