This part of DS 781 presents data for the bathymetry map of the Offshore Half Moon Bay, California. The raster data file is included in "Bathymetry_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreHalfMoonBay/data_catalog_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Cochrane, G.R., Dartnell, P., Greene, H.G., Johnson, S.Y., Golden, N.E., Hartwell, S.R., Dieter, B.E., Manson, M.W., Sliter, R.W., Ross, S.L., Watt, J.T., Endris, C.A., Kvitek, R.G., Phillips, E.L., Erdey, M.D., Chin, J.L., and Bretz, C.K. (G.R. Cochrane and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2014, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Half Moon Bay, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1214, pamphlet 37 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141214. The bathymetry map of the Offshore Half Moon Bay, California, map area was generated from bathymetry data collected by Fugro Pelagos, and by California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). Mapping was completed in 2006 and 2007, using a combination of 400-kHz Reson 7125 and 244-kHz Reson 8101 multibeam echosounders. These mapping missions combined to collect bathymetry from about the 10-m isobath to beyond the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. These data are not intended for navigational purposes. NOTE: the horizontal datum of the bathymetry data (NAD83) differs from the horizontal datum of other layers in this SIM (WGS84).

This part of DS 781 presents data for the hillshaded bathymetry map of the Offshore Half Moon Bay map area, California. The raster data file is included in "BathymetryHS_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreHalfMoonBay/data_catalog_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Cochrane, G.R., Dartnell, P., Greene, H.G., Johnson, S.Y., Golden, N.E., Hartwell, S.R., Dieter, B.E., Manson, M.W., Sliter, R.W., Ross, S.L., Watt, J.T., Endris, C.A., Kvitek, R.G., Phillips, E.L., Erdey, M.D., Chin, J.L., and Bretz, C.K. (G.R. Cochrane and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2014, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Half Moon Bay, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1214, pamphlet 37 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141214. The shaded-relief bathymetry map of Offshore Half Moon Bay, California, was generated from bathymetry data collected by Fugro Pelagos, and by California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). Mapping was completed in 2006 and 2007, using a combination of 400-kHz Reson 7125 and 244-kHz Reson 8101 multibeam echosounders. These mapping missions combined to collect bathymetry from about the 10-m isobath to beyond the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters.

This part of DS 781 presents the seafloor-character map of the Offshore of Half Moon Bay map area, California. The raster data file is included in "SeafloorCharacter_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.zip", which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreHalfMoonBay/data_catalog_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.html. This raster-format seafloor-character map shows four substrate classes of Offshore of Half Moon Bay, California. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Cochrane, G.R., Dartnell, P., Greene, H.G., Johnson, S.Y., Golden, N.E., Hartwell, S.R., Dieter, B.E., Manson, M.W., Sliter, R.W., Ross, S.L., Watt, J.T., Endris, C.A., Kvitek, R.G., Phillips, E.L., Erdey, M.D., Chin, J.L., and Bretz, C.K. (G.R. Cochrane and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2014, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Half Moon Bay, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1214, pamphlet 37 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141214. This raster-format seafloor-character map shows four substrate classes in the Offshore of Half Moon Bay map area. The substrate classes mapped in this area have been further divided into the following California Marine Life Protection Act depth zones and slope classes: Depth Zone 2 (intertidal to 30 m), Depth Zone 3 (30 to 100 m), and Slope Class 1 (0 degrees - 5 degrees). Depth Zone 1 (intertidal), Depth Zones 4-5 (greater than 100 m), and Slopes Classes 2-4 (greater than 5 degrees) are not present in the region covered by this block. The map is created using a supervised classification method described by Cochrane (2008). References Cited: California Department of Fish and Game, 2008, California Marine Life Protection Act master plan for marine protected areas; Revised draft: California Department of Fish and Game, accessed April 5 2011, at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/masterplan.asp. Cochrane, G.R., 2008, Video-supervised classification of sonar data for mapping seafloor habitat, in Reynolds, J.R., and Greene, H.G., eds., Marine habitat mapping technology for Alaska: Fairbanks, University of Alaska, Alaska Sea Grant College Program, p. 185-194, accessed April 5, 2011, at http://doc.nprb.org/web/research/research%20pubs/615_habitat_mapping_workshop/Individual%20Chapters%20High-Res/Ch13%20Cochrane.pdf. Sappington, J.M., Longshore, K.M., and Thompson, D.B., 2007, Quantifying landscape ruggedness for animal habitat analysis--A case study using bighorn sheep in the Mojave Desert: Journal of Wildlife Management, v. 71, p. 1419-1426.

This part of SIM 3306 presents data for the bathymetry map of the Offshore of San Gregorio map area, California. The raster data file is included in "Bathymetry_OffshoreSanGregorio.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreSanGregorio/data_catalog_OffshoreSanGregorio.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Cochrane, G.R., Dartnell, P., Greene, H.G., Watt, J.T., Golden, N.E., Endris, C.A., Phillips, E.L., Hartwell, S.R., Johnson, S.Y., Kvitek, R.G., Erdey, M.D., Bretz, C.K., Manson, M.W., Sliter, R.W., Ross, S.L., Dieter, B.E., and Chin, J.L. (G.R. Cochrane and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2014, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of San Gregorio, California: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3306, pamphlet 38 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3306. The bathymetry map of Offshore San Gregorio, California, was generated from bathymetry data collected by Fugro Pelagos and by California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). Mapping was completed in 2006 and 2007, using a combination of 400-kHz Reson 7125 and 244-kHz Reson 8101 multibeam echosounders. These mapping missions combined to collect bathymetry from about the 10-m isobath to beyond the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters.

This part of SIM 3306 presents data for the shaded-relief bathymetry map of the Offshore of San Gregorio map area, California. The raster data file is included in "Bathymetry_OffshoreSanGregorio.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreSanGregorio/data_catalog_OffshoreSanGregorio.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Cochrane, G.R., Dartnell, P., Greene, H.G., Watt, J.T., Golden, N.E., Endris, C.A., Phillips, E.L., Hartwell, S.R., Johnson, S.Y., Kvitek, R.G., Erdey, M.D., Bretz, C.K., Manson, M.W., Sliter, R.W., Ross, S.L., Dieter, B.E., and Chin, J.L. (G.R. Cochrane and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2014, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of San Gregorio, California: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3306, pamphlet 38 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3306. The shaded-relief bathymetry map of Offshore San Gregorio, California, was generated from bathymetry data collected by Fugro Pelagos and by California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). Mapping was completed in 2006 and 2007, using a combination of 400-kHz Reson 7125 and 244-kHz Reson 8101 multibeam echosounders. These mapping missions combined to collect bathymetry (sheets 1, 2) from about the 10-m isobath to beyond the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters.

In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), designed to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats, and geology within California’s State Waters. The program supports a large number of coastal-zone- and ocean-management issues, including the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) (California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2008), which requires information about the distribution of ecosystems as part of the design and proposal process for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas. A focus of CSMP is to map California’s State Waters with consistent methods at a consistent scale. The CSMP approach is to create highly detailed seafloor maps through collection, integration, interpretation, and visualization of swath sonar data (the undersea equivalent of satellite remote-sensing data in terrestrial mapping), acoustic backscatter, seafloor video, seafloor photography, high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles, and bottom-sediment sampling data. The map products display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats, and illustrate both the surficial seafloor geology and shallow (to about 100 m) subsurface geology. It is emphasized that the more interpretive habitat and geology data rely on the integration of multiple, new high-resolution datasets and that mapping at small scales would not be possible without such data. This approach and CSMP planning is based in part on recommendations of the Marine Mapping Planning Workshop (Kvitek and others, 2006), attended by coastal and marine managers and scientists from around the state. That workshop established geographic priorities for a coastal mapping project and identified the need for coverage of “lands” from the shore strand line (defined as Mean Higher High Water; MHHW) out to the 3-nautical-mile (5.6-km) limit of California’s State Waters. Unfortunately, surveying the zone from MHHW out to 10-m water depth is not consistently possible using ship-based surveying methods, owing to sea state (for example, waves, wind, or currents), kelp coverage, and shallow rock outcrops. Accordingly, some of the data presented in this series commonly do not cover the zone from the shore out to 10-m depth. This data is part of a series of online U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publications, each of which includes several map sheets, some explanatory text, and a descriptive pamphlet. Each map sheet is published as a PDF file. Geographic information system (GIS) files that contain both ESRI ArcGIS raster grids (for example, bathymetry, seafloor character) and geotiffs (for example, shaded relief) are also included for each publication. For those who do not own the full suite of ESRI GIS and mapping software, the data can be read using ESRI ArcReader, a free viewer that is available at http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcreader/index.html (last accessed September 20, 2013). The California Seafloor Mapping Program is a collaborative venture between numerous different federal and state agencies, academia, and the private sector. CSMP partners include the California Coastal Conservancy, the California Ocean Protection Council, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Geological Survey, California State University at Monterey Bay’s Seafloor Mapping Lab, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Center for Habitat Studies, Fugro Pelagos, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, including National Ocean Service–Office of Coast Surveys, National Marine Sanctuaries, and National Marine Fisheries Service), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. These web services for the Offshore of Half Moon Bay map area includes data layers that are associated to GIS and map sheets available from the USGS CSMP web page at

This part of DS 781 presents data for the geologic and geomorphic map of the Offshore of Half Moon Bay map area, California. The vector data file is included in "Geology_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreHalfMoonBay/data_catalog_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Cochrane, G.R., Dartnell, P., Greene, H.G., Johnson, S.Y., Golden, N.E., Hartwell, S.R., Dieter, B.E., Manson, M.W., Sliter, R.W., Ross, S.L., Watt, J.T., Endris, C.A., Kvitek, R.G., Phillips, E.L., Erdey, M.D., Chin, J.L., and Bretz, C.K. (G.R. Cochrane and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2014, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Half Moon Bay, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1214, pamphlet 37 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141214. Marine geology and geomorphology was mapped in the Offshore of Half Moon Bay map area, California, from approximate Mean High Water (MHW) to the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. Offshore geologic units were delineated on the basis of integrated analyses of adjacent onshore geology with multibeam bathymetry and backscatter imagery, seafloor-sediment and rock samples, digital camera and video imagery, and high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles.

This part of SIM 3306 presents data for the bathymetric contours for several seafloor maps of the Offshore of San Gregorio map area, California. The vector data file is included in "Contours_OffshoreSanGregorio.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreSanGregorio/data_catalog_OffshoreSanGregorio.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Cochrane, G.R., Dartnell, P., Greene, H.G., Watt, J.T., Golden, N.E., Endris, C.A., Phillips, E.L., Hartwell, S.R., Johnson, S.Y., Kvitek, R.G., Erdey, M.D., Bretz, C.K., Manson, M.W., Sliter, R.W., Ross, S.L., Dieter, B.E., and Chin, J.L. (G.R. Cochrane and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2014, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of San Gregorio, California: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3306, pamphlet 38 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3306. 10-m interval contours of the Offshore of San Gregorio map area, California, were generated from bathymetry data collected by Fugro Pelagos and by California State University, Monterey Bay, Seafloor Mapping Lab (CSUMB). Mapping was completed in 2006 and 2007, using a combination of 400-kHz Reson 7125 and 244-kHz Reson 8101 multibeam echosounders. These mapping missions combined to collect bathymetry from about the 10-m isobath to beyond the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. Bathymetric contours at 10-m intervals were generated from the merged 2-m bathymetric surface. The most continuous contour segments were preserved while smaller segments and isolated island polygons were excluded from the final output. Contours were smoothed via a polynomial approximation with exponential kernel (PAEK) algorithm using a tolerance value of 60 m. The contours were then clipped to the boundary of the map area.

This part of DS 781 presents data for folds for the geologic and geomorphic map of the Offshore of Half Moon Bay map area, California. The vector data file is included in "Folds_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreHalfMoonBay/data_catalog_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Cochrane, G.R., Dartnell, P., Greene, H.G., Johnson, S.Y., Golden, N.E., Hartwell, S.R., Dieter, B.E., Manson, M.W., Sliter, R.W., Ross, S.L., Watt, J.T., Endris, C.A., Kvitek, R.G., Phillips, E.L., Erdey, M.D., Chin, J.L., and Bretz, C.K. (G.R. Cochrane and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2014, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Half Moon Bay, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1214, pamphlet 37 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141214. Folds in the Offshore of Half Moon Bay map area were primarily mapped by interpretation of seismic reflection profile data (see field activities S-15-10-NC and F-2-07-NC). The seismic reflection profiles were collected in 2007 and 2010.

This part of DS 781 presents data for the acoustic-backscatter map of the Offshore of Half Moon Bay map area, California. Backscatter data are provided as two separate grids depending on mapping system (Reson 7125 and Reson 8101). The raster data file is included in "BackscatterA_8101_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreHalfMoonBay/data_catalog_OffshoreHalfMoonBay.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Cochrane, G.R., Dartnell, P., Greene, H.G., Johnson, S.Y., Golden, N.E., Hartwell, S.R., Dieter, B.E., Manson, M.W., Sliter, R.W., Ross, S.L., Watt, J.T., Endris, C.A., Kvitek, R.G., Phillips, E.L., Erdey, M.D., Chin, J.L., and Bretz, C.K. (G.R. Cochrane and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2014, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Half Moon Bay, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1214, pamphlet 37 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141214. The acoustic-backscatter map of the Offshore of Half Moon Bay, California, map area was generated from backscatter data collected by Fugro Pelagos and by California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). Mapping was completed in 2006 and 2007, using a combination of 400-kHz Reson 7125 and 244-kHz Reson 8101 multibeam echosounders. Within the final imagery, brighter tones indicate higher backscatter intensity, and darker tones indicate lower backscatter intensity. The intensity represents a complex interaction between the acoustic pulse and the seafloor, as well as characteristics within the shallow subsurface, providing a general indication of seafloor texture and composition. Backscatter intensity depends on the acoustic source level; the frequency used to image the seafloor; the grazing angle; the composition and character of the seafloor, including grain size, water content, bulk density, and seafloor roughness; and some biological cover. Harder and rougher bottom types such as rocky outcrops or coarse sediment typically return stronger intensities (high backscatter, lighter tones), whereas softer bottom types such as fine sediment return weaker intensities (low backscatter, darker tones).