GSHHS - Global Self-consistent, Hierarchical,
High-resolution Shoreling Database
GSHHS (Global Self-consistent, Hierarchical, High-resolution Shoreline Database) shoreline data is provided by the NGDC
(National Geophysical Data Center).
GSHHS is a high-resolution shoreline data set amalgamated from two databases in the public domain. The data have undergone
extensive processing and are free of internal inconsistencies such as erratic points and crossing segments. The shorelines are
constructed entirely from hierarchically arranged closed polygons. The data can be used to simplify data searches and data
selections, or to study the statistical characteristics of shorelines and land-masses. It comes with access software and
routines to facilitate decimation based on a standard line-reduction algorithm. Shoreline data may be useful for CALPUFF
modeling when incorporating coastal interaction effects