U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Datums Page Page 1 of 5
Station ID: 8635985 PUBLICATION DATE: 11/10/2010
Name: WARES WHARF, RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER
VA
NOAA Chart: 12237 Latitude: 37° 52.4' N ( 37.87330)
USGS Quad: TAPPAHANNOCK Longitude: 76° 47.0' W ( -76.78330)
To reach the tidal bench marks from the junction of highways 360 and 17, just
SSW of the bridge over the Rappahannock River in Tappahannock, go 3.9 km (2.4
mi) southeasterly on combined highways 17 and 360 to a fork where highway 360
bears right, keep left and continue southeasterly on highway 17 for 6.1 km (3.8
mi) to a crossroad (County 611) at Dunnsville and a Texaco station in the NE
side of highway 17, turn left and go northeasterly on County 611 (Wares Wharf
Road) for 2.3 km (1.4 mi) to a point where Wares Wharf Road makes a right turn,
and County 616 (River Stretch Road) continues straight ahead, bear right and
follow Wares Wharf Road northeasterly for 1.6 km (1.0 mi) to John Wares house on
the left, about 0.3 km (0.2 mi) SE of a sweeping right turn in Wares Wharf Road.
The tide station is on the dock in the back yard of the house, a split level
brick house with two dormers facing the road. The tidal bench marks are located
in the vicinity.
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
PRIMARY BENCH MARK STAMPING: NO 1 1971
DESIGNATION: 863 6653 TIDAL 1
MONUMENTATION: Survey disk VM#: 18046
AGENCY: US Coast and Geodetic Survey
(USC&GS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete footing OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 37° 52.4' N ( 37.87411) LONGITUDE: 76° 47.1' W ( -76.78492)
The primary bench mark is set in the top of a tapered concrete pier 0.42 m (1.4
ft) by 0.45 m (1.5 ft) square, located in a brushy area, 37 m (121 ft) west of
the approximate mean high waterline of the Rappahannock River, 13 m (43 ft) NNW
of the approximate centerline of the paved road that dead ends at the river,
7.85 m (25.7 ft) ENE of bench mark 863 5985 TIDAL 2, 3.94 m (12.9 ft) NNW of a
green metal fence post and old barbed wire fencing, 2.69 m (8.8 ft) NNW of the
center of the most southeasterly of the old piers that had supported a tank, and
0.32 m (1.05 ft) above ground.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 2 of 5
Station ID: 8635985 PUBLICATION DATE: 11/10/2010
Name: WARES WHARF, RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER
VA
NOAA Chart: 12237 Latitude: 37° 52.4' N ( 37.87330)
USGS Quad: TAPPAHANNOCK Longitude: 76° 47.0' W ( -76.78330)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: NO 2 1971
DESIGNATION: 863 6653 TIDAL 2
MONUMENTATION: Survey disk VM#: 18047
AGENCY: US Coast and Geodetic Survey
(USC&GS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete footing OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 37° 52.4' N ( 37.87406) LONGITUDE: 76° 47.1' W ( -76.78492)
The bench mark is set in the top of a tapered concrete pier that is 0.42 m (1.38
ft) by 0.46 m (1.51 ft) square, the most southwesterly of six tapered concrete
pier posts for an old tank, 45 m (148 ft) west of the approximate mean high
water line of the Rappahannock River, 10.40 m (34.1 ft) NNW of the approximate
center line of the paved road that dead ends at the river, and 7.85 m (25.7 ft)
WSW of bench mark 863 5985 TIDAL 1, and 0.30 m (1.0 ft) above ground.
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 5985 A 2007
DESIGNATION: 863 5985 A
MONUMENTATION: Metal Rod VM#: 18263
AGENCY: National Ocean Service (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Stainless steel rod OPUS PID#: BBBH03
LATITUDE: 37° 52.6' N ( 37.87678) LONGITUDE: 76° 47.4' W ( -76.78961)
The bench mark is a set in the open back yard of the John Ware residence, 102.20
m (335.3 ft) NE of bench mark 863 5985 B, 43.01 m (141.1 ft) NE of the east
corner of the concrete block outbuilding south of the main house, 22.80 m (74.8
ft) east of the SE corner of the main house, 7.19 m (23.6 ft) SSW of the WSW end
of the end of the dock platform in the yard, and 6.40 m (21.0 ft) west of the
top of the riprap along the river bank. The datum point is set 0.17 m (0.56 ft)
below the grade of the yard, being the top of a rounded stainless steel rod
driven 12.2 m (40 ft) to refusal, and encased in a 0.18 m (0.6 ft) diameter NOS
logo cap.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 3 of 5
Station ID: 8635985 PUBLICATION DATE: 11/10/2010
Name: WARES WHARF, RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER
VA
NOAA Chart: 12237 Latitude: 37° 52.4' N ( 37.87330)
USGS Quad: TAPPAHANNOCK Longitude: 76° 47.0' W ( -76.78330)
T I D A L B E N C H M A R K S
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 5985 B 2007
DESIGNATION: 863 5985 B
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 18264
AGENCY: National Ocean Service (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete post OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 37° 52.6' N ( 37.87656) LONGITUDE: 76° 47.4' W ( -76.79053)
The bench mark is a disk set in the top of a 0.20 m (0.7 ft) diameter x 1.37 m
(4.5 ft) long concrete post located where the gravel driveway meets the paved
Wares Wharf Road, 515 m (1690 ft) NNW of bench mark 863 5985 C, 102.20 m (335.3
ft) WSW of bench mark 863 5985 A, 74.89 m (245.7 ft) SW of the SW corner of the
house at the main porch, 10.49 m (34.4 ft) NE of the centerline of Wares Wharf
Road, and 3.05 m (10.0 ft) NW of the centerline of the gravel driveway that
leads to the house.
BENCH MARK STAMPING: 5985 C 2007
DESIGNATION: 863 5985 C
MONUMENTATION: Tidal Station disk VM#: 18265
AGENCY: National Ocean Service (NOS) IDB PID#:
SETTING CLASSIFICATION: Concrete post OPUS PID:
LATITUDE: 37° 52.4' N ( 37.87289) LONGITUDE: 76° 47.2' W ( -76.78733)
The bench mark is a disk set in the top of a 0.20 m (0.7 ft) diameter x 1.37 m
(4.5 ft) long concrete post located at a T-intersection of Lower Field and Wares
Wharf Roads, by a row of mail boxes, 515 m (1690 ft) SSE of bench mark 863 5985
B, 7.59 m (24.9 ft) ENE of Lower Field Road, 4.21 m (13.8 ft) ENE of the
horizontal wood rail that supports the row of mail boxes, 0.61 m (2.0 ft) WSW of
the wood post which is the easterly of three posts that make a triangle at the
T-intersection, and 0.05 m (0.2 ft) below the ground.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 4 of 5
Station ID: 8635985 PUBLICATION DATE: 11/10/2010
Name: WARES WHARF, RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER
VA
NOAA Chart: 12237 Latitude: 37° 52.4' N ( 37.87330)
USGS Quad: TAPPAHANNOCK Longitude: 76° 47.0' W ( -76.78330)
T I D A L D A T U M S
Tidal datums at WARES WHARF, RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER based on:
LENGTH OF SERIES: 1 YEAR
TIME PERIOD: May 2008 - April 2009
TIDAL EPOCH: 1983-2001
CONTROL TIDE STATION: 8636580 WINDMILL POINT, RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER
Elevations of tidal datums referred to Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW), in METERS:
HIGHEST OBSERVED WATER LEVEL (09/26/2008) = 1.311
MEAN HIGHER HIGH WATER MHHW = 0.628
MEAN HIGH WATER MHW = 0.583
MEAN SEA LEVEL MSL = 0.321
MEAN TIDE LEVEL MTL = 0.309
MEAN LOW WATER MLW = 0.035
MEAN LOWER LOW WATER MLLW = 0.000
LOWEST OBSERVED WATER LEVEL (02/06/2007) = -0.625
North American Vertical Datum (NAVD88)
Bench Mark Elevation Information In METERS above:
Stamping or Designation MLLW MHW
NO 1 1971 1.177 0.594
NO 2 1971 1.150 0.567
5985 A 2007 2.858 2.275
5985 B 2007 3.020 2.437
5985 C 2007 2.983 2.400
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Ocean Service
Page 5 of 5
Station ID: 8635985 PUBLICATION DATE: 11/10/2010
Name: WARES WHARF, RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER
VA
NOAA Chart: 12237 Latitude: 37° 52.4' N ( 37.87330)
USGS Quad: TAPPAHANNOCK Longitude: 76° 47.0' W ( -76.78330)
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.