In the west there is the mouth of the river Ems and the Krummhörn peninsula protruding into the estuary.

The small island of Memmert south of Juist is a nature reserve housing rare birds.

Part of the district belongs to the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.

The coat of arms, granted in 1978, displays the so-called virgin eagle (or harpy), which was the heraldic animal of the Cirksena family, a local clan providing East Frisian chieftains during the Middle Ages.

The former coat of arms, granted in 1950, shows a golden oak tree, representing the Upstalsboom, a tree outside the city of Aurich under which free Frisians gathered for their yearly council meetings.