A corridor inventory assesses the distinct qualities of the region. The Scenic Byways program defines these "intrinsic qualities" as unique and irreplaceable features or resources that define the character, or essence, of the highway corridor. This inventory provides the basis for what the management strategies aim to preserve and protect.

The six intrinsic qualities are: Natural, Scenic, Historical, Archaeological, Cultural and Recreational. You may review the information being collected on these subjects by reviewing the Executive Summaries or to review the complete reports, see News & Reports.

For the Big Sur CHMP, a GIS database is being created to catalogue, organize and display the information collected for the inventory.

The following technical data collection and research is currently underway:

• Index of slope instabilities affecting the roadway (Caltrans)
• Characterization of landslides (California Division of Mines and Geology)
• Estimation of the historic volumes of landslide material entering the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (UC Santa Cruz and US Geological Survey)
• Evaluation of the conditions of culverts and drainages (Caltrans)

In the strictest sense, a GIS is a computer system capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information, i.e. data identified according to their locations. Practitioners also regard the total GIS as including operating personnel and the data that go into the system.

Source: http://www.usgs.gov/research/gis/title.html, accessed on May 9, 2001.