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Coastline Demarcation, 2001

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SPONSOR: U.S. Coast Guard
VOLPE INTERNAL: Service and Operations Assessment Division, DTS-49

The purpose of the project was to establish a coastal line of demarcation for the US Coast Guard. This line delineates "International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea" which were established by the Coast Guard to designate where "International Rules of the Road" separate from "U.S. Inland Rules". Connecting points were established by physical objects like fixed aids to navigation or prominent points of land. These points are described in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Unfortunately, only a few have given latitude / longitude coordinates. All others are described by the name of the physical object.

The GIS task for this project was to locate and assign the coordinates of the physical objects. ESRI ArcView 3.2 software was used. Various publications were utilized including Notice to Mariners and Coast Guard Light Lists. Once the points were mapped, the coastline was drawn using 'connect the dots' methodology.

The map shows the New England segment established of the US coastal boundary. (View larger image.)