3-D view of the Gulf of Mexico, Eastern U.S., and Western Atlantic. This is probably the first 3-dimensional seafloor view ever constructed. It was published in "Three Cruises of the BLAKE", by Alexander Agassiz, 1888. P. 94. Library Call Number QH 93.A26 1888 v.1.

Sigsbee Sounding Machine on stern of ALBATROSS.

Soledad and Los Coronados Canyons. Soledad Canyon is known today as La Jolla Canyon

Robert Peary North Pole Expedition. Sounding with piano wire through the ice. Profile of soundings tends to corroborate that Peary made it to the North Pole.

Bathymetric map of the World's oceans. Produced by Sir John Murray

North Atlantic Ocean showing clear delineation of Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Detail of Sir John Murray map

Pair of piano wire sounding machines on the PATTERSON.

Steam sounding machine on the GEDNEY.

Sounding operations on the PATTERSON.

Sounding machine - detail view. On the PATTERSON

First track of sonic range finder on USS STEWART. Crossed north Atlantic with sonic sounding device. Made approximately 900 soundings from United States to Gibraltar

Temperature contours showing continuity of Mid-Atlantic Ridge. From Atlas of the METEOR Expedition. Combining sparse depth readings and temperature to infer bathymetry

A hand sounding machine. On the EXPLORER

Installation of deepsea sounding equipment. C&GS 1931 Hydrographic Manual

LL type wireline sounding machine. C&GS 1942 Hydrographic Manual

Early continuous sounding record from acoustic system. Off of OCEANOGRAPHER. C&GS didn't use recording instruments until late 1930's

Submarine valley discovered in Georges Bank area. Work done by OCEANOGRAPHER

Submarine valleys of Georges Bank. Contoured by Dr. Francis P. Shepard, "the father of marine geology". Work done by OCEANOGRAPHER

The Mendocino Escarpment. The initial indication of the great seafloor fracture zones. Surveyed by GUIDE between 1935-1938

First discoveries of PIONEER and GUIDE Seamounts. Seamounts discovered by PIONEER and GUIDE.

Davidson Seamount named for George Davidson of the C&GS. This feature was the first called a "seamount". Officially named by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Discovered by GUIDE in 1933. Error - latitude should range from 35 to 36

Identified as submerged atolls on Palawan Bank. Note similarity in shape to salt structures in Gulf of Mexico. See images "theb.3833.htm" and "theb.3834.htm"

Shallow water bathymetry. Sand waves off Padre Island. Delineation possible because of widespread use of recording fathometers

The first guyot -discovered by Harry Hess of Princeton University. Flat-topped seamounts which are common in the Pacific. Discovered by Hess as naval officer in WWII. Contrary to popular belief, flat- topped seamounts were first discovered by the C&GS in the Gulf of Alaska and published on by Harold Murray in 1941.

Precision depth recorder record of small seamount on side of Easter Island. Acquired by Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Record from ship THOMAS G. WASHINGTON

Profile of Bowers Bank. Surveyed by PATHFINDER

Constructing three dimensional model of Bowers Bank. C&GS marine geologist at work. Photo #1 of sequence

Constructing three dimensional model of Bowers Bank. C&GS marine geologist at work. Photo #2 of sequence

Constructing three dimensional model of Bowers Bank. C&GS marine geologist at work. Photo #3 of sequence

Trincomalee Canyon, Sri Lanka. Surveyed by PIONEER. Survey made during International Indian Ocean Expedition

Monterey Bay Case Study - Photo #1. First recorded soundings in Monterey Bay. Surveyed by Don Miguel de Costanso - only 17 soundings

Monterey Bay Case Study - Photo #2. Reconnaissance chart of California coast. Surveyed in 1852 by Captain James Alden on the C&GS Ship ACTIVE

Monterey Bay Case Study - Photo #3. Detail of Monterey Bay from 1852 C&GS survey. Note 0/120 in center of bay. Indicates that bottom was not reached with 120 fathom leadline

Monterey Bay Case Study - Photo #4. C&GS chart of Monterey harbor published in 1852

Monterey Bay Case Study - Photo #5. 1897 contoured map of Monterey "Submerged Valley". From George Davidson published paper in Proc. of Calif. Acad. of Sciences. Monterey Canyon was first noted in 1857 by James Alden of C&GS Ship ACTIVE . Alden termed the canyon a "submarine gulch"

Monterey Bay Case Study - Photo #6. Increasing detail of lower canyon including huge meander. From "Submarine Canyons" by Shepard and Dill

Monterey Bay Case Study - Photo #7. Profiles showing comparison of Monterey Canyon and Grand Canyon. From "Submarine Canyons" by Shepard and Dill

Monterey Bay Case Study - Photo #8. Upper Monterey Canyon as developed by multi-beam sounding systems. Surveyed by NOAA Ships DAVIDSON, DISCOVERER, and SURVEYOR. This was the smooth sheet for the first published NOAA multi-beam map

Monterey Bay Case Study - Photo #9. 3-D image of 9,000 square nautical miles. Shows Monterey Canyon, continental slope, Pioneer and Guide Seamounts, etc. This image was constructed from over 5,000,000 soundings

Mapping the Ocean Floor. Joint NOAA-USGS Exclusive Economic Zone Project Office. NOAA responsible for multi-beam bathymetric mapping program

3-D image from NOAA Exclusive Economic Zone Mapping Project. Norfolk Canyon off Chesapeake Bay. Image is 30 nautical miles by approximately 50 nautical miles

3-D image from NOAA Exclusive Economic Zone Mapping Project. Sigsbee Escarpment and bizarre topography of Texas-Louisiana Slope. Image shows approximately 9,000 square nautical miles

3-D image NOAA Exclusive Economic Zone Mapping Project. Mitchell Basin image showing small portion of Sigsbee Escarpment. Image is 30 nautical miles by approximately 50 nautical miles

Map from NOAA Exclusive Economic Zone Mapping Project. Mitchell Basin map showing small portion of Sigsbee Escarpment. Image is 30 nautical miles by approximately 50 nautical miles

Map from NOAA Exclusive Economic Zone Mapping Project. Small portion of Sigsbee Escarpment north of Green Knoll

3-D image from NOAA Exclusive Economic Zone Mapping Project. Mitchell Dome map - diapiric structures discovered by NOAA EEZ mapping. Southeast of Mississippi Passes

3-D image from NOAA Exclusive Economic Zone Mapping Project. Mitchell Dome and surrounding diapiric features. Image is 30 nautical miles by approximately 50 nautical miles

3-D image from NOAA Exclusive Economic Zone Mapping Project. Detail of NE corner of Mitchell Dome map

3-D image from NOAA Exclusive Economic Zone Mapping Project. Mitchell Dome in center of image. Very similar to Mickey Mouse appearance. Sometimes referred to as "Mickey Mouse Domes"

3-D image from NOAA Exclusive Economic Zone Mapping Project. Mitchell Dome in center of image. Very similar to Mickey Mouse appearance. Sometimes referred to as "Mickey Mouse Domes"