Study of the sea floor is not a new field but it is one in which there has been a concentration of effort and in which rapid advances have been made in recent years. One reason for this increased effort to learn more about the processes which go on under water is the advent of the "Aqua-Lung". Hereto-fore, practically all, investigations of the sea floor have been conducted by collecting bottom samples through the use of various devices such as corers and grab samplers. While this method has yielded much valuable information, it has been defective in that the sample may not represent the unseen bottom. Trask ( 1955) stated that, "the development of "Aqua-Lungs" is one of the greatest advances in the study of recent sediments that has come about in the last 15 years." He believes that it will revolutionize the study of sediments in shallow water, and the present writer agrees with him. Dill and Shumway (1954) and Menard, et. al. (1954) have presented reports of geological work done off the California coast by the use of the "Aqua-Lung." The process, consisting of using compressed air tanks strapped to the body to allow divers freely to descend to depths of over sixty meters has become familiar to large numbers of people since World War II. National Geographic Society has published interesting accounts of the explorations of Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau, co-in- 'Vent or of the "Aqua -Lung", and his associates. Because the available literature on the subject is considered to be adequate, the technical aspects of the "Aqua-Lung" will not be discussed here. The present project was outlined after it became apparent that large areas of the continental shelf around the Gulf of Mexico could be surveyed easily by the use of SCUBA, and that these areas had been largely neglected by other workers. Although several marine surveys have been conducted in the Gulf of Mexico they have been confined largely to the deeper waters offshore. General procedure has been to sample along traverses perpendicular to shore and at intervals of several miles so that only one sample would be taken in water of less than 31 meters. While Shepard (1956), Scruton (1956) and several others have published the results of recent marine sedimentation studies conducted in the shallow waters of the Gulf, they have worked primarily off the Texas and Louisiana coasts. Little has been done along the northwest coast of Florida. It was the purpose of this investigation to make a study of part of this shallow Gulf coast shelf by actual observation through the use of SCUBA equipment. An offshore grid was established and the bottom described and samples taken at each point. SCUBA technique freed the investigators, Lapp and Vause, to examine the bottom at each station, for as large an area as was necessary to determine the typical, character at that place. Sample locations were carefully selected to make sure that various bottom sediments were properly represented. The diving was done from a boat belonging to the Oceanographic Institute of Florida State University and a small boat which was supplied by the Florida State Board of Conservation. The field work was carried on from January until the middle of June, 1956, most of it being done in May and June when weather conditions were best. It is possible to conduct diving operations the year around in the northeastern Gulf. A rubber suit enables the diver to keep relatively comfortable even though the water temperature may be cold. Weather conditions in the winter and early spring are not favorable, however. Many days are lost due to strong winds which make small boat operation very difficult. One good point in favor of winter diving is the increased visibility. This seems to be due to less organic matter suspended in the water during the colder months.