U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Datums Page Page 1 of 5
Station ID: 8418015 PUBLICATION DATE: 05/20/2004
Name: FALMOUTH FORESIDE
ME
NOAA Chart: 13290 Latitude: 43° 43.9' N ( 43.73170)
USGS Quad: PORTLAND EAST Longitude: 70° 12.3' W ( -70.20500)
To reach the tidal bench marks from the south side of the Martin Point Bridge in
Portland, Maine, proceed 2.3 km (1.4 mi) north on US Route 1 to the intersection
of State Route 88 (Foreside Road), then veer right and proceed north on State
Route 88 for 3.7 km (2.3 mi) to Town Landing Road, turn right and proceed east
on Town Landing Road to the end of the road and the boat landing. The bench
marks are located in the vicinity of the pier and extend along both sides of
Town Landing Road. The tide gage and staff were located on the north side of
the Town Landing pier.
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
PRIMARY BENCH MARK STAMPING: 841 8015 A 1979
DESIGNATION: 841 8015 A TIDAL
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 1930
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Rock outcrop OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 43° 43.9' N ( 43.73170) LONGITUDE: 70° 12.2' W ( -70.20330)
The primary bench mark is a disk set flush in a rock outcrop at the end of the
Town Landing pier in Falmouth Foreside, 1.9 m (6.3 ft) west of the bottom step
of the pier, and 0.2 m (0.5 ft) north of Central Maine Power Company utility
pole #GH 65.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 2 of 5
Station ID: 8418015 PUBLICATION DATE: 05/20/2004
Name: FALMOUTH FORESIDE
ME
NOAA Chart: 13290 Latitude: 43° 43.9' N ( 43.73170)
USGS Quad: PORTLAND EAST Longitude: 70° 12.3' W ( -70.20500)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 841 8015 B 1979
DESIGNATION: 841 8015 B TIDAL
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 1931
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Rock ledge OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 43° 43.9' N ( 43.73170) LONGITUDE: 70° 12.2' W ( -70.20330)
The bench mark is a disk set flush in the NW corner of a low rock ledge that
comprises the northern boundary of the Falmouth Foreside town landing, 38 m (126
ft) NNE of bench mark 841 8015 A 1979, and 3.0 m (10.0 ft) from the shoreline.
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 841 8015 C 1979
DESIGNATION: 841 8015 C TIDAL
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 1932
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Stone seawall OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 43° 43.9' N ( 43.73170) LONGITUDE: 70° 12.2' W ( -70.20330)
The bench mark is a disk set flush in a 1 m (2 ft) high stone sea wall at 35
Town Landing Road, 37.2 m (122 ft) WNW of bench mark 841 8015 A 1979, 7.8 m
(25.5 ft) west of the centerline of Town Landing Road, and 2.9 m (9.5 ft) west
of the east end of the sea wall.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 3 of 5
Station ID: 8418015 PUBLICATION DATE: 05/20/2004
Name: FALMOUTH FORESIDE
ME
NOAA Chart: 13290 Latitude: 43° 43.9' N ( 43.73170)
USGS Quad: PORTLAND EAST Longitude: 70° 12.3' W ( -70.20500)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 841 8015 D 1979
DESIGNATION: 841 8015 D TIDAL
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 1933
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Rock outcrop OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 43° 43.9' N ( 43.73170) LONGITUDE: 70° 12.2' W ( -70.20330)
The bench mark is a disk set flush in a 1 m x 1 m (4 ft x 3 ft) rock outcrop on
the east side of Town Landing Road, up the hill from the pier, 66 m (215 ft) NW
of bench mark 841 8015 C 1979, and 6.6 m (21.5 ft) east of the centerline of
Town Landing Road.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 4 of 5
Station ID: 8418015 PUBLICATION DATE: 05/20/2004
Name: FALMOUTH FORESIDE
ME
NOAA Chart: 13290 Latitude: 43° 43.9' N ( 43.73170)
USGS Quad: PORTLAND EAST Longitude: 70° 12.3' W ( -70.20500)
T I D A L D A T U M S
Tidal datums at FALMOUTH FORESIDE based on:
LENGTH OF SERIES: 1 MONTH
TIME PERIOD: October 1979 - October 1979
TIDAL EPOCH: 1983-2001
CONTROL TIDE STATION: 8418150 PORTLAND, CASCO BAY
Elevations of tidal datums referred to Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW), in METERS:
MEAN HIGHER HIGH WATER MHHW = 3.027
MEAN HIGH WATER MHW = 2.891
MEAN SEA LEVEL MSL = 1.509
MEAN TIDE LEVEL MTL = 1.495
MEAN LOW WATER MLW = 0.100
MEAN LOWER LOW WATER MLLW = 0.000
North American Vertical Datum (NAVD88)
Bench Mark Elevation Information In METERS above:
Stamping or Designation MLLW MHW
841 8015 A 1979 3.958 1.067
841 8015 B 1979 3.484 0.593
841 8015 C 1979 5.161 2.270
841 8015 D 1979 12.188 9.297
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 5 of 5
Station ID: 8418015 PUBLICATION DATE: 05/20/2004
Name: FALMOUTH FORESIDE
ME
NOAA Chart: 13290 Latitude: 43° 43.9' N ( 43.73170)
USGS Quad: PORTLAND EAST Longitude: 70° 12.3' W ( -70.20500)
D E F I N I T I O N S
Mean Sea Level (MSL) is a tidal datum determined over a 19-year National Tidal
Datum Epoch. It pertains to local mean sea level and should not be confused
with the fixed datums of North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88).
NAVD88 is a fixed datum derived from a simultaneous, least squares, minimum
constraint adjustment of Canadian/Mexican/United States leveling observations.
Local mean sea level observed at Father Point/Rimouski, Canada was held fixed as
the single initial constraint. NAVD88 replaces NGVD29 as the national
standard geodetic reference for heights. Bench mark elevations relative to
NAVD88 are available from NGS through the World Wide Web at
National Geodetic Survey.
NGVD29 is a fixed datum adopted as a national standard geodetic reference for
heights but is now considered superseded. NGVD29 is sometimes referred to as
Sea Level Datum of 1929 or as Mean Sea Level on some early issues of Geological
Survey Topographic Quads. NGVD29 was originally derived from a general
adjustment of the first-order leveling networks of the U.S. and Canada after
holding mean sea level observed at 26 long term tide stations as fixed.
Numerous local and wide-spread adjustments have been made since establishment in
1929. Bench mark elevations relative to NGVD29 are available from the National
Geodetic Survey (NGS) data base via the World Wide Web at
National Geodetic Survey.
NAVD88 and NGVD29 are fixed geodetic datums whose elevation relationships to
local MSL and other tidal datums may not be consistent from one location to
another.
The Vertical Mark Number (VM#) and PID# shown on the bench mark sheet are unique
identifiers for bench marks in the tidal and geodetic databases, respectively.
Each bench mark in either database has a single, unique VM# and/or PID# assigned.
Where both VM# and PID# are indicated, both tidal and geodetic elevations are
available for the bench mark listed. The NGS's Integrated Data Base (IDB PID)
provides geodetic datum based on traditionally leveled and bluebooked ties to
the National Spatial Reference System(NSRS) https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/datasheets/.
The NGS Online Positioning User Service (OPUS PID) provides geodetic datum based
on GPS position & tie it to the NSRS https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/OPUS/.
The NAVD88 elevation is shown on the Elevations of Tidal Datums Table Referred
to MLLW only when two or more of the bench marks listed have NAVD88 elevations.
The NAVD88 elevation relationship shown in the table is derived from an average
of several bench mark elevations relative to tide station datum. As a result of
this averaging, NAVD88 bench mark elevations computed indirectly from the tidal
datums elevation table may differ slightly from NAVD88 elevations listed for
each bench mark in the NGS database.