OVERVIEW

This layer consists of two coverages: an arc coverage representing canoe trips and a point coverage representing canoe access and portage sites. It is not yet statewide in extent. Currently it covers the Merrimack River Basin System (Megabasin). The layer names in ArcSDE are CANOETRIPS_ARC and CANOEACCESS_PT.

The trip coverage was derived from the Appalachian Mountain Club's River Guide for Massachusetts. It represents canoe trips and associated portages and was created by selecting arcs from MassGIS 1:25K Hydrography layer based on descriptions in the River Guide. Centerlines were created where needed to obtain a single line coverage. The coverage uses look-up tables for storing its trip and portage related information.

The access points coverage was created using not only the AMC River Guide, but Nashua River Watershed Assoc. and Merrimack River Watershed Council guides as well. Trips from those guides were not recorded. Where applicable, trip ids were stored with the points. Access points were located by relating descriptions in the river guides to MassGIS road and river datalayers. In some cases, the organizations were called for clarification.

Items in the CANOETRIPS_ARC attribute table:

TRIPNO		Unique id for each trip in the coverage which is used to relate to CANOETRIPS_ARC_PRT AND CANOETRIPS_ARC_TRP
TYPE		Formatted as XY, where X =  T' and represents a trip segment (TS; or where X =  P' and represents a portage.  Y = the number of the portage in trip ( ie: 1st portage or 2nd portage...)

Items in the CANOEACCESS_PT attribute table:
 

RIVRECPT_I		Unique id for each point in the coverage which is used to relate to the following point .luts (CANOEACCESS_PT_DRT; CANOEACCESS_PT_DSC; CANOEACCESS_PT_FAC; CANOEACCESS_PT_MAN; CANOEACCESS_PT_OWN)
AMC90A		Composite id of AMC trip points.  Includes AMC trip #, point type (Trip or Portage); point # within a trip, beginning or ending id and AMC page #. See example below for an example points along the Squannacook River.
SARIS_ID		Unique ID of river
AMC90B		Composite id identifying point in terms of second trip in which it occurs in the AMC River Guide. (NOTE: Used in lieu of an "intersection table" since INFO - original format of the data - does not handle multiple sequential joins.)
AMC90C		Composite id identifying point in terms of third trip in which it occurs in the AMC River Guide (See note above.)
PAB_SITES_		Unique id representing Public Access Sites, refers back to ID in MassGIS PAB datalayer.
MRWC87		Access point from Merrimack River Watershed Council, 1987.
TNRCG94		Access point from The Nashua River Canoe Guide, 1994.

The following items are also included in the CANOEACCESS_PT attribute table to simplify identifying whether or not additional information exists in a look-up table:
 

PTDIRECTTR		Yes or No? go to CANOEACCESS_PT_DRT for directions about portage from river or access from road to site.
PTDESCRPTR		Yes or No? go to CANOEACCESS_PT_DSC for description of site.
PTFACILTRU		Yes or No? go to CANOEACCESS_PT_FAC for description of parking availability or boat ramp.
PTOWNTRUE		Yes or No? go to CANOEACCESS_PT_OWN for decription of owner of site where available.
PTMNGTRUE		Yes or No? go to CANOEACCESS_PT_MAN for description of manager of site where available.
ACPERMISSI		Permission required from owner or manager to use access point, Yes or No?

RELATED TABLES

There are two lookup tables associated with the line layer:

• CANOETRIPS_ARC_PRT (portage information)
• CANOETRIPS_ARC_TRP (trip information).

There are five lookup tables associated with the point layer:

• CANOEACCESS_PT_DRT (directions about access or portage)
• CANOEACCESS_PT_DSC (description of site)
• CANOEACCESS_PT_FAC (description of parking or boat ramp)
• CANOEACCESS_PT_MAN (description of manager of site)
• CANOEACCESS_PT_OWN (description of owner of site)

Items in CANOETRIPS_ARC_PRT:

TRIPNO		trip number and relate item to the attribute table
SOURCE		source of portage - AMC RIVER GUIDE 1990
PORTNO		portage number
LENGTH		length of portage
DWNSTRMSID		side of river portage found
OBSTACLE		reason for portage
LOCATION		town
DISTFRBEG		distance of portage from beginning of trip

Items in CANOETRIPS_ARC_TRP:

TRIPNO		trip number and relate item to attribute table
SOURCE		source of trip - 1990 AMC RIVER GUIDE
TRIPNAME		name of trip in AMC River Guide
YEARCHECK		year in which trip data was checked for AMC River Guide
MILES		length of trip
NAVIG		describes navigability of water
SCENERY		scenery found along trip
TILES		name of quad
PORTAGE		number of portages
HAZOBSTR		describes hazardous obstructions mentioned in text
DESCRIPTIO		describes water passage (flat; quick; pond; tidal; etc.)
COMMENTS		comments from text - may highlight dangers or scenic sites
BASIN		name of river basin
SARIS_ID		unique river id

NOTES:

• To relate from the line layer to its lookup tables use the TRIPNO item.
• To relate from the point layer to its lookup tables use the RIVRECPT_ID item in the attribute table and the ACCESSPTS_ID item in the lookup tables.

Example of AMC90A attributes along the Squannacook River:

AMC90A    HOW THE ITEM DECODES
------    --------------------
08T1B204  trip # 08; Trip; 1st put in option* for beginning of trip; page 204 indicates
          first mention of trip in book
08T1E204  trip # 08; Trip; 1st take out option* for ending of trip; page 204 indicates
          first mention of trip in book
08T2E204  trip # 08; Trip; 2nd take out option for ending of trip; page 204 indicates
          first mention of trip in book
08P1B204  trip # 08; Portage; beginning of 1st portage; page 204 indicates first mention
          of trip in book
08P1E204  trip # 08; Portage, end of 1st portage; page 204 indicates first mention
          of trip in book
08P2B204  trip # 08; Portage, beginning of 2nd portage; page 204 indicates first mention
          of trip in book
08P2E204  trip # 08; Portage, end of 2nd portage; page 204 indicates first mention
          of trip in book
08P3B204  trip # 08; Portage, beginning of 3rd portage; page 204 indicates first mention
          of trip in book
08P3E204  trip # 08; Portage, end of 3rd portage; page 204 indicates first mention
          of trip in book
08P4B204  trip # 08; Portage, beginning of 4th portage; page 204 indicates first mention
          of trip in book
08P4E204  trip # 08; Portage, end of 4th portage; page 204 indicates first mention
          of trip in book

*Option refers to the possibility of more than one put in site for the beginning of a trip or more than one take out site for the ending of a trip.

Last Updated 5/30/2007
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