Mean high water (MHW) shorelines along the coast of California used to calculated shoreline change from 1998 to 2016

This dataset contains mean high water (MHW) shorelines for sandy beaches along the coast of California for the years 1998/2002, 2015, and 2016. The MHW elevation in each analysis region (Northern, Central, and Southern California) maintained consistency with that of the National Assessment of Shoreline Change. The operational MHW line was extracted from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) digital elevation models (DEMs) using the ArcGIS smoothed contour method. The smoothed contour line was then quality controlled to remove artifacts, as well as remove any contour tool interpretation of human-made infrastructure (such as jetties, piers, and sea walls), using satellite imagery from ArcGIS.

Data and Resources

Field Value
accessLevel public
bureauCode {010:12}
catalog_@context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
catalog_describedBy https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
identifier USGS:5f9317ac82ce720ee2d59707
metadata_type geospatial
modified 20201231
old-spatial -114.14, 32.53, -124.42, 42.00
publisher U.S. Geological Survey
publisher_hierarchy Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash e3d32234f691d5490cde3db4c41677a476e89b37
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-114.14, 32.53], [-114.14, 42.00], [ -124.42, 42.00], [ -124.42, 32.53], [-114.14, 32.53]]]}
theme {geospatial}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • cencal
  • central-california
  • ckan
  • climate-change
  • climatologymeteorologyatmosphere
  • cmhrp
  • coastal-and-marine-hazards-and-resources-program
  • coastal-erosion
  • el-nino-events
  • el-nino-southern-oscillation
  • geo
  • geoss
  • national
  • norcal
  • north-america
  • northern-california
  • oceans
  • pacific-coastal-and-marine-science-center
  • pcmsc
  • physical-habitats-and-geomorphology
  • sea-level-change
  • socal
  • southern-california
  • state-of-california
  • storms
  • u-s-geological-survey
  • united-states
  • usgs
  • usgs-5f9317ac82ce720ee2d59707
  • waves
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
maintainer_email pcmsc_data@usgs.gov
metadata_created 2025-11-22T20:56:27.751184
metadata_modified 2025-11-22T20:56:27.751188
notes This dataset contains mean high water (MHW) shorelines for sandy beaches along the coast of California for the years 1998/2002, 2015, and 2016. The MHW elevation in each analysis region (Northern, Central, and Southern California) maintained consistency with that of the National Assessment of Shoreline Change. The operational MHW line was extracted from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) digital elevation models (DEMs) using the ArcGIS smoothed contour method. The smoothed contour line was then quality controlled to remove artifacts, as well as remove any contour tool interpretation of human-made infrastructure (such as jetties, piers, and sea walls), using satellite imagery from ArcGIS.
num_resources 2
num_tags 32
title Mean high water (MHW) shorelines along the coast of California used to calculated shoreline change from 1998 to 2016