Historical Shoreline Data for Massachusetts and New Hampshire

A high-resolution historical shoreline dataset for Massachusetts and New Hampshire, derived from NOAA National Ocean Service maps. The data were automated for GIS use and conform to the NGS C-COAST attribution scheme, influenced by the S-57 standard for hydrographic data. This resource is part of a larger NOAA data collection.

Use Cases

• Historical coastline change analysis based on high-resolution shoreline data.
• GIS layer creation for coastal zone management based on NOAA-derived maps.
• Data translation and standardization projects based on the C-COAST attribution scheme.
• Validation of modern shoreline datasets based on historical reference data.

Strengths

• Data is described as high-resolution and accurate for GIS use.
• Derived from authoritative NOAA National Ocean Service and predecessor agency maps.
• Attribution follows a defined scheme (C-COAST) influenced by an international standard.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Primary file formats are PDF and HTML, which may require extraction for direct geospatial analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Derived from NOAA shoreline maps based on office interpretation of imagery and/or field surveys.

Time Range

Historical (specific range not provided)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 21:44:31.623748; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Massachusetts and New Hampshire, USA