This line shapefile contains bathymetric contours at 10 meter intervals for the offshore area of Santa Barbara, California. This layer was generated from bathymetry data collected by Fugro Pelagos and California State University, Monterey Bay, Seafloor Mapping Lab (CSUMB) for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Joint Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise. Most of the offshore area was mapped by CSUMB in the summer of 2007, using a 244-kHz Reson 8101 multibeam echosounder. Smaller areas in the far-east nearshore, as well as further offshore to the west and in the southeast outer shelf area, were mapped by the USGS in 2005 and 2006, using a combination of 468-kHz (2005) and 117-kHz (2006) SEA (AP) Ltd. SWATHplus-M phase-differencing sidescan sonars. The nearshore bathymetry and coastal topography were mapped for USACE by Fugro Pelagos in 2009, using the SHOALS-1000T bathymetric-lidar and Leica ALS60 topographic-lidar systems. All these mapping missions combined to collect bathymetry from the 0-m isobath to beyond the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. A smooth arithmetic mean convolution function that assigns a weight of one-ninth to each cell in a 3-pixel by 3-pixel matrix was then applied iteratively to the grid ten times. Following smoothing, contour lines were generated at 10-m intervals, then the contours were clipped to the boundary of the map area. A map that shows these data is published in Scientific Investigations Map 3281, "California State Waters Map Series--Offshore of Santa Barbara, California." This layer is part of USGS Data Series 781. In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP) to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. CSMP has divided coastal California into 110 map blocks, each to be published individually as United States Geological Survey Open-File Reports (OFRs) or Scientific Investigations Maps (SIMs) at a scale of 1:24,000. Maps display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats and illustrate both the seafloor geology and shallow (to about 100 m) subsurface geology. Data layers for bathymetry, bathymetric contours, acoustic backscatter, seafloor character, potential benthic habitat and offshore geology were created for each map block, as well as regional-scale data layers for sediment thickness, depth to transition, transgressive contours, isopachs, predicted distributions of benthic macro-invertebrates and visual observations of benthic habitat from video cruises over the entire state. Part of the marine habitat mapping data for the California North Central Coast Mapping Project (NCCMP), this coverage can be used to to aid in assessments and mitigation of geologic hazards in the coastal region and to provide sufficient geologic information for land-use and land-management decisions both onshore and offshore. These data are intended for science researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public. This information is not intended for navigational purposes.The data can be used with geographic information systems (GIS) software to display geologic and oceanographic information. This layer is presented in the WGS84 coordinate system for web display purposes. Downloadable data are provided in native coordinate system or projection.