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Mapping methods and explanation of fields and attributes for geodatabase of presettlement riverine and nearshore habitats of Puget Sound This page includes an overview of methods used to create the geodatabase of pre-settlement land cover and landforms of Puget Sound’s river valleys, estuaries, and nearshore. The overview is followed by detail on different types of features, organized by the main fields in the geodatabase, including explanation of individual attributes within each field. Skip ahead to: General mapping methods; Data fields: Land cover, Channel type, Sources, Certainty; Limitations; References; Contact information. General mapping methods Records of the mid-19th century public land survey (PLS) records, consisting of field notes and plat maps, and the Coast Survey topographic sheets (T-sheets) are the two main mapping sources. Both have strengths and limitations for reconstructing historical landscapes (Table 1). Strengths and limitations of PLS records The PLS field notes include three main types of information. Detailed note was made along survey lines (“line notes”) of vegetation, wetlands, water bodies, landforms, and the character of the land. The survey was generally in a one-square mile grid, or 1/4 mile grids on Indian Reservations. Surveyors were to record additional information in summarizing each line (“line summaries”). “Bearing tree notes” consist of the species, diameter, and distance to trees that surveyors used to document section corners, quarter corners, and the banks of navigable streams encountered along section line surveys. The PLS survey was made in the first few years of settlement, when land cover or landforms remained relatively unchanged (Table 1). However, the survey was restricted to a one-mile grid, excepting navigable rivers and shoreline, which were surveyed (“meandered”) along their courses. In addition, because it was a legal survey, ambiguities and biases are presented in using the records for scientific purposes. S