Surface Hydrography - PWS, Copper River

Data Type: Freshwater Systems; This data layer is a composite of polygonal surface hydrography data, derived from several different sources at differing scales, organized by 1:250,000 scale USGS quadrangles, and included as a merged layer. This layer covers the Prince William Sound - Copper River ecosystem and includes information on lakes, wide river channels, marine areas, and glaciers. The most detailed stream and lake coverages for Prince William Sound are taken largely from the Chugach National Forest's Channel Type Database (for line features) and the Timber Type Database (for polygonal features). Pacific GIS filled gaps in these datasets with stream and lake information from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Database. Pacific GIS drew stream data for areas outside of Prince William Sound largely from Alaska DNR's Alaska Land and Resource Mapping (ALARM) database. This dataset is considerably coarser than the hydrography information for Prince William Sound. All stream data, except those obtained from the Chugach National Forest Channel Type Database, include information on presence of anadromous fish, although this information is variable in age and not documented as to source. Pacific GIS merged these datasets used for this quad-by-quad layer to develop a composite surface hydrography layer for the Prince William Sound - Copper River basin ecosystem (hydro_pl in the ecosystem directory). A related data layer, river250 contains stream data for the greater PWS - Copper River ecosystem. Deposited content: descriptive metadata only; underlying research data are not included.