A method is suggested for beginning identification of coastal amenities and noneconomic values, which are often assumed to be too vague and highly individualized for explicit consideration in coastal zone planning and management decisions. Through an examination of selected works—primarily naturalists’ essays and some poetry and fiction—several recurring perceptions of coastal qualities and values emerged. A framework of six dominant themes (the senses of life and continuing creation, time and timelessness, space and distance, imperviousness to man and man's actions, energy and conflict, and mystery and spirituality) as well as the concepts comprising and linking these themes is discussed and supported by quotations from the literature studied.