U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
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National Ocean Service
Datums Page Page 1 of 7
Station ID: 8536110 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/13/2016
Name: CAPE MAY, CAPE MAY CANAL, DELAWARE BAY
NJ
NOAA Chart: 12316 Latitude: 38° 58.1' N ( 38.96833)
USGS Quad: CAPE MAY Longitude: 74° 57.6' W ( -74.96000)
To reach the tidal bench marks from U.S. Highway 9 just north of Cape May
Village, proceed west on Lincoln Boulevard for approximately 4.0 km (2.5 mi) and
then turn left into the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Terminal. The bench marks are on
the grounds of the terminal and along U.S. Highway 9. The tide gage and staff
are at the south end of the dock between Ferry Slip # 1 and Ferry Slip # 2.
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
PRIMARY BENCH MARK STAMPING: NO. 1 1965
DESIGNATION: 853 6110 TIDAL 1
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 344
AGENCY: US Coast and Geodetic Survey
(USC&GS) IDB PID#: HU1194
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete head wall OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 38° 58.1' N ( 38.96883) LONGITUDE: 74° 57.5' W ( -74.95889)
The primary bench mark is a disk set on the east side of the concrete head wall
of Ferry Slip number 2, next to the steel rampway, 14.0 m (45.9 ft) NNE of the
south end of the bulkhead, 10.00 m (32.8 ft) SSW of the ticket booth, and 2.19 m
(7.2 ft) south of the NE corner of Ferry Slip number 2, 1.10 m (3.6 ft) SE of
the SE side of the rampway.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 2 of 7
Station ID: 8536110 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/13/2016
Name: CAPE MAY, CAPE MAY CANAL, DELAWARE BAY
NJ
NOAA Chart: 12316 Latitude: 38° 58.1' N ( 38.96833)
USGS Quad: CAPE MAY Longitude: 74° 57.6' W ( -74.96000)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 6110 N 1979
DESIGNATION: 853 6110 N
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 349
AGENCY: National Ocean Survey (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Stainless steel rod OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 38° 58.4' N ( 38.97364) LONGITUDE: 74° 57.3' W ( -74.95578)
The bench mark is a disk located between the north bound and south bound lanes
of U.S. Highway 9 at the south leg of a large sign for the Cape May-Lewes Ferry,
21.82 m (71.6 ft) north of the centerline of the north bound lane, 14.26 m (46.8
ft) south of the centerline of the south bound lane, 7.38 m (24.2 ft) east of
the extended centerline of Indian Avenue, and 0.46 m (1.5 ft) south of the sign.
The bench mark is crimped to the top of a stainless steel rod driven an
unspecified depth to refusal, and encased in a 4-inch PVC pipe with concrete
kickblock.
BENCH MARK STAMPING: NO 5 RESET 1986
DESIGNATION: 853 6110 TIDAL 5 RESET
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 1504
AGENCY: National Geodetic Survey (NGS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete curb OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 38° 58.2' N ( 38.97025) LONGITUDE: 74° 57.4' W ( -74.95733)
The bench mark is a disk set in the concrete curb located in the parking lot on
the east side of the Ferry Terminal, 50.3 m (165 ft) NE of the NE corner of the
Ferry Terminal Building, 22.98 m (75.4 ft) north of the centerline of the
entrance road to the parking lot, 21.03 m (69.0 ft) west of the centerline of
the road leading to the maintenance area, 5.91 m (19.4 ft) SE of a light pole,
and 0.15 m (0.5 ft) above the parking lot.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 3 of 7
Station ID: 8536110 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/13/2016
Name: CAPE MAY, CAPE MAY CANAL, DELAWARE BAY
NJ
NOAA Chart: 12316 Latitude: 38° 58.1' N ( 38.96833)
USGS Quad: CAPE MAY Longitude: 74° 57.6' W ( -74.96000)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 6110 R 1988
DESIGNATION: 853 6110 R
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 1506
AGENCY: National Ocean Service (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete lift tower foundation OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 38° 58.1' N ( 38.96875) LONGITUDE: 74° 57.5' W ( -74.95825)
The bench mark is a disk set in the NW corner of the concrete foundation of the
west lift tower for the ramp at Ferry Slip number 3, 37.19 m (122.0 ft) south of
the Administration Building office door, 3.44 m (11.3 ft) south of the number 3
bollard, 2.96 m (9.7 ft) NE of the bulkhead, 1.37 m (4.5 ft) west of the south
edge of Ferry Slip number 3, and 0.06 m (0.2 ft) above ground.
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 6110 S 1988
DESIGNATION: 853 6110 S
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 1507
AGENCY: National Ocean Service (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Tower foundation OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 38° 58.2' N ( 38.96981) LONGITUDE: 74° 57.5' W ( -74.95783)
The bench mark is a disk set in the SE corner of the concrete foundation of a
tower located on the east side of the Ferry Terminal Building, 24.78 m (81.3 ft)
south of the NE corner of the building, 5.85 m (19.2 ft) WNW of the curb of the
parking lot, 4.57 m (15.0 ft) ESE of the east wall of the building, and 0.37 m
(1.2 ft) NNW of the SE corner of the foundation.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 4 of 7
Station ID: 8536110 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/13/2016
Name: CAPE MAY, CAPE MAY CANAL, DELAWARE BAY
NJ
NOAA Chart: 12316 Latitude: 38° 58.1' N ( 38.96833)
USGS Quad: CAPE MAY Longitude: 74° 57.6' W ( -74.96000)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: J 79 1979
DESIGNATION: J 79
MONUMENTATION: Flange-encased Rod VM#: 14005
AGENCY: National Geodetic Survey (NGS) IDB PID#: HU1197
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Stainless steel rod in sleeve OPUS PID#: HU1197
LATITUDE: 38° 58.2' N ( 38.97017) LONGITUDE: 74° 57.7' W ( -74.96158)
The bench mark is a flange-encased rod located 0.24 km (0.15 mi) west of the
Ferry Terminal Office/Welcome Center, 44.41 m (145.7 ft) WNW of the east end of
a split rail fence that runs on the north side of a road leading to the terminal
parking area, 16.00 m (52.5 ft) ESE of the centerline of the road which leads to
the North Jetty and Douglas Park, and 7.50 m (24.6 ft) north of a road that
leads to the Ferry Terminal parking area. The datum point is 0.05 m (0.2 ft)
below ground, being the top of a stainless steel rod driven 13.4 m (44 ft), in a
sleeve extending to a depth of 3.05 m (10.0 ft), and encased in a 5 inch NGS
logo cap.
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 6110 C 2003
DESIGNATION: 853 6110 C
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 16957
AGENCY: National Ocean Service (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete ballard OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 38° 58.1' N ( 38.96839) LONGITUDE: 74° 57.4' W ( -74.95722)
The bench mark is a disk set in the foundation for a mooring ballard located in
the southeastern section of the ferry terminal property, 14.70 m (48.2 ft) west
of the SW corner of an eight bay door building, 7.25 m (23.8 ft) north of the
south corner of the sheetpile bulkhead, 1.98 m (6.5 ft) south of the north
corner of the concrete ballard foundation, 1.21 m (4.0 ft) SW of the center of
the steel ballard, 1.11 m (3.6 ft) east of the west vface of the sheet pile
bulkhead, and 0.17 m (0.6 ft) above ground.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 5 of 7
Station ID: 8536110 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/13/2016
Name: CAPE MAY, CAPE MAY CANAL, DELAWARE BAY
NJ
NOAA Chart: 12316 Latitude: 38° 58.1' N ( 38.96833)
USGS Quad: CAPE MAY Longitude: 74° 57.6' W ( -74.96000)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 6110 D 2004
DESIGNATION: 853 6110 D
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 17683
AGENCY: National Ocean Service (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete foundation OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 38° 58.1' N ( 38.96800) LONGITUDE: 74° 57.6' W ( -74.95992)
The bench mark is set flush in the concrete foundation for a blue mooring
bollard at ferry slip 1 and near the NOAA tide station, 9.15 m (30.0 ft) NNW of
the south end of the slip, 7.55 m (24.8 ft) ENE of the SW side of the slip, and
4.95 m (16.2 ft) west of the NE side of the slip.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 6 of 7
Station ID: 8536110 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/13/2016
Name: CAPE MAY, CAPE MAY CANAL, DELAWARE BAY
NJ
NOAA Chart: 12316 Latitude: 38° 58.1' N ( 38.96833)
USGS Quad: CAPE MAY Longitude: 74° 57.6' W ( -74.96000)
T I D A L D A T U M S
Tidal datums at CAPE MAY, CAPE MAY CANAL, DELAWARE BAY based on:
LENGTH OF SERIES: 19 YEARS
TIME PERIOD: January 1983 - December 2001
TIDAL EPOCH: 1983-2001
CONTROL TIDE STATION:
Elevations of tidal datums referred to Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW), in METERS:
HIGHEST OBSERVED WATER LEVEL (01/23/2016) = 2.737
MEAN HIGHER HIGH WATER MHHW = 1.660
MEAN HIGH WATER MHW = 1.527
North American Vertical Datum NAVD88 = 0.919
MEAN TIDE LEVEL MTL = 0.788
MEAN SEA LEVEL MSL = 0.783
MEAN LOW WATER MLW = 0.049
MEAN LOWER LOW WATER MLLW = 0.000
LOWEST OBSERVED WATER LEVEL (01/28/1971) = -0.921
North American Vertical Datum (NAVD88)
Bench Mark Elevation Information In METERS above:
Stamping or Designation MLLW MHW
NO. 1 1965 4.154 2.627
6110 N 1979 2.769 1.242
NO 5 RESET 1986 4.054 2.527
6110 R 1988 4.292 2.765
6110 S 1988 5.126 3.599
J 79 1979 3.048 1.521
6110 C 2003 4.153 2.626
6110 D 2004 4.024 2.497
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 7 of 7
Station ID: 8536110 PUBLICATION DATE: 12/13/2016
Name: CAPE MAY, CAPE MAY CANAL, DELAWARE BAY
NJ
NOAA Chart: 12316 Latitude: 38° 58.1' N ( 38.96833)
USGS Quad: CAPE MAY Longitude: 74° 57.6' W ( -74.96000)
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.