History of Coast Survey

1807: President Thomas Jefferson establishes Survey of the Coast. An Act of February 10, 1807, provides for the systematic coastal survey under the Department of the Treasury. Jefferson selects Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler's proposal for a trigonometric survey. However, Hassler's plan requires very sophisticated scientific instruments not available in the United States, and the start of work is delayed.

1811: Hassler leaves for England in 1811 to oversee the design and manufacture of the needed instruments. However, hostilities break out and he remains in England throughout the War of 1812. He does not return to the U.S. until after peace is negotiated in 1815.

1816: A formal agreement is reached between the United States government and Hassler. He begins a survey of New York Harbor; actual fieldwork starts in the early months of 1817.

1818: The survey is suspended pursuant to an Act of April 14, 1818 (3 Stat. 425), which repeals provisions of the law that permits civilians to conduct surveys.

1825: Hassler writes a defense of his work, "Papers on Various Subjects Concerned with the Survey of the Coast of the United States," and publishes it in the Philosophical Transactions of Philadelphia.

1832: The agency is reestablished and Hassler, at age 62, is appointed as Superintendent.

1834: Survey of the Coast finally takes its first soundings.

1835: Survey of the Coast publishes its first chart "of which there is a present record"—according to Shore and Sea Boundaries, Vol. 2, page 89, Bridgeport Harbor, Connecticut, dated 1835. This chart was probably engraved commercially on contract, since no engravers were employed at this time.

1836: Survey of the Coast renamed to U.S. Coast Survey. In addition, from 1836 until the establishment of the National Bureau of Standards in 1901, the Survey is responsible for weights and measures throughout the U.S.

1843: Hassler dies. Alexander Dallas Bache, great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, succeeds Hassler. Bache is a physicist, scientist, and surveyor who establishes the first magnetic observatory.

1843 to 1845: The Survey produces a set of six chart sheets of "New York Bay and Harbor and the Environs."

1845: U.S. Coast Survey begins systematic studies of the Gulf Stream. It is the first systematic oceanographic project for studying a specific phenomenon commenced by any government or organization. Physical oceanography, geological oceanography, biological oceanography, and chemical oceanography of the Gulf Stream and its environs are covered in the initial orders, serving as a model for all subsequent integrated oceanographic cruises.

1847 and 1851: In 1847, naturalist Louis Agassiz sails on Coast Survey Steamer Bibb to study fish and fauna offshore of the New England area. In 1851, Louis Agassiz is commissioned by the U.S. Coast Survey to conduct the first scientific study of the Florida Reef system.

1853: First Tide Prediction Tables are published.

1854 and 1855: U.S. Coast Survey employs James McNeill Whistler as an engraver. He paints the iconic "Whistler's Mother" in 1871.

1861: Coast Survey Supervisor Bache publishes "Notes on the Coast of the United States," secret documents used by the Union Army. This series of "Notes," extending from Delaware Bay to Mississippi Sound on the Gulf Coast, contributes to the efficacy of the Union blockading squadrons.

1861 to 65: Coast Survey serves with the Union Army and Navy in all theaters of the Civil War and with all major commanders. Coast surveyors serve as hydrographers, topographers, and scouts, oftentimes in advance of the front lines. In the Army, coast surveyors are given assimilated military rank while attached to a specific command.

1867: U.S. Coast Survey is the pioneer federal agency in Alaska. George Davidson, head of the Survey on the West Coast, accompanies the Revenue Cutter Lincoln in its inspection of Russian Alaska prior to the purchase of Seward's Icebox. Also in this year, George W. Blunt, whose family produced the American Coast Pilot for 70 years, sells the rights to the Coast Survey for $20,000.

1869: George Davidson, head of the Survey on the West Coast, obtains maps made by Kohklux, the leader of the Chilkhat Indians of southeastern Alaska. In 1888, Davidson subsequently created a policy noting, "special attention is called to the nomenclature of all points named, especially Indian names."

1873: The Commission of Fish and Fisheries utilizes the Coast Survey steamer Bache for first deep water sampling and dredging cruises. This cooperative relationship continues for many years until the Fisheries Service obtains its own deep-water steamers.

1874 to 1877: Coast Survey employs the great naturalist John Muir as guide and artist on "Survey of the 39th Parallel" across the Great Basin of Nevada and Utah.

1874 to 1878: Steamer Blake makes many major innovations, including the Sigsbee sounding machine and use of steel cable for oceanographic operations. Blake also pioneers deep ocean anchoring during Gulf Stream studies and is perhaps the most innovative oceanographic vessel of the nineteenth century.

1878: U.S. Coast Survey changes name to Coast and Geodetic Survey to reflect the role of geodesy.

1882: William Ferrel designs the first tide-predicting machine used in the United States. This machine differs somewhat in design from any other machine up to that time.

1890: The U.S. Board on Geographic Names is established and the Superintendent of Coast and Geodetic Survey, Dr. Thomas C. Mendenhall, is selected as its first chair. The Navy Department and the Coast and Geodetic Survey initiate a unified policy in the use of geographic names on charts and other publications, in response to complications resulting from a variety of forms of orthography and nomenclature of the same place or feature. The agencies are especially concerned about the Alaska charts where—using Mendenhall's words—"hardly a name did not admit three or more spellings and many features have more than one name."

1899: The Coast and Geodetic Survey is authorized to fly its own flag—it is blue, with a white circle and a red triangle, symbolizing triangulation. The Coast and Geodetic Survey opens a field office in Seattle, Washington, to support ships and survey field expeditions; future Pacific Marine Center.

1901: National Bureau of Standards—now the National Institute of Standards and Technology—is established from the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Office of Weights and Measures. Also, with the transfer of the Philippine Islands from Spain to the U.S. after the Spanish-American War, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names becomes involved in its first major program of standardizing a large number of names for a foreign area.

1917: U.S. enters World War I. The Commissioned Officers Corps, the forerunner of the NOAA Corps, is created from the field corps of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Half of commissioned officer service transferred to Armed Services. Ships Surveyor and Bache transferred to the Navy and Ship Albatross transferred from the Bureau of Fisheries to the Navy.

1923 and 1924: The Coast and Geodetic Survey begins use of acoustic sounding systems; develops radio acoustic ranging, the first marine navigation system ever devised to not have to rely on some visual means of position determination. This system leads to discovery of SOFAR, telemetering radio sono-buoys, and marine seismic exploration techniques.

1926: The Coast and Geodetic Survey begins to provide charts for air navigation (Air Commerce Act).

1927: Mississippi River Commission asks the Survey to map and analyze a disastrous flood. The map shows how levees were deliberately dynamited to flood the bayous and spare New Orleans.

1933: The Coast and Geodetic Survey opens a field office in Norfolk, Virginia.

1934 to 1937: During the height of the Great Depression, the Coast and Geodetic Survey organizes surveying parties and field offices that employ over 10,000, including many out-of-work engineers.

1939: Coast and Geodetic Survey Ship Pioneer surveys the Bering Sea.

1941 to 1945: Technical capabilities of the Coast and Geodetic Survey and Weather Service are devoted completely to the war effort.

1942 to 1945: The Coast and Geodetic Survey sends over 1,000 civilian members and over half of its commissioned officers to the military services. Coast Surveyors serve as hydrographers, artillery surveyors, cartographers, army engineers, intelligence officers, and geophysicists in all theaters of the war. Civilians on the home front produce over 100 million maps and charts for the Allied forces. Eleven members of the Coast and Geodetic Survey gave their lives during WWII.

1943: The Hydrographic Office, U.S. Navy Department, publishes "Gazetteer (No. 4) Hawaiian Islands," based on data compiled by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. The Coast and Geodetic Survey publishes "Geographic Names in the Coastal Areas of Alaska" from material compiled under its supervision by personnel of the Works Project Administration.

1945: Coast Survey adapts "Gee" aerial bombardment electronic navigation system to hydrographic surveying, helps to usher in the era of marine electronic navigation.

1948: Pacific Tsunami Warning System is established in Honolulu, Hawaii.

1953: The Coast and Geodetic Survey Ship Hydrographer rides out Hurricane Florence in the Gulf of Mexico.

1955: The Coast and Geodetic Survey Ship Pioneer, conducting surveys off the United States West Coast, tows magnetometer invented by Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The crew discovers magnetic striping on the seafloor, a key element in formulating the theory of plate tectonics.

1962: The Coast and Geodetic Survey establishes the Great Lakes Research Center, and develops strong programs in coastal processes including tides, currents, waves, and sedimentation, and water resources; water quality, water quantity, ice and snow conditions.

1965: The Environmental Science Services Administration is formed within the Department of Commerce, consolidates the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Weather Bureau.

1969: Stratton Commission report "Our Nation and the Sea" recommends a new agency.

1970: On October 5, President Nixon issues an executive order establishing NOAA. NOAA is created within the Department of Commerce, combining the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Weather Bureau, Coast and Geodetic Survey, Environmental Data Service, National Oceanographic Data Center, National Satellite Center, Research Libraries, and other components. The Coast and Geodetic Survey is reorganized into the National Ocean Survey and the National Geodetic Survey.

1974: NOAA's National Ocean Survey takes over responsibility for compiling, printing and distributing Great Lakes charts from the Lake Survey - part of the U.S Army Corps of Engineers.

1983: National Ocean Survey name changed to National Ocean Service.

1983: By presidential proclamation, President Ronald Reagan declares a United States Exclusive Economic Zone extending out 200 nautical miles from our shores. NOAA embarks on a program of multi-beam surveying of the Exclusive Economic Zone, leading to many discoveries including numerous economically important salt domes in the Gulf of Mexico.

1994: The Coast and Geodetic Survey is disestablished and its former subordinate divisions are elevated to the status of Office under the National Ocean Service. Thus, the former Nautical Charting Division became the present Office of the Coast Survey, while the geodetic functions became the National Geodetic Survey, and the tides and currents division became the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services.

1993 and 1994: Coast Survey produces and distributes its first official raster navigational charts and electronic navigational charts.

1996: NOAA Ship Rude completes first hydrographic survey using shallow-water multi-beam sonar in support of NOAA's nautical charting mission. The application of shallow water, multi-beam sonar technology revolutionized hydrographic surveying.

1999: Coast Survey partners with industry to produce and distribute Print-On-Demand nautical charts allowing mariners to get up-dated navigation information weekly. Navigation response teams are established to provide rapid response survey capabilities in support of safe navigation.

2001: Coast Survey establishes Navigation Manager Program to provide regional liaisons in the field.

2005: nowCOAST website is established by Coast Survey.

2014: NOAA ends all in-house lithographic printing of nautical charts and distributes all paper nautical charts through the existing group of NOAA certified Print-on-Demand chart agents.

2019: Coast Survey publishes a notice in the Federal Register announcing its intention to “sunset” or cease maintenance, production, and distribution of all traditional NOAA paper nautical charts and related raster chart products and services - including raster navigational charts. This enables Coast Survey to focus resources on improving and broadening the coverage of the electronic navigational chart product.

2019 to 2024: Over a five-year span, Coast Survey completes a program to gradually end traditional paper and raster chart production and cancel all 1,007 charts in the product suite.

2024: After decades of releasing weekly updates to its navigational products on Thursdays, Coast Survey starts releasing daily updates (Monday through Friday). The benefits of this new capability were exhibited when a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, causing its collapse. Coast Survey was able to provide many more timely updates to NOAA electronic navigational charts in the area as new hydrographic surveys were conducted, obstructions cleared, and temporary channels established, prior to the complete reopening of the main channel.

Additional Resources:

Office of Coast Survey's Historical Map and Chart Collection

NOAA Celebrates 200 Years

Jefferson Authorizes Survey of the Coast, by Gaye Wilson, Monticello Newsletter, Fall 2007.

The 200th Anniversary of the Survey of the Coast, by John Cloud, National Archives Prologue, Spring 2007.

A Brief History of the Survey, Arlington National Cemetery

Shore and Sea Boundaries, Volume Two, by Aaron L. Shalowitz