Chesapeake Bay Hyper-Resolution Hydrography Database

The Chesapeake Bay Hyper-Resolution Hydrography Database is intended to facilitate analysis of the landscape in the Chesapeake Bay watershed through identification of headwater and other low-order streams or drainage features (e.g. ditches) that, to date, may be absent from existing hydrography data products. A full description of the methodology and accuracy assessment is provided in the accompanying report titled: Hydrography Mapping Supporting Modeling and Targeted Conservation: Project Overview and Lessons Learned (Project Overview and Lessons Learned.pdf). The data products were developed by the Chesapeake Conservancy and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) as part of a 6-year Cooperative Agreement between the Chesapeake Conservancy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a separate Interagency Agreement between the USGS and the EPA to provide geospatial support to the Chesapeake Bay Program Office.

The data release is structured by eight-digit level hydrologic unit codes (HUC8) for the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Each HUC8 contains seven files (see below) and uses the following nomenclature: where HUC_ID and WATERSHED_NAME are placeholders for HUC8 ID(s), and local watershed name(s) (e.g., "Hydrographic Datasets for Hydrologic Unit 02050101 - Upper Susquehanna")

Data Release Structure:
Project Overview and Lessons Learned.pdf (Project overivew, methodology and accuracy assessment)
huc_[HUC_ID]_streamLine.zip (Stream Lines)
huc_[HUC_ID]_streamPoly.zip (Stream Polygons)
huc_[HUC_ID]_agDitches.zip (Agricultural Ditches)
huc_[HUC_ID]_rdDitches.zip (Road Ditches)
huc_[HUC_ID]_geomorphon1m.tif (Geomorphon 1-meter)
huc_[HUC_ID]_geomorphon10m.tif (Geomorphon 10-meter)
metadata_[HUC_ID].xml (metadata xml)

Contact emails: Matt Baker ([e-mail]) & David Saavedra ([e-mail])