Maritime Cultural Landscapes
Archival Resources

Introduction

NOAA contributes to maritime cultural landscapes through many means, including a myriad of historical assets generated by the legacy agencies that formed NOAA, particularly what began in 1807 as the Survey of the Coast, the oldest scientific agency in the government, and what began in 1870 as the Commission on Fish and Fisheries, the oldest conservation agency.

On this site, you can find and download a host of tools to learn about and search for historic maps and charts and other data. As well you will find active URLs that can directly you immediately to NOAA websites where you can then freely download many thousands of high resolution digital images of historic maps and charts, as well tens of thousands of photographs, the text of agency reports and classic earth sciences research, and much else.

These assets and tools to find them address all American territory and waters, and many areas of the world and many parts of the great ocean, but they address particularly the areas and issues of the system of National Marine Sanctuaries. We will use the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, straddling California's Golden Gate, as the gateway to introduce what is available here.