Lithologic Descriptions from the Continental Margin Program (HATHLITH71 shapefile)

This data set contains lithologic information on bottom sediments from the Continental Margin Program. The program was a joint collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution during the 1960s to conduct a geological reconnaissance investigation of the continental shelf and slope off the Atlantic coast of the United States. Only those records without complete size analyses and only those stations from the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and southeastern New England shelf and slope are included in this data set. Other stations where detailed textural analyses are available or are from other areas have been excluded. Furthermore, dredges were used to collect most of the bottom samples, resulting in winnowing that has resulted in lithologic descriptions that are texturally coarser than actually present. Care should be taken when using this dataset.