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Home > Maps, Publications, and Online Data > Digital Coastal Bluffs Maps

Digital Data for Coastal Bluffs Maps

The Maine Geological Survey uses a geographic information system (GIS) in the production of its maps. The GIS data used in the production of Coastal Bluffs Maps is available for download. The GIS data is in Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) shapefile format.

This digital coastal bluffs data is current through 2/18/09. The digital data may not include information from the most recently published coastal bluffs maps. This data will be updated periodically but may be out of step briefly with published maps.

The user should check the source attributes associated with the coastal bluffs data (points/lines/polygons) and verify that the digital data reflects the current published map for the quadrangle. The user can view the most recently published maps or check the source for the cited open-file map in the Bibliography of Maine Geology by searching for the open-file number (e.g. 04-93) in the keyword search source field.

Instructions for Downloading Digital Coastal Bluffs Data

A single file is needed for this data set - COASTAL_BLUFF_HAZARDS. Data for all areas of the State that have been mapped to date are provided in the shapefile.

To obtain the data:

  1. Using a web browser, go to http://megis.maine.gov/catalog/
  2. From the right-hand column, select COASTAL_BLUFF_HAZARDS to move to the data layer page.
  3. Check the box next to coastal_bluff_hazards.
  4. Scroll to the top of the page and click on "Show Data" to move to the download page.
  5. Download the ZIP file coastal_bluff_hazardss.zip.
  6. Unzip the contents of the file to a directory on your local computer. The shapefile is now ready to be used in appropriate GIS software.
  7. Attribute descriptions for the coastal bluffs data are included in the metadata. Note that the metadata for the layer is included as a text file. To associate the metadata with the shapefile, use ESRI ArcCatalog 9.x, browse to the directory where you unzipped the files, select the shapefile surficial_materials_points, and from the Metadata tab import the metadata text file.

Last updated on February 18, 2009