California Coastal Estuaries

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: This polygon shapefile depicts estuaries on the California coast that form at the mouths of rivers and streams where freshwater and saltwater meet, and where the salinity varies seasonally and over longer timeframes when the river mouths get closed by sand spits or other barriers. Lagoons are coastal water bodies that are cut off from the sea and generally have low freshwater inputs. Estuaries also differ in their geomorphic origin (coastal plain estuaries, river mouth estuaries, canyon mouth estuaries and tectonic estuaries).
Purpose: The California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) defines estuaries as being seaward of the mean high tide line or the mouth of a coastal river, including any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora and fauna. These estuaries were defined for the northern study region (Point Arena to Oregon) and for the southern study region (Point Conception to Mexico). Areas were outlined by committees comprised of experts from the MLPA Initiative, the MLPA Science Advisory Team and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists. All other areas are from The Nature Conservancy Ecoregional Assessment data. Most of that content is derived from the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) published by U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

Type of resource	cartographic, software, multimedia
Form	Shapefile
Extent	2.173
Place	Monterey, CA, US
Publisher	California. Department of Fish and Game. Marine Resources Region
Publication date	2014
Language	English
Digital origin	born digital
Map data	Scale not given. ; Custom projection W 124°28ʹ53ʺ--W 116°42ʹ35ʺ/N 42°1ʹ2ʺ--N 32°30ʹ43ʺW 124°23ʹ27ʺ--W 117°5ʹ36ʺ/N 41°56ʹ50ʺ--N 32°32ʹ41ʺ, Scale not given ; EPSG::4326

Creator	California. Department of Fish and Game. Marine Resources Region

WGS84 Cartographics	This layer is presented in the WGS84 coordinate system for web display purposes. Downloadable data are provided in native coordinate system or projection.
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/jq088zc1404

Use and reproduction: This item is in the public domain. There are no restrictions on use.
Copyright: This work is in the Public Domain, meaning that it is not subject to copyright.

Preferred citation: California Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Resources Region. (2014). California Coastal Estuaries. California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Marine Resources Region. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/jq088zc1404.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife GIS Maps & Data

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