This data set is an LAZ (compressed LAS) format file containing LIDAR point cloud data. This data set is an LAZ (compressed LAS) format file containing LIDAR point cloud data. The data contained in these files contain hydrographic and topographic data collected by the CHARTS system along the Lake Michigan coast of Illinois from September 17 - September 26, 2008. These files contain topographic and bathymetric lidar data collected by the Compact Hydrographic Airborne Rapid Total Survey (CHARTS) system. CHARTS integrates topographic and bathymetric lidar sensors, a digital camera, and a hyperspectral scanner on a single remote sensing platform for use in coastal mapping and charting activities. Data coverage generally extends along the coastline from the waterline inland 500 meters (topography) and offshore 1,000 meters or to laser extinction (bathymetry). The topographic lidar sensor has a pulse repetition rate of 9 kHz at 1064 nm (near-infrared wavelength). The bathymetric lidar sensor has a pulse repetition rate of 1 kHz at 532 nm (green wavelength). Native lidar data is not generally in a format accessible to most Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Specialized in-house and commercial software packages are used to process the native lidar data into 3-dimensional positions that can be imported into GIS software for visualization and further analysis. The data were collected and provided in decimal degrees of latitude and longitude, referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). Vertical positions were referenced to the NAD83 ellipsoid and provided in meters. The National Geodetic Survey's (NGS) GEOID03 model was used to transform the vertical positions from ellipsoid to orthometric heights referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88). For data storage and provisioning purposes, the NOAA Office for Coastal Management converted the data from NAVD88 heights to ellipsoid heights using GEOID03. Additionally, the data were unclassified when received; NOAA OCM classified the topo data as 1 and the bathy data as 11. Upland bathy points (13) were reclassed to unclassified points (1). Original contact information: Contact Org: JALBTCX Title: Data Production Manager Phone: 228-252-1111 Email: shoals-info@sam.usace.army.mil This data set is an LAZ (compressed LAS) format file containing LIDAR point cloud data.