<descriptor thcode="62"><thesaurus thcode="62" name="Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard" scope="Categories of ecosystems for coastal, estuarine, and marine environments." creator="FGDC" rights="public domain" date="2017-05-10" codetype="alpha" prefix="cmecs" uri="https://www2.usgs.gov/science/CMECS" tblname="cmecs" root_code="root" contact="pschweitzer"><category><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/></category><altlabel><altlabel>CMECS</altlabel><altlabel>CMECS</altlabel><altlabel>Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)</altlabel><altlabel>Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)</altlabel></altlabel></thesaurus><term thcode="62" code="GC-C051" name="Physiographic Setting" parent="GC-C005"/><bt><term thcode="62" code="GC-C005" name="Geoform" parent="root"/><term thcode="62" code="root" name="CMECS" scope="Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard: Category terms encompassing waters from the head of tide or inland incursion of ocean salinity to the splash zone of the coasts to the deepest portions of the oceans and the deep waters of the Great Lakes."/></bt><nt><term thcode="62" code="GC-039" name="Abyssal/Submarine Fan" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: A low, outspread, relatively flat-to-gently sloping mass of loose material?shaped like an open fan or a segment of a cone?deposited by a flow of water at the place where it issues from a narrower or steeper-gradient area into a broader area, valley, flat, or other feature. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-040" name="Barrier Reef" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: A long, narrow coral reef, roughly parallel to the shore and separated from it by a lagoon of considerable depth and width. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-041" name="Bight" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: A broad bend or curve in a generally open coast. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-042" name="Borderland" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: An area of the continental margin (between the shoreline and the continental slope) that is topographically more complex than the continental shelf. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-043" name="Continental/Island Rise" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: An area that lies at the deepest part of a continental or island margin between the continental slope and the abyssal plain. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-044" name="Continental/Island Shelf" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: That part of the continental margin that is between the shoreline and the continental slope (or a depth or 200 meters when there is no noticeable continental slope); it is characterized by its very gentle slope of 0.1&#xC2;&#xB0;. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-045" name="Continental/Island Shore Complex" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: This feature includes the land-water interface zone and contains geoforms across a diversity of scales. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-046" name="Continental/Island Slope" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: That part of the continental margin that is between the continental shelf and the continental rise (if there is one); it is characterized by its relatively steep slope of 1.5 - 6&#xC2;&#xB0;. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-047" name="Embayment/Bay" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: A water body with some level of enclosure by land at different spatial scales. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-048" name="Fjord" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: A long, narrow, glacially eroded inlet or arm of the sea. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-049" name="Inland/Enclosed Sea" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: A large, water body almost completely surrounded by land. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-050" name="Lagoonal Estuary" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: This class of estuary tends to be shallow, highly enclosed, and have reduced exchange with the ocean. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-051" name="Major River Delta" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: The nearly flat, alluvial tract of land at the mouth of a river, which commonly forms a triangular or fan-shaped plain. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-052" name="Marine Basin Floor" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: Basin floors refer broadly to the areas of the seafloor between the base of the continental margin (usually the foot of the continental rise) and the mid-ocean ridge. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-053" name="Ocean Bank/Plateau" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: A mound-like or ridge-like elevated area on the seafloor; it may have a modest-to-substantial extent. Although submerged, this feature can reach close to sea level (e.g., Bahama Banks)."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-054" name="Riverine Estuary" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: This class of estuary tends to be linear and seasonally turbid (especially in upper reaches), and it can be subjected to high current speeds. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-055" name="Shelf Basin" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: Basins occurring on the continental shelf formed by offshore faulting activity."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-582" name="Shelf Break" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: The slope discontinuity (rapid change in gradient) of 3&#xC2;&#xB0; or greater that occurs at the outer edge of the continental shelf. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-056" name="Sound" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: (a) A relatively long, narrow waterway connecting two larger bodies of water (or two parts of the same water body), or an arm of the sea forming a channel between the mainland and an island (e.g., Puget Sound, WA). ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-057" name="Submarine Canyon" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: A general term for all linear, steep-sided valleys on the seafloor. These canyons can be associated with terrestrial or nearshore river inputs, such as in the Hudson or Mississippi canyons."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-058" name="Trench" parent="GC-C051" scope="Physiographic Setting: Trenches in the physiographic setting subcomponent occur at a smaller spatial scale than the hemispheric-sized trenches in the tectonic setting. ..."/></nt></descriptor>