Historical Shoreline of Milwaukee Harbor to Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

A high-resolution historical shoreline dataset for Milwaukee Harbor to Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, automated for use as a GIS data layer. The data are derived from shoreline maps produced by NOAA National Ocean Service and its predecessors, based on imagery interpretation and field surveys. Attribution follows the NGS-developed C-COAST scheme, influenced by the S-57 standard for hydrographic data.

Use Cases

• Detect historical shoreline change based on the high-resolution mapping.
• Create coastal base maps for GIS analysis based on the derived data layer.
• Translate shoreline data into S-57 hydrographic formats based on the C-COAST attribution scheme.
• Analyze coastal zone features for the Milwaukee Harbor region based on the NOAA survey data.

Strengths

• Data is described as high-resolution and accurate for GIS use.
• Derived from authoritative NOAA National Ocean Service shoreline maps.
• Attribution scheme (C-COAST) was developed to conform various data sources.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the historical survey methods.

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, but specific range is not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 21:14:53.897013; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Milwaukee Harbor to Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, United States.