Contact

Due to unique U.S. federal government information dissemination policy, GIS users & researchers have access to much geospatial information in the U.S. Many of the U.S. governmental agencies produce geospatial data and make them accessible via portals and their own websites. = a good place to start.

General

ESRI Data & Maps (2001-2007)
The leading GIS company, ESRI, publishes comprehensive & global geospatial datasets, called ESRI Data & Maps (later, called Media Kit). The series consists of CDs and DVDs.
Access Constraints: Licensed data - NU Member Only. Ask the Map Librarian (email: c-maene) for more information about data access.

US GOS: Geospatial One Stop (a.k.a. geodata.gov)
http://www.geodata.gov/
Geodata.gov is a geographic information system (GIS) portal, also known as the Geospatial One-Stop (GOS), that serves as a public gateway for improving access to geospatial information and data under the Geospatial One-Stop E-Government initiative. Not all data files are available for downloading.

National Atlas: Raw Data Download
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html
Nationalatlas.gov™ provides a comprehensive, maplike view into the enormous wealth of geospatial and geostatistical data collected for the United States. Nearly all data available in the National Atlas Map Maker can be downloaded at no cost.

USDA: NRCS: Geospatial Data Gateway
http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/
The Geospatial Data Gateway or Geo-Data Gateway provides easy and consistent access to natural resource data. Users can search for available data by geographic area or by theme, and also view and download the data via FTP, or by ordering data media, such as CD.

Seamless Data Distribution System
http://seamless.usgs.gov/
The Seamless Data Distribution System (SDDS) is the ultimate location to explore and retrieve data. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the EROS Data Center (EDC) are committed to providing access to geospatial data through The National Map.

USGS Geography: The National Map
http://nationalmap.gov/
The National Map is a consistent framework for geographic knowledge needed by the Nation. It provides public access to high-quality, geospatial data and information from multiple partners to help support decisionmaking by resource managers and the public. Much data can be downloaded from the viewer - help file is available from here: http://nationalmap.gov/nmjump.html#download

Berkely/Penn Urban & Environmental Modeler's Dataset
http://dcrp.ced.berkeley.edu/research/footprint/index.php
This website offers a comprehensive & seamless nationwide GIS dataset describing many of the physical, administrative, transportation, demographic, economic, land use and land cover, and environmental characteristics of the 48 contiguous United States.

webGIS GIS data
http://www.webgis.com/
This site provides GIS data. Data includes digital terrain data for the U.S. and worldwide, land use and land cover (LULC) data for the U.S., and digital line (DLG) data for the U.S.. Data is provided in .shp format, vector, and other formats.

Aerial Photograph & Orthoimagery ^ back to top

Historic Aerials
http://www.historicaerials.com/
View aerial photography from the 1930s through today. The site provides free online access to historic and current aerial photography.!

Seamless Data Distribution System
http://seamless.usgs.gov/
The Seamless Data Distribution System (SDDS) is the ultimate location to explore and retrieve data. Download DOQ, DOQQ, NAIP & Urban High Resolution orthoimagery data from this site.

USGS Geography: The National Map
http://nationalmap.gov/
The National Map provides public access to high-quality, geospatial data and information from multiple partners to help support decisionmaking by resource managers and the public. Datasets available are almost identical to those of Seamless Data Distribution System.

USDA: NRCS: Geospatial Data Gateway
http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/
The Geospatial Data Gateway or Geo-Data Gateway provides easy and consistent access to natural resource data, including a variety of raster data, including aerial photographs (DOQ mosaic & historical NAIPs).

USGS: EarthExplorer
http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/EarthExplorer/
EarthExplorer is USGS tool for querying and ordering satellite images, aerial photographs, and cartographic products (DLG, DRG, National Atlas products). Registered users have access to more features than guests do. Not all, but some datasets are available for free download.

Agriculture ^ back to top

ERS Mapping and Spatial Data Center
http://maps.ers.usda.gov/
Spatial data and maps bring geographic analytical capabilities to the ERS program areas, and display data in a spatial perspective.

National Agricultural Statistics Service - Charts & Maps
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Charts_and_Maps/
Data sets from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Vist also it's Research & Development division website.

USDA: NRCS: Geospatial Data Gateway
http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/
The Geospatial Data Gateway or Geo-Data Gateway provides easy and consistent access to natural resource data, including a variety of raster data, including aerial photographs (DOQ mosaic & historical NAPPs).

Census & Demographics ^ back to top

ESRI Data & Maps (2001-2007)
The leading GIS company, ESRI, publishes comprehensive & global geospatial datasets, called ESRI Data & Maps (later, called Media Kit). The series consists of CDs and DVDs. We archive all the editions published since 1999.
Access Constraints: Licensed data - NU Member Only. Ask the Map Librarian (email: c-maene) for more information about data access.

Geolytics CensusCD series (1970-2000)
We collects and archive a variety of Census CD series by Geolytics, including CensusCD 1970, 1980, 1990 & 2000. Data extraction (both data tables and shapefiles) is easy with simple steps.
Access Constraints: NU Member Only - CDs are available at the GovInfo reference desk. (No circulation!)

New! U.S. Census: 2007 TIGER/Line® Shapefiles
http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/geo/shapefiles/national-files
The TIGER/Line Shapefiles are extracts containing selected geographic and cartographic information from the Census Bureau's MAF/TIGER® database. Users can also download multiple 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles at a time via this FTP site.

U.S. Census: Cartographic Boundary Files
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/
The boundary files available from this website are selected generalized extracts from the Census Bureau's TIGER geographic database and are designed for use in GIS or similar mapping system.

ESRI Census Watch
http://www.censuswatch.com/
Find information about census-related data sources. TIGER base line data, streets & railroads, and also detailed boundary files, blocks, (not available from the US Census boundary files site above) are available from here.

National Atlas: Raw Data Download
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html
Nationalatlas.gov™ provides a comprehensive, maplike view into the enormous wealth of geospatial and geostatistical data collected for the United States. Check under "Boundaries" & "People" for census related resources.

NHGIS: National Historical Geographic Information Systems
http://www.nhgis.org/
Download historical census data & tract boundary files. The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) is a project to create and freely disseminate a database incorporating all available aggregate census information for the United States between 1790 and 2000.

CIESIN: Archive of Census Related Products (ARCP)
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/plue/cenguide.html
The archive is a collection of georeferenced data files containing census information. Some 1980 Census boundary files (including blocks) are available from here in BNA format.

CIESIN: Census Grids
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/usgrid/
The U.S. Census Grids provide raster data sets that include not only population and housing counts, but a wide variety of socioeconomic characteristics. These gridded data sets transform irregularly shaped census block and block group boundaries into a regular surface � a raster grid � for faster and easier analysis.

HUD: Census Special Tabulation Geographies
http://www.huduser.org/geo/summarylevel.asp
The boundary files available from this site are for community planners interested in working with census tract & block group data that splits by jurisdiction boundaries.

Climate ^ back to top

NOAA National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html
NCDC made some data available for free downloading - check under "Free Data". Free items are indicated by FREE in the item descriptions. Click on titles that you want to download. Typically, you will get climate data and a corresponding stations table with latitude and longitude.

NOAA NCDC Geodata Portal
http://gis.ncdc.noaa.gov/Portal/ptk
Get connected with the NCDC GIS web map services and download (export) the data to shapefiles.

National Atlas: Raw Data Download
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html
Nationalatlas.gov™ also provides basic climate datasets.

Coastal & Nautical Charts ^ back to top

Digital Nautical Chart
http://www.nga.mil/portal/site/dnc/
Digital Nautical Chart® is an unclassified, vector-based (VPF format), digital database designed to support marine navigation and GIS applications, and is divided into 4 scales: General, Coastal, Approach, and Harbor. Feature coverages included are: culture, earth cover, environment, hydrography, inland waterways, landcover, limits, navigation aids, obstructions, ports and relief. Access to the dataset is limited. (Note: this dataset is not easy to use in GIS and thus probably for advanced GIS users.)

NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP)
http://www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/lca/ccap.html
The NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) is a nationally standardized database of land cover and change information, developed using remotely sensed imagery, for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP land cover products inventory coastal intertidal areas, wetlands, and adjacent uplands with the goal of monitoring changes in these habitats, on a one-to-five year cycle.

NOAA ENC (Electronic Navigational Chart) Direct to GIS
http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/csdl/ctp/encdirect_new.htm
NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) have been developed to support safe navigation in U.S. waters and are available for free download at NOAA ENC. The NOAA ENCs are in International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) S-57 format, which is the data standard developed by the IHO to be used for the exchange of digital hydrographic data.

NOAA's National Ocean Service: NOS Data Explorer
http://www.oceanservice.noaa.gov/dataexplorer/
welcome.html
The NOS Data Explorer serves as a portal to obtain NOS spatial data. Data Explorer offers interactive mapping tools that allow users to locate NOS products in any area in the United States and its territories through a metadata catalog.

Communications ^ back to top

FCC: Wireless Geographic Information Systems
http://wireless.fcc.gov/geographic/
This website gives you the tools to create, view, query and print customized maps showing FCC licensing data, regulated towers and market area boundaries.

FCC: Office of Engineering & Technology, GIS Programs
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/info/maps/programs/
Another FCC's GIS site by the Office of Engineering & Technology. See also its main map site.

Disaster ^ back to top

FEMA: Mapping and Analysis Center (MAC)
http://www.gismaps.fema.gov/
The MAC provides national level GIS support and coordination to the agency. Check also FEMA's other GIS mapping projects, such as: Flood Hazard Mapping.

FEMA HAZUS-MH
http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/hazus/
HAZUS-MH is a powerful risk assessment software program (and data) for analyzing potential losses from floods, hurricane winds and earthquakes.
Access Constraints: We have verstion MR3 (September 2007) Ask the Map Librarian (email: c-maene) for more information about data access.

Ecoregions ^ back to top

2007 Ecomap by USDA Forest Service
http://svinetfc4.fs.fed.us/research/section/index.html
The 2007 Section and Subsection ecological region map, Ecomap, is the USDA Forest Service official inventory of ecological units at the subregional scale and refine our inventory at the regional scale.

National Atlas: Raw Data Download
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html
Nationalatlas.gov™ also provides generalized ecoregion datasets (Bailey & Omernik)- look under "Biology" category.

Education ^ back to top

NCES: National Center for Education Statistics
http://nces.ed.gov/
Though this site does not offer data in ready-to-use GIS formats, locations and statistics of schools, colleges and libraries are available from this website. Obtain data in a numeric data table format and then geocode adresses/locations to use the data in GIS.

Election ^ back to top

2000 Presidential Election: Data by County
http://spatialnews.geocomm.com/features/election2000/
Once freely available 2000 county level election result data is no longer available from NationalAtlast.gov. Here is one source that still distributes the county level data.

2004 Presidential Election: Data by County: Geovisualization of the 2004 Presidential Election
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/a/c/acr181/election.html
Finding freely available 2004 county level election result data is even more difficult than 2000 data as the author of this website says. Thanks to the author, ready-to-use GIS data file is now available from this site.

CQ Voting and Election Collection
http://turing.library.northwestern.edu/login?url=
http://library.cqpress.com/elections/
[Note: data tables only - need to be joined with boundary files] Download complete data for historical elections: President, House, Senate & Governor - click on Export/Download on the left on the homepage to select data.
Access Constraints: NU Member Only

Elevation ^ back to top

Seamless Data Distribution System
http://seamless.usgs.gov/
The Seamless Data Distribution System (SDDS) is the ultimate location to explore and retrieve data. Download 30m (1 arc), 10m (1/3 arc)and 3m (1/9 arc) resolution National Election Dataset (NED = digital elevation model, DEM) data from this site.

USGS Geography: The National Map
http://nationalmap.gov/
The National Map provides public access to high-quality, geospatial data and information from multiple partners to help support decisionmaking by resource managers and the public.

USGS: Geographic Data Download
http://edc2.usgs.gov/geodata/
USGS geographic data download guide. Included are DEM, NED, DLG, LULC, NHD, GTOPO30 & HYDRO1K.

Employment & Jobs ^ back to top

US Census: Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD)
http://lehd.did.census.gov/led/
LEHD is a program that produces longitudinal local employment data. The employment data was computed by combining federal and state administrative data (such as ES-202) on employers and employees with core Census Bureau censuses and surveys. Data can be available as small as block level. (Tables, not in a spatial data format - spatial boundary files are available from the Census site.)

US BTS: Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP)
http://www.transtats.bts.gov/DataIndex.asp
Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP) is a collection of special summary tables that have been generated from the 1990 & 2000 decennial censuses. Use Part 2 data to obtain job/employment counts. Data is available at minimum TAZ/Tract/BG - depends on years and metropolitan regions. (Tables, not in a spatial data format - spatial boundary files are available from the Census site.)

Energy ^ back to top

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): Dynamic Maps, GIS Data & Analysis Tools
http://www.nrel.gov/gis/data_analysis.html
This site provides dynamically-generated maps of renewable energy resources and access to FTP site where users can download data & geospatial toolkits.

USGS Energy Resources Program: National Oild & Gas Assessment National GIS Data
http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/oilgas/noga/data.html
Downloadable spatial and tabular datasets are available for basins in the U.S. Includes priority basin assessment as well as national assessment from 1995. Visit also this page for more information available from USGS ERP.

Environment ^ back to top

EPA: Geospatial Data Access Project
http://www.epa.gov/enviro/geo_data.html
The EPA Geospatial Data Access Project provides a downloadable XML file, shapefile and Feature Class of these facilities or sites. Within the file is key facility information, along with associated environmental interests for use in mapping and reporting applications.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Wetlands Geodatabase
http://wetlandsfws.er.usgs.gov/NWI/
The US FWS is the principal Federal agency that provides information to the public on the extent and status of the Nation's wetlands, including the National Wetlands Inventory.

Geocoding Tools ^ back to top

ESRI Data & Maps - StreetMap
ESRI StreetMap provide routing, geocoding and high-quality cartographic display for the entire U.S.
Access Constraints: Licensed data - NU Member Only. Ask the Map Librarian (email: c-maene) for more information about data access.

University of Southern California : List of Other Geocoders
https://webgis.usc.edu/Services/Geocode/GeocoderList.aspx
The USC developed a free geocoding tool, USC Geocoder (for non-commercial use only, I believe), with a variety of functions and interfaces (online service, API & desktop application.) The USC researchers also compiled this really nice list of other available geocoding tools. Try many and find your favorite - be sure to check the quality of the results!

Geology & Soils ^ back to top

USGS: Mineral Resources On-Line Spatial Data
http://mrdata.usgs.gov/
A source for regional and global Geology, Geochemistry, Geophysics, and Mineral Resource maps and data

USDA-NRCS: Soil Data Mart
http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/
The Soil Data Mart allows a usre to download Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO) & U.S. General Soil Map (STATSGO) in a variety of formats.

USDA: NRCS: Geospatial Data Gateway
http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/
The Geospatial Data Gateway or Geo-Data Gateway provides easy and consistent access to natural resource data, including a variety of raster data, including aerial photographs (DOQ mosaic & historical NAIPs).

Great Basin GIS Spatial Data
http://www.unr.edu/geothermal/datalist.html
This site provides a wide range of GIS data for the Great Basin area covering parts of California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Oregon. Datasets include outlines, wilderness study areas, geothermal data, fault lines, and more.

History ^ back to top

Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
http://www.newberry.org/ahcbp/index.html
The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries is a project designed to provide information about the creation and boundary changes of every county in the United States, from 1600s to 2000.

NHGIS: National Historical Geographic Information Systems
http://www.nhgis.org/
Download historical census data & tract boundary files. The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) is a project to create and freely disseminate a database incorporating all available aggregate census information for the United States between 1790 and 2000.

Housing ^ back to top

Geolytics CensusCD series (1970-2000)
We collects and archive a variety of Census CD series by Geolytics, including CensusCD 1970, 1980, 1990 & 2000. Data extraction (both data tables and shapefiles) is easy with simple steps.
Access Constraints: NU Member Only - CDs are available at the GovInfo reference desk. (No circulation!)

HUD USER: GIS Data Sets
http://www.huduser.org/datasets/gis.html
Links to various GIS related datasets created by HUD. For example, Enterprise GIS (EGIS) lets users map & download HUD's community datasets - note: not easy to use..

Hydrography ^ back to top

USGS: National Hydrography Dataset (NHD)
http://nhd.usgs.gov/
NHD is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that contains information about surface water features such as laks, ponds, streams, rivers, springs and wells.

USDA: NRCS: Geospatial Data Gateway
http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/
The Geospatial Data Gateway or Geo-Data Gateway provides easy and consistent access to natural resource data, including a variety of raster data, including detailed hydrography datasets.

Water Resources Maps and GIS Information
http://water.usgs.gov/maps.html
USGS Water-Resources offices provide water information that benefits the Nation's citizens: Publications, data, maps, and applications software. Lists of water GIS datasets are available from this site.

USGS: Geographic Data Download
http://edc2.usgs.gov/geodata/
USGS geographic data download guide. Included are DEM, NED, DLG, LULC, NHD, GTOPO30 & HYDRO1K.

Landuse & Landcover ^ back to top

Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium
http://www.mrlc.gov/
The Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium is specifically designed to meet the current needs of Federal agencies for nationally consistent satellite remote sensing and land-cover data and also provides imagery and land cover data as public domain information, all of which can be accessed through this website.

Enhanced Historical Land-Use and Land-Cover Data Sets of the U.S. Geological Survey
http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/240/ (Description)
http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/dsdl/ds240/index.html (Downloads)
This data set depicts land use and land cover from the 1970s and 1980s and has been previously published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in other file formats...

Seamless Data Distribution System
http://seamless.usgs.gov/
The Seamless Data Distribution System (SDDS) is the ultimate location to explore and retrieve data. Download MODIS & NLCD from this site.

USGS Geography: The National Map
http://nationalmap.gov/
The National Map provides public access to high-quality, geospatial data and information from multiple partners to help support decisionmaking by resource managers and the public. Datasets available are almost identical to those of Seamless Data Distribution System.

USGS: Geographic Data Download
http://edc2.usgs.gov/geodata/
USGS geographic data download guide. Included are DEM, NED, DLG, LULC, NHD, GTOPO30 & HYDRO1K.

Public Health ^ back to top

CDC: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/maps/gis_data.htm
Download the historical (2002-recent) BRFSS GIS maps data for analysis. The zip files contain BRFSSdata that is mapped for both the states and metropolitan/micropolitan statistical areas (MMSAs).

CDC: GATHER Map Server
http://gis.cdc.gov/
GATHER (Geospatial Analysis Technology for Health and Environmental Research) is the system for GIS support of public health activities at CDC. GATHER currently supports WONDER, an internet GIS application that provides a single point of access to a wide variety of reports and numeric public health data.

CDC: Epi Info: Resources for Creating Public Health Maps
http://www.cdc.gov/epiinfo/maps.htm
(Note: this page may contain out-dated information) Mapping resource website for Epi Info, a GIS for epidemiologists and public health professionals, users.

HRSA: Geospatial Data Warehouse
http://datawarehouse.hrsa.gov/
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services's health service related geospatial data download site.

Satellite Imagery ^ back to top

AmericanView
http://www.americaview.org/
AmericaView (AV) is a nationwide program that focuses on satellite remote sensing data and technologies in support of applied research, K-16 education, workforce development, and technology transfer.

Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF)
http://esip.umiacs.umd.edu/
The GLCF is a center for land cover science with a focus on research using remotely sensed satellite data and products to assess land cover change for local to global systems.

NASA GeoCover
https://zulu.ssc.nasa.gov/mrsid/
The GeoCover provides access to (circa) 1990 and 2000 Landsat Imagery in the MrSID format.

USGS: Data Pool at LP DAAC
http://lpdaac.usgs.gov/datapool/datapool.asp
The Data Pool is an online archive that provides, without a charge, FTP access to selected LP DAAC (Land Processes Distributed Active Archive) data products (ASTER & MODIS).

USGS: EarthExplorer
http://edcsns17.cr.usgs.gov/EarthExplorer/
EarthExplorer is USGS tool for querying and ordering satellite images, aerial photographs, and cartographic products (DLG, DRG, National Atlas products). Registered users have access to more features than guests do. Not all, but some datasets are available for free download.

USGS: Global Visualization Viewer (GLOVIS)
https://glovis.usgs.gov/
Good to find and view various sypes of satellite imagery available - download imagery for a fee (not free).

Transportation ^ back to top

ESRI Data & Maps - StreetMap
ESRI StreetMap provide routing, geocoding and high-quality cartographic display for the entire U.S.
Access Constraints: Licensed data - NU Member Only. Ask the Map Librarian (email: c-maene) for more information about data access.

BTS: National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD)
http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_atlas_database/
_database/
NTAD is a set of nationwide geographic databases of transportation facilities, transportation networks, and associated infrastructure. We also have this dataset on CD/DVDs (2000-2008).

Last updated: April 13, 2009