Abstract:
The World Vector Shoreline (WVS) is a digital data file at a nominal scale of
1:250000, containing the shorelines, international boundaries and country names
of the world. The World Vector Shoreline is a standard US Defense Mapping
Agency (DMA) product that has been designed for use in many applications. The
WVS is divided into ten ocean basin area files. Together the ten
... files form a
seamless world, with the exception of Central America, where there is an
overlap between the Western North Atlantic file and the Eastern North Pacific
File.
The main source material for the WVS was the DMA's Digital Landmass Blanking
(DLMB) data which was derived primarily from the Joint Operations Graphics and
coastal nautical charts produced by DMA. The DLMB data consists of a land/water
flag file on a 3 by 3 arc-second interval grid. This raster data set was
converted into vector form to create the WVS. For areas of the world not
covered by the DLMB data (e.g. the Arctic and Antarctic), the shoreline was
taken from the best available hard copy sources at a preferred scale of
1:250000. The WVS data are stored in chain-node format, and include tags to
indicate the landside/waterside of the shoreline.
The NGA Office of Global Navigation, Maritime Division is in the process of
developing a new version of World Vector Shoreline (WVS) and in support of
this effort has acquired a prototype Global Shoreline Data set. This new
shoreline is an approximation of the High Water Line; it is NOT a Mean High
Water Line since the source data have not been tide coordinated. As segments of
the prototype version are accepted from the contractor, these segments are
being made available in the interest of supporting outside users who may have
immediate application for these higher resolution data. These prototype data
are not currently intended for safety of navigation products and do not
necessarily reflect recognition of the political status of an area by the
coastal nations affected or by the United States Government. 
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