This part of DS 781 presents bathymetric contours for several seafloor maps of the Offshore of Monterey map area, California. This metadata file refers to the data included in "Contours_OffshoreMonterey.zip," which is accessible from https://doi.org/10.5066/F70Z71C8. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Johnson, S.Y., Dartnell, P., Hartwell, S.R., Cochrane, G.R., Golden, N.E., Watt, J.T., Davenport, C.W., Kvitek, R.G., Erdey, M.D., Krigsman, L.M., Sliter, R.W., and Maier, K.L. (S.Y. Johnson and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2016, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Monterey, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2016–1110, pamphlet 44 p., 10 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161110. Bathymetric contours of the Offshore of Monterey map area, California, were generated from bathymetry data collected by California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) and by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), as well as from bathymetric lidar data collected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Center of Expertise (JALBTCX). Mapping was completed between 1998 and 2012 using a combination of 30-kHz Simrad EM-300 and 200-kHz/400-kHz Reson 7125 multibeam echosounders, as well as 234-kHz and 468-kHz SEA SWATHplus bathymetric sidescan-sonar systems. Bathymetric lidar mapping was completed between 2009 and 2010 for the California Coastal Mapping Project (CCMP). The mapping missions collected bathymetry data from about the 10-m isobath to beyond the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. Bathymetric contours were generated separately from the modified 2-m and 5-m bathymetric surfaces then merged to one final contour dataset. 10-m intervals were generated in water depths shallower than 100 m, at 50-m intervals from 100 to 200 m, and at 200-m intervals in water depths deeper than 200 m. The original surface was smoothed using the Focal Mean tool in ArcGIS and a circular neighborhood with a radius of 20 to 30 m (depending on the area). The contours were generated from this smoothed surface using the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst Contour tool. The most continuous contour segments were preserved; smaller segments and isolated island polygons were excluded from the final output.