River-channel topography on the Elwha River, Washington, 2006 to 2022 (ver. 2.0, July 2025)

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
River-channel topography on the Elwha River, Washington, 2006 to 2022 (ver. 2.0, July 2025)
Abstract:
This portion of the data release presents topographic data collected at 5 study sites along Elwha River, Washington between 2006 and 2022. Elevations along channel-perpendicular transects were surveyed using a total station and prism rod. Initial geodetic control was established using static global positioning system (GPS) occupations. A total station was subsequently used to expand and maintain the survey control network at each site. All survey data were referenced to the NAD83 datum, using the UTM, zone 10, coordinate reference system. All elevations were referenced to the NAVD88 vertical datum. Based on repeat measurements of points with known positions, we estimated the horizontal and vertical accuracy of the topographic measurements to be within 2 to 3 cm. Topographic data were collected using a total station using survey layout routines to locate data along the same transects during each survey. Wetted portions of the channel were measured primarily by wading with the survey rod. In several locations where wading was not feasible due to water depth, measurements were not taken or they were made by swimming with the survey rod or by deploying the survey rod from an inflatable kayak (necessary in the thalweg of reach 3 between 2006 and 2011). Although the focus of the surveys was to make repeated measurements of elevations along a transect, some additional topographic measurements were within the reaches off of the transects. Additionally, a small side channel within reach 2 was surveyed from 2006 to 2008 along transects perpendicular to that channel and along the channel's thalweg.
Supplemental_Information:
Information about the data collection field activities can be found at: http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2022-632-FA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2017-659-FA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2015-656-FA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER114WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER113WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER112WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER111WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER210WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER110WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER209WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER109WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER208WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER108WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER107WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=ER106WA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=W106PS
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    East, Amy E, Logan, Joshua B, and Mastin, Mark C, 20180604, River-channel topography on the Elwha River, Washington, 2006 to 2022 (ver. 2.0, July 2025): data release DOI:10.5066/F76972SC, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    East, Amy E, Logan, Joshua B, and Mastin, Mark C, 2018, River-channel topography and sediment grain size on the Elwha River, Washington, 2006 to 2022 (ver. 2.0, July 2025): data release DOI:10.5066/F76972SC, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -123.625
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -123.54
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 48.151755
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 47.954370
  3. What does it look like?
    https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/5a989288e4b06990606de04b?name=Elwha_ReachTransectLocations.jpg&allowOpen=true (JPG)
    Image map showing locations of study reaches and transects along the Elwha River, Washington
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 2006
    Ending_Date: 2022
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: comma-separated values
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      Indirect_Spatial_Reference: Data were collected along the Elwha River, Washington
      This is a Point data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Point (20303)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 10N
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.9996
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -123.0
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.0
      False_Easting: 500000.0
      False_Northing: 0.0
      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.001
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.001
      Planar coordinates are specified in METERS
      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is GRS 1980.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.26.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: North American Vertical Datum of 1983
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.001
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method:
      Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Topo_ElwhaRiver_2006to2022.csv
    Elevation and location measurements in the Elwha River, Washington, from 2006 to 2022 (Source: Producer defined)
    DATE
    The date the measurement was made, in ISO date format (year-month-day) (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2006-09-23
    Maximum:2022-08-28
    Units:year-month-day
    REACH
    Unique identifier specifying the reach of the river where the measurement was made (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    ValueDefinition
    CRControl reach
    R1Reach 1
    R1BReach 1B
    R2Reach 2
    R3Reach 3
    TRANSECT
    An alpha-numeric code identifying the reach and transect of the collection, formatted as "reach-transect." For example, "R2-T3" represents Reach 2, Transect 3. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) See "REACH" attribute for “reach-” identifying codes. For the “transect” portion of the alpha-numeric code, the following definitions are used: T0=Transect 0; T1=Transect 1; T2=Transect 2; T3=Transect 3; T3B=Transect 3B; T4=Transect 4; T5=Transect 5; T6=Transect 6; SC5-T1=Side channel 5, transect 1; SC5-T2=Side channel 5, transect 2; SC5-T2B=Side channel 5, transect 2B; SC5-T3=Side channel 5, transect 3; SC5-T4=Side channel 5, transect 4; SC5-T5=Side channel 5, transect 5; SC5-T6=Side channel 5, transect 6; SC5-T7=Side channel 5, transect 7; ; SC5-T8=Side channel 5, transect 8; SC5-THAL=Thalweg of side channel 5; TOPO=elevation points collected off transect. Note that transects associated with side channel 5 (SC5; not shown on index map) are separately numbered transects than the transects in the rest of Reach 2. Additionally, SC5-T2B is located between transects SC5 transects 2 and 3.
    PID
    Unique identifier for the survey point collection ID. Unique for survey date at reach, but not unique between reaches, or between dates. (PID value may be repeated in the same file on separate dates). (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:9246
    N
    Northing (Source: North American Datum of 1983, UTM Zone 10N)
    Range of values
    Minimum:5311387.347
    Maximum:5332537.665
    Units:meters
    E
    Easting (Source: North American Datum of 1983, UTM Zone 10N)
    Range of values
    Minimum:457125.808
    Maximum:459068.741
    Units:meters
    Z
    Elevation (Source: North American Vertical Datum of 1988)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-2.776
    Maximum:226.451
    Units:meters
    DISTANCE
    Distance from start point of transect, in meters. Off-transect points with no relevant transect start point are assigned a distance value of "NaN". (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.000
    Maximum:206.886
    Units:meters
    CODE
    Data collection identifier. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) Alpha-numeric code, in TRANSECT-XX format, used to identify topographic measurements points that have additional samples collected for grain-size analysis. See TRANSECT attribute for the description of the first part of the code. The addition of suffix "-CC" indicates a CobbleCam image was collected at that location, and the addition of code “-SL” indicates that a sediment sample was collected at that location and analyzed back in the sediment lab. No suffix means that a grain-size sample was not collected at that location.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Amy E East
    • Joshua B Logan
    • Mark C Mastin
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    Data collection was funded by U.S. Geological Survey
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA
    United States

    831-427-4747 (voice)
    pcmsc_data@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

Data were collected to study sediment in the Elwha River before and after the removal of the Glines Canyon and Elwha dams at four reaches along the Elwha River, with five or six transects at each reach.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2022 (process 1 of 5)
    Riverbed elevations along channel-perpendicular transects were measured in five sites. Initial geodetic control was established using static global positioning system (GPS) occupations within the study reaches in locations with a clear, unobstructed view of the sky. A total station was subsequently used to densify and maintain the survey control network within each reach. Horizontal and vertical accuracy are estimated to be within 2 to 3 cm. Wetted portions of the channel were measured by wading, swimming, or by inflatable kayak, and deploying the survey rod.
    Date: 17-Jul-2018 (process 2 of 5)
    Corrected name of theme keyword thesaurus from ISO 19115 Topic Categories to Category. Person who carried out this activity:
    Susan A Cochran
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    2885 Mission St.
    Santa Cruz, CA
    United States

    831-460-7545 (voice)
    scochran@usgs.gov
    Date: 05-Sep-2018 (process 3 of 5)
    Corrected Point of Contact and Metadata Contact phone number prefix. Person who carried out this activity:
    Susan A Cochran
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    2885 Mission St.
    Santa Cruz, CA
    United States

    831-460-7545 (voice)
    scochran@usgs.gov
    Date: 19-Oct-2020 (process 4 of 5)
    Edited metadata to add keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. No data were changed. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross
    Marine Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2251 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    vatnipp@usgs.gov
    Date: 03-Nov-2022 (process 5 of 5)
    Changes to version 2.0 of data release: - Added data from 2022 August survey (2022-632-FA). - Deleted point PID 764 from 2010-10-04, R3-T6. Elevation of point was erroneous, likely due to incorrect survey rod height used during the survey for that measurement. - Changed method of calculating DISTANCE field. The revised method projects each point to its closest position along the pre-defined transect before calculating the Euclidean distance to the common starting point of the transect on the left bank. Person who carried out this activity:
    Joshua B Logan
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    2885 Mission St.
    Santa Cruz, CA
    United States

    831-460-7519 (voice)
    jlogan@usgs.gov
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    Data values are within expected ranges
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Initial survey control for all topographic transects was established using static GPS occupations, which have an estimated horizontal accuracy of around 1.5 cm. Subsequent survey control densification within each reach was conducted using a total station. Repeat check measurements conducted during the surveys on points with established coordinates suggest a horizontal precision of around 3 cm for measurements at these sites.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    Initial survey control for all topographic transects was established using static GPS occupations, which have an estimated vertical accuracy of around 2.5 cm. Subsequent survey control densification within each reach was conducted using a total station. Repeat check measurements conducted during the surveys on points with established coordinates suggest a vertical precision of around 3 cm for measurements at these sites.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Data set is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Data values are within expected ranges

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints No access constraints
Use_Constraints USGS-authored or produced data and information are in the public domain from the U.S. Government and are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize and acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the originator of the dataset and in products derived from these data.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Mail Stop 302
    Denver, CO
    United States

    1-888-275-8747 (voice)
    sciencebase@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? These data are available in csv format (Topo_ElwhaRiver_2006to2022.csv), along with example plots, an image map of the study area, and CSDGM FGDC-compliant metadata, all contained in a single zip file.
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    These data can be viewed with text editing software or spreadsheet software, such as Microsoft Excel.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 03-Jul-2025
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
2885 Mission Street
Santa Cruz, CA
United States

831-427-4747 (voice)
pcmsc_data@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/pcmsc/DataReleases/ScienceBase/DR_F76972SC/Topo_ElwhaRiver_2006to2022_metadata.faq.html>
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