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/3261/

Suggested Citation: Endris, C.A., Greene, H.G., and Golden, N.E., 2013, Potential marine benthic habitats, Offshore of Carpinteria map 

area, 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., Endris, C.A., Seitz, G.G., Sliter, R.W., Erdey, M.D., Wong, F.L., Gutierrez, C.I., Krigsman, L.M., Draut, A.E., and Hart, P.E. (S.Y. 

Johnson and S.A. Cochran, eds.), California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Carpinteria, California: U.S. Geological Survey 

Scientific Investigations Map 3261, pamphlet 42 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3261/.

Figure 1. Map showing video-observation locations and sample localities for Offshore of Carpinteria map 

area.

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119°35' 119°30'

34°25'

34°20'

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

# Sample locality

Bathymetric contours—Derived from modified 10-m-resolution 

bathymetry grid. Contour interval: 10m

Habitat interpretation outline

! Video observation

Approximate modern shoreline—Defined as

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

American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 1988)

EXPLANATION

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

10

Sh_a-p

Shm_a-s*(q)

Smh_a-c/u

Smh_a-p/u

Sh_a-g

Smm_a-p/u

Ssh_a-s/u?

Ssm_a/u*(q)

Ss(s/g)_a-dm

Ss(s/m)_a/u*(q)

Ss(s/m)_a-td/u

Sh(b)/p_c

Shd_c/d

She_c

Shm_l

Sme_c/u

Smm_l/u

Ss(s/m)_r/u

Ss(s/m)t_u?

Ss(s/m)h_e/u

Ss(s/g)_u

Ss(s/g)y_u

Ss(s/g)y_h/u

Ssm_u

DESCRIPTION OF MAP UNITS

UNCONSOLIDATED CONTINENTAL SHELF SEDIMENTS

Soft, unconsolidated, rippled sediment (sand and mud)

Terrace, or possibly delta or fan, made up of soft, unconsolidated sediment (sand and 

mud); inferred

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

Soft, unconsolidated sediment (sand and gravel), on flat shelf

Soft, unconsolidated sediment (sand and gravel), on nearshore delta

Hummocky, soft, unconsolidated delta sediment (sand and gravel)

Soft, unconsolidated sediment mound

MIXED SUBSTRATE ON CONTINENTAL SHELF

Mixed habitat of soft, unconsolidated sediment, overlying hard, consolidated 

sedimentary bedrock

Mixed habitat of soft, unconsolidated sediment, overlying edges of hard, carbonate 

mound

HARD SUBSTRATE ON CONTINENTAL SHELF

Hard mound made up of carbonate rock

Hard, consolidated sedimentary-bedrock outcrop

Deformed and differentially eroded, consolidated sedimentary-bedrock outcrop

Hard, consolidated sedimentary rock, boulder, or pinnacle

ANTHROPOGENIC FEATURES

Trawl grooves and marks, in soft, unconsolidated sediment (sand and mud)

Oil-platform-generated shell hash mixed with soft, unconsolidated sediment (sand and 

mud)

Anthropogenically deposited, soft, unconsolidated sediment (sand and gravel), in dredge 

mound adjacent to man-made island (Rincon Island)

Soft, unconsolidated sediment and shell-hash mound, adjacent to oil platform 

(anthropogenic)

Oil-platform-related depressional features east of platform “A,” in soft, unconsolidated 

sediment; inferred

Mixed habitat of soft, unconsolidated sediment, forming linear ridge over hard 

anthropogenic feature (pipeline)

Mixed habitat of soft, unconsolidated sediment, in linear trough overlying hard 

anthropogenic feature (pipeline)

Mixed habitat of soft, unconsolidated sediment, in linear trough overlying hard 

anthropogenic feature (cable)

Oil-platform structural-foundation framework (legs and pipes) and shell mound

Hard anthropogenic feature (pipeline)

Hard anthropogenic feature (groin or jetty)

EXPLANATION OF MAP SYMBOLS

Contact

Area of “no data”—Areas near shoreline not mapped owing to insufficient highresolution seafloor mapping data; 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

Bathymetric contour (in meters)

DISCUSSION

This map shows “potential” marine benthic habitats in the Offshore of Carpinteria 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 (sheet 10) with information depicted on several other thematic 

maps of the Offshore of Carpinteria map area: high-resolution bathymetry (sheet 1); shaded-relief imagery (sheet 

2); backscatter (sheet 3); seafloor character (sheet 5); and ground-truth information (sheet 6). 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-truth” surveying 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; sheet 1), are essential to development of the habitat map. Shaded-relief imagery (sheet 2) 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 Offshore of Carpinteria map area is mainly flat with local small areas of low-relief sedimentary-bedrock 

exposures and a coarse-grained delta offshore of Rincon Point. Backscatter data (sheet 3) show that most of the 

area is underlain by “soft” materials, consistent with the interpretation that unconsolidated sediment dominates 

the habitat types in the map area. Habitat types range from predominantly soft, unconsolidated sediment (sand 

and mud to gravel) to small areas of hard bedrock exposures and coarse-grained sediment (gravel to boulders). In 

some places, rock exposures and adjacent sediment combine to produce a hard-soft mixed habitat type. Twentyfour potential marine benthic habitat types are delineated in the map area, all on the continental shelf (“Shelf” 

megahabitat). The meso- and macrohabitats include bedrock exposures, terraces, delta, and carbonate mounds, 

with pockmarks, depressions, and anthropogenic features as modifiers. 

Although much of the map area is flat and appears to be fairly homogeneous, it also contains three locally 

exposed outcrops of differentially eroded sedimentary rock: these include overhangs and crevices, which are 

potentially good habitat for rockfish (Sebastes spp.). Significant anthropogenic features associated with oil 

production, such as platforms, pipelines, and shell mounds beneath platforms, as well as jetties and groins, also 

produce artificial habitats for rockfish. Small areas of carbonate mounds and pavement provide hard habitat on 

the soft, sediment-covered shelf and provide substrate for encrusting and sessile organisms. 

The soft, unconsolidated sediment habitat, which includes pockmarks and carbonate mounds, covers 135.67 

km2

 of the map area, representing 95.5 percent of all of the potential habitat types indentified. Sediment-covered 

bedrock, which includes the hard-soft mixed habitat type, covers 2.15 km2 (1.5 percent). Hard bedrock exposures 

cover 1.21 km2 (0.9 percent), whereas anthropogenic features cover about 3.06 km2 (<2.2 percent).

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., 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.

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/.

1

Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Center for Habitat Studies;

2

U.S. Geological Survey 

Potential Marine Benthic Habitats, Offshore of Carpinteria Map Area, California

By

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

2013

ONE MILE = 0.869 NAUTICAL MILES

BATHYMETRIC CONTOUR INTERVAL 10 METERS

1 .5 0 1 KILOMETER

1000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 FEET

1 1/2 0 1 MILE

SCALE 1:24 000

APPROXIMATE MEAN

DECLINATION, 2013

MAGNETIC NORTH

12 / ° 1 2

TRUE NORTH

Potential marine benthic habitats mapped by Charles A. 

Endris, H. Gary Greene, and Nadine E. Golden, 2011. 

Bathymetric contours by Andrew C. Ritchie, 2011

GIS database and digital cartography by Eleyne L. 

Phillips, Charles A. Endris, Nadine E. Golden, and 

Mercedes D. Erdey

Edited by Taryn A. Lindquist

Manuscript approved for publication June 13, 2013

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)

Universal Transverse Mercator projection, Zone 11N

NOT INTENDED FOR NAVIGATIONAL USE

Ss(s/m)_a/u 

Ssm_a/u 

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Ss(s/m)_a/u*(q)

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Shm_l

Ss(s/m)_a/u*(q)

Ssm_a/u*(q)

Shm_a-s*(q)

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Ssm_a/u*(q)

Shm_a-s*(q)

Ss(s/m)_a/u*(q)Ssm_a/u*(q)

Shm_a-s*(q)

Ss(s/m)_a/u*(q)

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Shd_c/d

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Ss(s/m)_r/u

Smh_a-c/u

Carpinteria

Rincon Point

Rincon Island

Summerland

119°35' 119°30'

119°35' 119°30'

34°25'

34°20'

34°25'

34°20'

Scientific Investigations Map 3261

Sheet 7 of 10

Pamphlet accompanies map

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey