Habitat--Offshore Santa Cruz, California

This part of DS 781 presents data for the habitat map of the seafloor of the Offshore of Santa Cruz map area, California. The vector data file is included in "Habitat_OffshoreSantaCruz.zip," which is accessible from http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7TM785G.Using multibeam echosounder (MBES) bathymetry and backscatter data, potential marine benthic habitat maps were constructed. The habitats were based on substrate types and documented or "ground truthed" using underwater video images and seafloor samples obtained by the USGS. These maps display various habitat types that range from flat, soft, unconsolidated sediment-covered seafloor to hard, deformed (folded), or highly rugose and differentially eroded bedrock exposures. Rugged, high-relief, [...]