Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the 

U.S. Government

This map was printed on an electronic plotter directly from digital files. Dimensional calibration may vary between electronic plotters 

and between X and Y directions on the same plotter, and paper may change size due to atmospheric conditions; therefore, scale and 

proportions may not be true on plots of this map.

For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services, Box 25286, Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225, 1–888–ASK–USGS

Digital files available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3225/

Suggested Citation: Endris, C.A., Greene, H.G., and Golden, N.E., 2012, Potential marine benthic habitats, Hueneme Canyon and 

vicinity, California, sheet 7 in Johnson, S.Y., Dartnell, P., Cochrane, G.R., Golden, N.E., Phillips, E.L., Ritchie, A.C., Kvitek, R.G., Greene, 

H.G., Krigsman, L.M., Endris, C.A., Clahan, K.B., Sliter, R.W., Wong, F.L., Yoklavich, M.M., and Normark, W.R. (S.Y. Johnson, ed.), 

California State Waters Map Series—Hueneme Canyon and vicinity, California: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 

3225, pamphlet 41 p., 12 sheets, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3225/.

Figure 1. Map showing video-observation locations and sample localities for Hueneme Canyon and vicinity 

map area.

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119°20' 119°15' 119°10'

34°10'

34°5'

EXPLANATION

Approximate modern shoreline—Defined as

Mean High Water (MHW) (+1.33 m), North

American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 1988)

! Video observation

# Sample locality

3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters

Bathymetric contours—Derived from modified

10-m-resolution bathymetry grids. Contour

intervals: 0–50 m water depth, 10m; 50–100 m

water depth, 50 m; >100 m water depth, 100m

Habitat interpretation outline

CALIF.

0 4 8 Nautical Miles

Kilometers 0 5 10

120° 119°40' 119°20' 119°

34°

34°20'

MAP LOCATION

Ventura

Santa Barbara

Anacapa

Island

Santa Cruz Island Santa Rosa Island

Area of

Map

Santa Barbara Channel

Limit of California’s

State Waters

100

Ss(s/g)h/w_r/s/u

Ss(s/m)_r/u

Ss(s/m)h_e/u

Ss(s/m)m_h/u

Ssb/t_u

Ssh_u

Ssr_u

Sss_u

Ssc(b)_u

Ssc(h)_u

Ssc(t)_u

Ssc(t/w)_u

Ssc(w)/g/l_s/u3

Ssc(w)/g_u2

Ssc(w)_u

Ssc/l/s_u

Ssc/l_u

Ssc/t_u 

Fs(s/m)_r/u

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Fsr_u

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Fsc/t_u

Fhe_c

Ss_a-dd/u

Smm_a-p/u

Smh_a-p/u

Sh_a-g

Sh_a?

DESCRIPTION OF MAP UNITS

UNCONSOLIDATED CONTINENTAL SHELF SEDIMENTS

Soft, mobile sediment window that has hummocky unconsolidated and rippled sediment 

waves overlying scoured lag pavement of sand and gravel

Soft, unconsolidated rippled sediment (sand and mud)

Pockmarks or depressions in soft unconsolidated sediment (sand and mud)

Hummocky mound in soft, unconsolidated sediment (sand and mud)

Terrace representing relict beach; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Depression in soft, unconsolidated sediment

Rill in soft, unconsolidated sediment

Scarp; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

UNCONSOLIDATED CONTINENTAL SHELF AND CANYON SEDIMENTS

Bar within canyon thalweg; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Canyon head; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Canyon thalweg; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Wall adjacent to canyon thalweg; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Canyon wall and gullies, predominantly landslide scoured and steeply sloping; composed 

of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Canyon wall and gullies, moderately sloping; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Canyon wall; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Landslide scarp; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Landslide deposits; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Terrace; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

UNCONSOLIDATED CONTINENTAL SLOPE SEDIMENTS

Soft, unconsolidated rippled sediment (sand and mud)

Pockmarks or depression in soft, unconsolidated sediment (sand and mud)

Terrace representing relict beach; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Rill in soft, unconsolidated sediment

Scarp; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

UNCONSOLIDATED CONTINENTAL SLOPE AND CANYON SEDIMENTS

Canyon wall and gullies, predominantly landslide scoured and steeply sloping; composed 

of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Canyon wall and gullies, moderately sloping; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment

Terrace; composed of soft, unconsolidated sediment 

HARD SUBSTRATE

Hard, indurated, consolidated sedimentary bedrock

ANTHROPOGENIC FEATURES

Anthropogenic disturbance (dredge scours) in soft, unconsolidated sediment near harbor 

entrance

Mound of soft, unconsolidated sediment overlying hard anthropogenic feature (pipeline)

Linear depression in soft, unconsolidated sediment overlying hard anthropogenic feature 

(pipeline)

Hard anthropogenic feature (breakwater)

Hard unidentified feature, possibly anthropogenic

EXPLANATION OF MAP SYMBOLS

Contact

Area of “no data”—No shipboard acoustic-backscatter data was collected in areas from 

shoreline (defined as Mean Higher High Water) out to about 10-m water depth 

owing to ship navigation safety; areas beyond 3-nautical-mile limit of California’s 

State Waters were not mapped as part of California Seafloor Mapping Program

3-nautical-mile limit of California’s State Waters—Line in southwest corner of map 

area is limit surrounding Anacapa Island (outside of map area)

Bathymetric contour (in meters)—Derived from modified 10-m-resolution bathymetry 

grids. Contour intervals: 1–50 m water depth, 10 m; 50–100 m water depth, 50 m; 

>100 m water depth, 100 m

DISCUSSION

This map shows “potential” marine benthic habitats in the Hueneme Canyon and vicinity map area. Marine 

benthic habitats represent a particular type of substrate, geomorphology, seafloor process, or any other attribute 

that may provide a habitat for a specific species or an assemblage of organisms. Such maps are based largely on 

seafloor geology, and this map integrates seafloor geology (sheets 10, 11) with information depicted on several 

other thematic maps of the Hueneme Canyon and vicinity map area: high-resolution bathymetry (sheets 1, 2); 

backscatter (sheet 3); ground-truthing information (sheet 6); and seafloor character (sheet 8). This map also uses 

information from usSEABED bottom sampling compilation by Reid and others (2006). The combination of 

remotely observed data (for example, multibeam bathymetry and backscatter, seismic-reflection profiles) and 

directly observed data (for example, camera transects, sediment samples) translates to higher confidence in the 

ability to interpret broad areas of the seafloor. 

To avoid any possible misunderstanding of the term “habitat,” the term “potential habitat” (as defined by 

Greene and others, 2005) is used herein to describe a set of distinct seafloor conditions that in the future may 

qualify as an “actual habitat.” Once habitat associations of a species are determined, they can be used to create 

maps that depict actual habitats, which then need to be confirmed by “ground-truthing” using in situ observations, 

video, and (or) photographic documentation. 

Marine benthic habitats are classified using the Benthic Marine Potential Habitat Classification Scheme, a 

mapping-attribute code developed by Greene and others (1999, 2007). In this map series, habitat-classification 

codes are based on the deepwater habitat-characterization scheme developed by Greene and others (1999), which 

was created to not only easily distinguish marine benthic habitats but also to facilitate ease of use and queries 

within GIS and database programs. The code, which is summarized in chapter 6 in the accompanying pamphlet, is 

derived from several categories of the Benthic Marine Potential Habitat Classification Scheme (Greene and others, 

1999, 2007), and it can be subdivided on the basis of the spatial scale of the data. 

High-resolution, multibeam-sonar data, converted to bathymetric depth grids (seafloor digital elevation 

models; sheets 1, 2), are essential to development of the habitat map. Shaded-relief imagery (sheet 4) allows for 

visualization of seafloor terrain, providing a foundation for interpretation of submarine landforms. Areas of 

seafloor bedrock exposures are identified by their common sharp edges and high relative relief; these may be 

contiguous outcrops, isolated parts of outcrop protruding through sediment cover (pinnacles or knobs), or isolated 

boulders. High backscatter is further indication of “hard” bottom, consistent with interpretation as rock or coarse 

sediment. In many locations, areas within or around a rocky feature appear to be covered by a thin veneer of 

sediment, identified on the habitat map as "mixed" induration (in other words, containing both rock and sediment). 

Broad, generally smooth areas of the seafloor that lack sharp and angular edge characteristics are mapped as 

“sediment” and are further defined by various sedimentary features such as erosional scours and depressions, as 

well as depositional features such as dunes, mounds, or sand waves. Low backscatter, indicative of a “soft” 

bottom, also significantly aids identification and classification of sedimentary habitats.

The Hueneme Canyon and vicinity map area includes the western part of the Hueneme–Mugu Canyon 

system (Greene and others, 1978), which, in the map area, consists of Hueneme Canyon and parts of three smaller, 

unnamed headless canyons incised into the shelf on its east flank. The areas between the canyons consist of gently 

offshore-sloping continental-shelf habitats. The 29 potential marine benthic habitat types delineated in the map 

area include 21 types found on, or incised into, the continental shelf (“Shelf” megahabitat) and 8 types identified 

on the continental slope (“Flank” megahabitat). The meso- and macrohabitats include canyon walls, scarps, 

channels (thalwegs), gullies, and terraces, as well as dynamic features such as landslides and channel bars within 

the canyons. Other habitats include rills, pockmarks, depressions, mobile sand sheets, and anthropogenic features 

on the flat continental shelf. Backscatter data show that most of the area is underlain by “soft” materials, consistent with the interpretation that unconsolidated sediments dominate habitat in the map area.

Although much of the map area is flat and appears fairly homogeneous, sedimentary processes are inferred to 

be quite active and, thus, habitats are highly dynamic. Sediment generally moves as a "sheet" on the shelf; mass 

transport is primarily to the southeast. In addition, erosion through shelf sediments down to a coarser lag has 

produced "ripple scour depressions" on the shelf in the northwestern part of the map area.

The head of Hueneme Canyon is virtually at the shoreline, and it intercepts large volumes of sediment that 

are being transported southeastward in the littoral zone and on the shelf. Thus, Hueneme Canyon serves as the 

main conduit for moving sediment from the Santa Barbara littoral cell offshore into the deep Santa Monica Basin 

(Greene and others, 1978; Normark and others, 2009; Romans and others, 2009). Within the canyon, lateral 

sediment fill derived from the shelf incises canyon walls and accumulates on midwall locations that are prone to 

landslides. Sediment entering the canyon from its nearshore head moves rapidly downcanyon on the canyon floor, 

forming bars and dunes and commonly undercutting canyon walls, further promoting landslides. Habitats, 

therefore, are created, modified, destroyed, and recreated regularly in this dynamic environment. 

Of the 138.1 km2 in the map area, 128.3 km2 (92.9 percent) is classified as Shelf megahabitat, and 9.8 km2

(7.1 percent) is classified as Flank (slope) megahabitat; although most of the Shelf megahabitat is flat and homogeneous, 3.2 km2 (2.4 percent of the map area) consists of ripple scour depressions. Landslide scarps and 

landslide deposits, which are found in both Shelf and Flank megahabitats, cover 1.3 km2 (0.9 percent) and 5.7 

km2 (4.1 percent) of the map area, respectively. The thalweg habitat, which is restricted to Hueneme Canyon, 

covers 1.5 km2 (1.1 percent) of the map area.

REFERENCES CITED

Greene, H.G., Bizzarro, J.J., O’Connell, V.M., and Brylinsky, C.K., 2007, Construction of digital potential marine 

benthic habitat maps using a coded classification scheme and its application, in Todd, B.J., and Greene, H.G., 

eds., Mapping the seafloor for habitat characterization: Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 47, 

p. 141–155. 

Greene, H.G., Bizzarro, J.J., Tilden, J.E., Lopez, H.L., and Erdey, M.D., 2005, The benefits and pitfalls of 

geographic information systems in marine benthic habitat mapping, in Wright, D.J., and Scholz, A.J., eds., 

Place matters: Portland, Oregon State University Press, p. 34–46.

Greene, H.G., Wolf, S.C., and Blom, K.G., 1978, The marine geology of the eastern Santa Barbara Channel with 

particular emphasis on the ground water basins offshore from the Oxnard Plain, southern California: U.S. 

Geological Survey Open-File Report 78–305, 104 p., 13 plates.

Greene, H.G., Yoklavich, M.M., Starr, R.M., O’Connell, V.M., Wakefield, W.W., Sullivan, D.E., McRea, J.E., and 

Cailliet, G.M., 1999, A classification scheme for deep seafloor habitats: Oceanologica Acta, v. 22, p. 

663–678.

Normark, W.R., Piper, D.J.W., Romans, B.W., Covault, J.A., Dartnell, P., and Sliter, R.W., 2009, Submarine 

canyon and fan systems of the California Continental Borderland, in Lee, H.J., and Normark, W.R., eds., 

Earth science in the urban ocean—The Southern California Continental Borderland: Geological Society of 

America Special Paper 454, p. 141–168.

Reid, J.A., Reid, J.M., Jenkins, C.J., Zimmerman, M., Williams, S.J., and Field, M.E., 2006, usSEABED—Pacific 

Coast (California, Oregon, Washington) offshore surficial-sediment data release: U.S. Geological Survey 

Data Series 182, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/182/.

Romans, B.W., Normark, W.R., McGann, M.M., Covault, J.A., and Graham, S.A., 2009, Coarse-grained sediment 

delivery and distribution in the Holocene Santa Monica Basin, California—Implications for evaluating 

source-to-sink flux at millennial time scales: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 121, p. 1,394–1,408.

1

Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Center for Habitat Studies;

2

U.S. Geological Survey 

Potential Marine Benthic Habitats, Hueneme Canyon and Vicinity, California

By

Charles A. Endris,1 H. Gary Greene,1 and Nadine E. Golden2

2012

ONE MILE = 0.869 NAUTICAL MILES

BATHYMETRIC CONTOUR INTERVALS 10 METERS, 50 METERS, AND 100 METERS

1000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 FEET

1 .5 0 1 KILOMETER

SCALE 1:24 000

1 1/2 0 1 MILE

APPROXIMATE MEAN

DECLINATION, 2012

13°

MAGNETIC NORTH

TRUE NORTH

Potential marine benthic habitats mapped by Charles A. Endris and H. 

Gary Greene, 2011. Bathymetric contours by Andrew C. Ritchie, 2011

GIS database and digital cartography by Nadine E. Golden, Eleyne L. 

Phillips, and Charles A. Endris

Edited by Taryn A. Lindquist

Manuscript approved for publication July 25, 2012

Onshore elevation data from NOAA Coastal Services Center (data 

collected by EarthData International in 2002-2003) and from U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers (data collected by Fugro Pelagos in 2009). 

California's State Waters limit from NOAA Office of Coast Survey

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 11N

NOT INTENDED FOR NAVIGATIONAL USE

H u e n e m e C a n y o n

Oxnard

Port of Hueneme

Channel Islands Harbor

119°20' 119°15' 119°10'

119°20' 119°15' 119°10'

34°5'

34°10'

34°5'

34°10'

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Fsb/t_u

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Ssc(w)_u

Fsc/l_u

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Sss_u

Ssc(h)_u

Ssc(w)/g_u2

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Ssc(w)/g_u2

Ssc/t_u

Ssc(t/w)_u

Ssc(w)_u

Sss_u

Fsc/l_u

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Ssc(t)_u

Fsb/t_u

Fs(s/m)h_e/u

Fss_u

Ssc(w)/g/l_s/u3

Ssc/t_u

Ssc(w)_u

Fsr_u

Ssc/l_u

Ssc(w)/g/l_s/u3

Ss_a-dd/u

Fsr_u

Fss_u

Ssc/l_u

Fss_u

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Fsr_u

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Fsr_u

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Fsr_u

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Sss_u

Ssc(w)_u

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Ssc(t/w)_u

Ssc(h)_u

Ssc/l/s_u

Ss(s/m)h_e/u

Ssc(t)_u

Ssc(t/w)_u

Ssc/l/s_u

Sss_u

Fhe_c

Smm_a-p/u

Ssc(h)_u

Ssb/t_u

Ssc/t_u

Fss_u

Ssc(w)_u

Ssc(t/w)_u

Sh_a-g

Ssc(t/w)_u

Ss(s/m)h_e/u

Smh_a-p/u

Ss(s/m)h_e/u

Smh_a-p/u

Ssc/l_u

Ssc(w)/g_u2

Ss(s/m)h_e/u

Sh_a?

Sh_a?

Sh_a?

Ssc/l/s_u

Ss(s/m)h_e/u

Ss(s/m)h_e/u

Sh_a?

Ss(s/m)h_e/u

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Fss_u

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Sh_a-g

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Ssr_u

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Ssc(b)_u

Ssc(w)_u

Scientific Investigations Map 3225

Sheet 7 of 12

Pamphlet accompanies map

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey