This map service contains the most current version of the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) from The National Map (TNM). The WBD defines the perimeter of drainage areas formed by the terrain and other landscape characteristics. These drainage areas or Hydrologic Unit (HU) polygon boundaries are available for the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The drainage areas are nested within each other so that a large drainage area, such as the Upper Mississippi River, will be composed of multiple smaller drainage areas, such as the Wisconsin River. Each of these smaller areas can further be subdivided into smaller and smaller drainage areas. The WBD uses six different levels in this hierarchy, with the smallest averaging about 30,000 acres. The WBD is made up of polygons nested into six levels of data respectively defined by Regions, Subregions, Basins, Subbasins, Watersheds, and Subwatersheds.The data is a seamless National representation of HU boundaries from 2 to 14 digits compiled from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) sources. Purpose: This data is intended primarily for geographic display and analysis of regional and national data, and can also be used for illustration purposes at intermediate or small scales (1:250,000 to 1:2,000,000). For additional information on the WBD, go to https://nhd.usgs.gov/wbd.html.

The Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) from USGS' The National Map (TNM) defines the perimeter of drainage areas formed by the terrain and other landscape characteristics. The drainage areas are nested within each other so that a large drainage area, such as the Sacramento River, will be composed of multiple smaller drainage areas, such as the Feather River. Each of these smaller areas can further be subdivided into smaller and smaller drainage areas. The WBD uses six different levels in this hierarchy, with the smallest averaging about 30,000 acres. The WBD is made up of polygons nested into six levels of data respectively defined by Regions, Subregions, Basins, Subbasins, Watersheds, and Subwatersheds. For additional information on the WBD, go to https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/national-hydrography/watershed-boundary-dataset. DWR was the steward for NHD and WBD in California. We worked with other organizations to edit and improve NHD and WBD, using the business rules for California. California's WBD improvements are sent to USGS for certification and incorporation to the national geodatabase. The certified WBD is included within the National Hydrography Dataset downloadable file geodatabase, and is also available in shapefile format and as web map services accessible from the USGS website. (https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/national-hydrography/access-national-hydrography-products).

The final static version of the WBD was published in January 2025. No edits to this dataset are being accepted by USGS. Future mapping of drainage areas will be done by USGS as the 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP) is built out. DWR and its stewardship partners are actively producing LiDAR-derived hydrography data for inclusion in the California portion of 3DHP data and eventually its companion set of drainage areas. For now, the WBD is considered the authoritative source for watershed delineations in California.

The California Interagency Watershed Map of 1999 (Calwater 2.2, updated May 2004, "calw221") is the State of California's working definition of watershed boundaries. Previous Calwater versions (1.2 and 2.2) described California watersheds, beginning with the division of the State's 101 million acres into ten Hydrologic Regions (HR). Each HR is progressively subdivided into six smaller, nested levels: the Hydrologic Unit (HU, major rivers), Hydrologic Area (HA, major tributaries), Hydrologic Sub-Area (HSA), Super Planning Watershed (SPWS), and Planning Watershed (PWS). At the Planning Watershed (the most detailed level), where implemented, polygons range in size from approximately 3,000 to 10,000 acres. At all levels, a total of 7035 polygons represent the State's watersheds. The present version, Calwater 2.2.1, refines the watershed coding structure and documentation (database fields were added and some were renamed). There are significant watershed boundary, code, and name differences between Calwater versions 1.2 (1995), 2.0 (1998), and 2.2 (1999). The differences between versions 2.2 (1999) and 2.2.1 (2004) are attribute field names and some inserted lines that identify differences between State and federal watersheds. Calwater 2.2.1 most accurately delineates true watersheds in mountainous terrain. However, neither Calwater 2.2.1 nor any of its predecessors is a "pure" watershed map because administrative boundaries such as the State border were used to delineate watershed areas. Some of the boundaries, particularly in developed valley areas, also have legal and administrative purposes other than the representation of actual drainage divides. Examples include the so-called "Legal Delta" (California Water Code, Chapter 2, the Delta, Sec. 12220) and other district boundaries. Neither is Calwater a legal map document, as it does not represent State of California Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) jurisdictions, officiated by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) under California Water Code Section 13200. Calwater is a hybrid, a spatial cross-reference for use in local, State, and federal information communities. The California Resources Agency (CRA) Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) contracted with Tierra Data Systems for the original digital production in 1993, based on Hydrologic Basin Planning Maps published in hardcopy (SWRCB, 1986). The State of California Stephen P. Teale Data Center GIS Solutions Group (Teale) under the direction of the California Department of Water Resrouces (DWR) and CDF, finalized the current version in ESRI ArcInfo coverage format in 1999 with USDA Forest Service and RWQCB/SWRCB inputs. The CRA California Spatial Information Library (CaSIL) is the current distributor of the coverage in the Teale Albers Conical Equal-Area projection, North American Datum of 1983. The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) authored Calwater attribution design and documentation culminating in May 2004 with this Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC-STD-001-1998) standard metadata.This dataset comprises a portion of the full California dataset to cover hydrological basins that intersect San Diego County, Imperial County, Riverside County and Orange County.

For more information, see the Aquatic Significant Habitats Factsheet at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=150855. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Areas of Conservation Emphasis (ACE) is a compilation and analysis of the best-available statewide spatial information in California on biodiversity, rarity and endemism, harvested species, significant habitats, connectivity and wildlife movement, climate vulnerability, climate refugia, and other relevant data (e.g., other conservation priorities such as those identified in the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), stressors, land ownership). ACE addresses both terrestrial and aquatic data. The ACE model combines and analyzes terrestrial information in a 2.5 square mile hexagon grid and aquatic information at the HUC12 watershed level across the state to produce a series of maps for use in non-regulatory evaluation of conservation priorities in California. The model addresses as many of CDFWs statewide conservation and recreational mandates as feasible using high quality data sources. High value areas statewide and in each USDA Ecoregion were identified. The ACE maps and data can be viewed in the ACE online map viewer, or downloaded for use in ArcGIS. For more detailed information see https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/Analysis/ACE and https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=24326.

This landuse / landcover (LULC) map displays a basic depiction of the Los Planes watershed in Baja California Sur, Mexico. This simplified, 7-class LULC map displays classes that are useful for hydrologic modeling and broad vegetation mapping in the region. It was created from analysis of six Sentinel-2 satellite images and other existing geospatial datasets. These satellite images are provided at 10-meter spatial resolution and were calibrated for topographic illumination effects to enhance its accuracy in rugged, mountainous terrain like that seen in the watershed. A novel filtering methodology was also applied to minimize the "salt-and-pepper effect" from the principle component analysis (PCA) and image classification methodology. See "lulc_los_planes_watershed_final_2_legend.jpg" for a low-resolution overview of the image and legend.

Six digit hydrologic units intersecting California. The Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) is a comprehensive aggregated collection of hydrologic unit data consistent with the national criteria for delineation and resolution. It defines the areal extent of surface water drainage to a point except in coastal or lake front areas where there could be multiple outlets as stated by the "Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD)" “Standard” (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/). Watershed boundaries are determined solely upon science-based hydrologic principles, not favoring any administrative boundaries or special projects, nor particular program or agency. This dataset represents the hydrologic unit boundaries to the 12-digit (6th level) for the entire United States. Some areas may also include additional subdivisions representing the 14- and 16-digit hydrologic unit (HU). At a minimum, the HUs are delineated at 1:24,000-scale in the conterminous United States, 1:25,000-scale in Hawaii, Pacific basin and the Caribbean, and 1:63,360-scale in Alaska, meeting the National Map Accuracy Standards (NMAS). Higher resolution boundaries are being developed where partners and data exist and will be incorporated back into the WBD. WBD data are delivered as a dataset of polygons and corresponding lines that define the boundary of the polygon. WBD polygon attributes include hydrologic unit codes (HUC), size (in the form of acres and square kilometers), name, downstream hydrologic unit code, type of watershed, non-contributing areas, and flow modifications. The HUC describes where the unit is in the country and the level of the unit. WBD line attributes contain the highest level of hydrologic unit for each boundary, line source information and flow modifications.

The USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), created a series of geospatial products of the Scotts Creek Watershed in Lake County, California, using National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery from 2018, 2020 and 2022. The imagery was downloaded from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Geospatial Data Gateway (https://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov). The NAIP imagery from 2018, 2020 and 2022 was classified using Random Forest Modeling to produce land cover maps with three main classifications – bare, vegetation, and shadows. A total of 600 independent reference points were used in the accuracy assessment. The overall accuracy for all classes for each dataset is 98%. See attached ScottsCreek_20XX_AccuracyAssessment.csv files (contained within each LandCoverMap_associated_files_20XX.zip for each year respectively) for details. A preview image of the land cover map for 2018 is attached to this ...

CDFW BIOS GIS Dataset, Contact: Diane Mastalir, Description: This data set is an extract of the California Watershed (calwater) dataset. It has been generalized to hydrologic sub-areas for those watersheds that are considered part of the coastal steelhead trout range.

CGS evaluated the geology, relative slope stability and geomorphic characteristics within the watershed, and compiled the digital geospatial data described in this document. This mapping and compilation is geared toward providing baseline geologic and geomorphic data to aid in responsible land management, as well as the development of watershed restoration projects, watershed management strategies, and watershed plans.

To provide an alternative to the native NHD measuring system of percentage of distance along reach length with one that enhances the ability to examine distance relationships along entire stream courses.

The Eel River CZO operates on several spatial scales from a zero order hillslope to the entire Eel River on the north coast of California. Rivendell, Angelo, Sagehorn, South Fork, and Eel River GIS boundaries. GIS polygon shapefiles. All files are in geographic projection (Lat/Long) with a datum of WGS84.

The watershed boundaries are from USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) http://nhd.usgs.gov/wbd.html. Rivendell and Angelo boundaries are created from LiDAR by the CZO. Sagehorn Ranch is a privately held, active commercial ranch with no public access. Please contact the CZO if you are interested in data from Sagehorn Ranch.

Shapefiles

Eel River Watershed (drainage area 9534 km^2): Entire eel river. Greatest extent of CZO research.

South Fork Eel Watershed (drainage area 1784 km^2).

Angelo Reserve Boundary (30.0 km^2): Angelo Coast Range Reserve is a University of California Natural Reserve System protected land. It is the central focus of CZO research. http://angelo.berkeley.edu

Sagehorn Ranch Boundary (21.1 km^2): Sagehorn Ranch is a private ranch with active cattle raising. The owners have allowed the CZO to place instrumentation on their lands. Access is only by explicit agreement by owners.

Rivendell Cachement (0.0076 km^2): Rivendell is a small, heavily instrumented hillslope within the Angelo Reserve. It has roughly 700 instruments deployed as of 2016. Data is online at http://sensor.berkeley.edu

This dataset was developed/compiled for use in the San Francisco Bay Area Upland Habitat Goals Project, a Project used to identify a Conservation Lands Network (CLN) for biodiversity preservation to inform conservation investments and lasting cooperative conservation partnerships. The Conservation Lands Network GIS Database is the primary output of the Project. The data depicts the spatially explicit CLN that is recommended for the nine county San Francisco Bay Area Region, California.

NOTE: This dataset contains California-vicinity HUC8 boundaries as represented in the Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) included with the California-vicinity National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) with version date indicated elsewhere in this metadata. Much of this dataset's metadata was adapted from the nationwide WBD metadata.The Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) is a comprehensive aggregated collection of hydrologic unit data consistent with the national criteria for delineation and resolution. It defines the areal extent of surface water drainage to a point except in coastal or lake front areas where there could be multiple outlets as stated by the "Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD)" "Standard" (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/). Watershed boundaries are determined solely upon science-based hydrologic principles, not favoring any administrative boundaries or special projects, nor particular program or agency. This dataset represents the hydrologic unit boundaries to the 12-digit (6th level) for the entire United States. Some areas may also include additional subdivisions representing the 14- and 16-digit hydrologic unit (HU). At a minimum, the HUs are delineated at 1:24,000-scale in the conterminous United States, 1:25,000-scale in Hawaii, Pacific basin and the Caribbean, and 1:63,360-scale in Alaska, meeting the National Map Accuracy Standards (NMAS). Higher resolution boundaries are being developed where partners and data exist and will be incorporated back into the WBD. WBD data are delivered as a dataset of polygons and corresponding lines that define the boundary of the polygon. WBD polygon attributes include hydrologic unit codes (HUC), size (in the form of acres and square kilometers), name, downstream hydrologic unit code, type of watershed, non-contributing areas, and flow modifications. The HUC describes where the unit is in the country and the level of the unit. WBD line attributes contain the highest level of hydrologic unit for each boundary, line source information and flow modifications.

For more information, see the Aquatic Significant Habitats Factsheet at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=150855. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Areas of Conservation Emphasis (ACE) is a compilation and analysis of the best-available statewide spatial information in California on biodiversity, rarity and endemism, harvested species, significant habitats, connectivity and wildlife movement, climate vulnerability, climate refugia, and other relevant data (e.g., other conservation priorities such as those identified in the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), stressors, land ownership). ACE addresses both terrestrial and aquatic data. The ACE model combines and analyzes terrestrial information in a 2.5 square mile hexagon grid and aquatic information at the HUC12 watershed level across the state to produce a series of maps for use in non-regulatory evaluation of conservation priorities in California. The model addresses as many of CDFWs statewide conservation and recreational mandates as feasible using high quality data sources. High value areas statewide and in each USDA Ecoregion were identified. The ACE maps and data can be viewed in the ACE online map viewer, or downloaded for use in ArcGIS. For more detailed information see https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/Analysis/ACE and https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=24326.

This dataset was created using the 123 PISCES extant species range layers listed below in the table. The PISCES datasets were converted to rasters using GIS and then map algebra was used to calculate the total number of species in each huc12 watershed. Using GIS, an extended table was created to provide species lists by watershed using a one to many table relate. Species presence data was provided by PISCES: Moyle, Quinones and Bell (direct addition), Moyle and Randall (gstpoly), . These layers were generated by PISCES on 10/30/2014. The datasets listed in the table below were used in this analysis.Pisces_CodeCommon_NameAAM01Northern Green SturgeonAAT01White sturgeonCCF01Owens SuckerCCO02Goose Lake SuckerCCS01Klamath Largescale SuckerCCA03Clear Lake Prickly SculpinCCG01Riffle SculpinCCK03Upper Klamath Marbled SculpinCCK01Bigeye Marbled SculpinCCK02Lower Klamath Marbled SculpinCCN02Amargosa River PupfishCCN01Saratoga Springs PupfishCCN04Shoshone PupfishCCS03Salt Creek PupfishPEF01Northern California Brook LampreyPES01Klamath River LampreyPET02Goose Lake LampreyPET01Pacific LampreyCGC01Blue ChubCGO01Arroyo ChubEHT03Clear Lake Tule PerchEHT02Russian River Tule PerchEHT01Sacramento Tule PerchPLH01Kern Brook LampreyPLL01Pit-Klamath Brook LampreyPLR01Western Brook LampreyCLE01Sacramento HitchCLE03Monterey HitchCLP01Gualala RoachCLS06Navarro RoachCLS05Monterey RoachCLS04Clear Lake RoachCLS02Red Hills RoachCLS03Russian River RoachCLS07Tomales RoachCLS01Central California RoachCMC01HardHeadSOC01Coastal Cutthroat TroutSOM03Klamath Mountains Province Winter SteelheadSOM04Klamath Mountains Province Summer SteelheadSOM14California Golden TroutSOM12Eagle Lake Rainbow TroutSOM13Kern River Rainbow TroutSOM10McCloud River Redband TroutSOM11Goose Lake Redband TroutSOT08Central Valley Fall Chinook SalmonSOT07Central Valley Late Fall Chinook SalmonSOT03Southern Oregon Northern California Coast Fall Chinook SalmonSOT01Upper Klamath-Trinity Fall Chinook SalmonSOT02Upper Klamath-Trinity Spring Chinook SalmonCCP01Lahontan Mountain SuckerCPM01Sacramento SplittailSPW01Mountain WhitefishCRO06Amargosa Canyon Speckled DaceCRO05Long Valley Speckled DaceCRO04Owens Speckled DaceCRO07Santa Ana Speckled DaceCSB03Lahontan Lake Tui ChubCSB05Eagle Lake Tui ChubCST01Goose Lake Tui ChubCST03Cow Head Tui ChubAAM02Southern Green SturgeonCCL01Lost River SuckerCCM01Modoc SuckerCCO04Humboldt SuckerCCO03Monterey SuckerCCO01Sacramento SuckerCCR01Klamath Smallscale SuckerCCS02Santa Ana SuckerCCT01Tahoe SuckerCCB01Shortnose SuckerCCA04Coastrange SculpinCCA02Prickly SculpinCCA01Rough SculpinCCB02Paiute SculpinCCP03Reticulate SculpinCCP02Pit SculpinCCM02Desert PupfishCCR02Owens PupfishCCS04Cottonball Marsh PupfishGEN01Tidewater GobyCFP01California KillfishGGA01Coastal Threespine SticklebackGGA02Inland Threespine SticklebackGGA04Santa Ana (Shay Creek) SticklebackGGA03Unarmored Threespine SticklebackOHP01Delta SmeltPLA01River LampreyCLE02Clear Lake HitchCLS08Northern (Pit) RoachCLA01Staghorn SculpinMMC02Striped MulletSOC03Lahontan Cutthroat TroutSOC02Paiute Cutthroat TroutSOG01Pink SalmonSOK03Chum SalmonSOK01Central Coast Coho SalmonSOK02Southern Oregon Northern California Coast Coho SalmonSOM05Central California Coast Winter SteelheadSOM06Central Valley SteelheadSOM02Northern California Coast Summer SteelheadSOM01Northern California Coast Winter SteelheadSOM07South Central California Coast SteelheadSOM08Southern California SteelheadSOM09Coastal Rainbow TroutSOM15Little Kern Golden TroutSOT04California Coast Fall Chinook SalmonSOT06Central Valley Spring Chinook SalmonSOT05Central Valley Winter Chinook SalmonCOM01Sacramento BlackfishPPS01Starry FlounderCPG01Sacramento PikeminnowCRO03Klamath Speckled DaceCRO02Lahontan Speckled DaceCRO01Sacramento Speckled DaceCRE01Lahontan RedsideCSB01Klamath Tui ChubCSB04Lahontan Stream Tui ChubCSB06Owens Tui ChubCST02Pit River Tui ChubOST01Longfin SmeltOTP01EulachonCXT01Razorback Sucker

This mapping tool provides a representation of the general watershed boundaries for stream systems declared fully appropriated by the State Water Board. The boundaries were created by Division of Water Rights staff by delineating FASS critical reaches and consolidating HUC 12 sub-watersheds to form FASS Watershed boundaries. As such, the boundaries are in most cases conservative with respect to the associated stream system. However, users should check neighboring FASS Watersheds to ensure the stream system of interest is not restricted by other FASS listings. For more information regarding the Declaration of Fully Appropriated Stream Systems, visit the Division of Water Rights’ Fully Appropriated Streams webpage. How to Use the Interactive Mapping Tool: If it is your first time viewing the map, you will need to click the “OK” box on the splash screen and agree to the disclaimer before continuing. Navigate to your point of interest by either using the search bar or by zooming in on the map. You may enter a stream name, street address, or watershed ID in the search bar. Click on the map to identify the location of interest and one or more pop-up boxes may appear with information about the fully appropriated stream systems within the general watershed boundaries of the identified location. The information provided in the pop-up box may include: (a) stream name, (b) tributary, (c) season declared fully appropriated, (d) Board Decisions/Water Right Orders, and/or (e) court references/adjudications. You may toggle the FAS Streams reference layer on and off to find representative critical reaches associated with the FASS Watershed layer. Please note that this layer is for general reference purposes only and ultimately the critical reach listed in Appendix A of Water Rights Order 98-08 and Appendix A together with any associated footnotes controls. Note: A separate FAS Watershed boundary layer was created for the Bay-Delta Watershed. The Bay-Delta Watershed layer should be toggled on to check if the area of interest is fully appropriated under State Water Board Decision 1594.

The Ontario Watershed Boundaries (OWB) collection represents the authoritative watershed boundaries for Ontario. The data is based on a framework similar to the Atlas of Canada Fundamental Drainage Areas and the United States Watershed Boundary Dataset, however it adopts a more stringent scientific approach to watershed delineation. The Ontario Watershed Boundaries (OWB) collection includes five data classes:OWB Main (OWB) (Download: Shapefile | File Geodatabase | Open Data Service | QGIS Layer )all watershed levels from primary to quaternary, and level 5 and 6 watersheds for select areas of the province;OWB Primary (OWBPRIM) (Download: SHP | FGDB | ODS | QLR-Diverted Flow | QLR-Natural Flow)all primary watersheds or major drainage areas (WSCMDA) in the Canadian classification;OWB Secondary (OWBSEC) (Download: SHP | FGDB | ODS | QLR*)all secondary watersheds or sub drainage areas (WSCSDA);OWB Tertiary (OWBTERT) (Download: SHP | FGDB | ODS | QLR*)all tertiary watersheds or sub-sub drainage areas (WSCSSDA);OWB Quaternary (OWBQUAT) (Download: SHP | FGDB | ODS | QLR)all quaternary watersheds or 6-digit drainage areas (WSC6).*Display issues in QGIS are currently being investigated for these services. See the RSS feed below for details.IMPORTANT NOTE: The OWB data replaces the following data classes:Provincial Watersheds, HistoricalAdditional DocumentationUser Guide for Ontario Watershed Boundaries (Word)Watershed Delineation Principles and Guidelines for Ontario (Word) Atlas of Canada 1,000,000 National Frameworks Data, Hydrology - Fundamental Drainage Areas United States Geological Survey Watershed Boundary Dataset (Website)

Status Completed: Production of the data has been completed

Maintenance and Update Frequency Irregular: data is updated in intervals that are uneven in duration - usually after the completion of major updates to source data (e.g. OIH), but could also include spot updates and expansion of the dataset over time based on user needs. RSS FeedFollow our feed to get the latest announcements and developments concerning our watersheds. Visit our feed at the bottom of our ArcGIS Online OWB page.

Contact Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources - Geospatial Ontario, geospatial@ontario.ca

This dataset is a polygon representation of watersheds draining to the rainforest margin along the Pacific coast of North America.

Watersheds are discrete spatial units of topography that organize the flow of water and materials from land to sea, as well as the movement of biota between marine and freshwaters. As such, watersheds are fundamental geographic units of analysis used by diverse disciplines of science and management. However, regional scale watershed analyses are often hampered by dataset resolution (global datasets are often too coarse) or spatial discontinuities (political borders often divide watersheds and represent a change in mapping methods). To reduce these issues and expedite regional watershed analyses, we developed a new integrated dataset of coastal watersheds for the Northern Pacific Coastal Temperate Rainforest (NPCTR) of North America. The dataset spans from Glacier Bay in Southeast Alaska to the Russian River watershed in Northern California, crossing two international borders.

Dataset assembly was guided by three criteria. First, that the dataset should be a seamless representation of watersheds, at the finest possible resolution, without discontinuities or significant scale/method changes at jurisdictional boundaries. Second, that this goal would be achieved using existing watershed delineations provided by each jurisdiction - as opposed to deriving watershed outlines using hydrologic analysis of a digital elevation model, for example. This allows data users to draw on the standardized methods, detailed metadata, and extensive ancillary data available through the source datasets (e.g., corresponding fluvial networks and identifiers). Finally, that the entire land base should be represented, regardless of polygon (i.e., island) size or the resolution of source watershed delineation. This criterion allows, for example, calculations of total fluvial fluxes from land to sea. Given these criteria, the dataset was produced by integrating previously-existing national and provincial/state datasets, using the largest-scale delineation common among jurisdictions, and by retaining even the very smallest islets and undelineated drainage areas within the dataset. We use the term watershed to refer to the entire land area draining to the ocean at an identifiable outlet. Consequently, the dataset does not differentiate subcatchments associated with tributary rivers and streams.

To our knowledge, this work constitutes the highest resolution watersheds dataset currently available for this region. The nominal mapping scale for delineated watersheds is equivalent to that of the 6th level (12-digit) hierarchical hydrologic units (HU) developed by the USGS in the United States. As a result of the nominal mapping scale of source datasets, watersheds smaller than ~20 km2 are not individually depicted in this dataset but are instead amalgamated into larger drainage units; this is largely the case for many coastal/frontal watersheds whose subcatchment delineations exist in other higher resolution mapping products available for BC and the Contiguous US, but not Alaska.

This dataset was prepared for the Coastal Rainforest Margins Research Network (https://coastalmarginsnetwork.org/), an international collaboration of scientists studying the NPCTR at an eco-regional scale.

For attribute definitions, methods, limitations, and recommendations, see the full metadata record at: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MHNMIk1K9dASBPxNcFQJRBiX6BXG8Ek0

Suggested citation: Gonzalez Arriola, S., Giesbrecht, I.J.W., Biles, F.E., and D’Amore, D.V. 2018. Watersheds of the northern Pacific coastal temperate rainforest margin. Hakai Institute Data Package. Available at: https://hecate.hakai.org/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/25674e9b-1d49-4270-b917-cfe6cdc30f95 DOI: 10.21966/1.715755.

This polygon shapefile depicts a dissolve that was run on the Hydrologic Sub Areas for the nine county San Francisco Bay Area Region, California. Hydrologic Sub Areas are those ranging in size from 195-243 square miles or 125,000-155,999 acres (Myers & Peltz-Lewis, 2004). This data was derived from the California Watershed Map (CalWater version 2.2), a set of standardized watershed boundaries meeting standardized delineation criteria. The hierarchy of watershed designations consists of six levels of increasing specificity: Hydrologic Region (HR), Hydrologic Unit (HU), Hydrologic Area (HA), Hydrologic Sub Area (HSA), Super Planning Watershed (SPWS) and Planning Watershed (PWS). The primary purpose of CalWater is the assignment of a single, unique code to a specific watershed polygon. Watersheds are useful for many aspects of the Project, including development of watershed integrity analysis. These data were critical for the Fish and Riparian Focus Team portion of the Project.

This raster dataset contains a 10-meter resolution digital elevation model (DEM) of the Elk River watershed in Humboldt County, California. This dataset was generated from 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle maps originally produced by the US Geological Survey. This dataset is the product of the Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey’s (CGS) investigation of landslides in the Elk River watershed. The 52 square mile study area is located in Humboldt County in northwestern California. The investigation was based on interpretation of 1940, 1941, 1948, 1954, 1962, 1965, 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000 aerial photos, findings from CGS’s landslide mapping conducted in the early 1980s (Kilbourne, R.T. 1982-84, Manson, M. W. 1984), as well as other sources. Mapping was conducted at 1:24,000 scale. The resulting maps are titled “Geologic and Geomorphic Features Related to Landsliding, Elk River Watershed” (Plate 1) and “Relative Landslide Potential with Geologic and Geomorphic Features, Elk River Watershed” map (Plate 2). This study was conducted at a regional scale of mapping using ten sets of aerial photos combined with a compilation of earlier published and unpublished work. Other photo sets may reveal additional landslides. The regional nature of the study makes the data and maps, including the relative landslide potential zones, inappropriate as a substitute for site-specific analysis.