GIS Specialist
Tara Anthony
she/her/hers
Contact:
1A Central Pattee Library
814-863-5753
Subjects: Campus: University Park, Maps
Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information
United States
The resources below include data and resources from US government agencies, non-profit, and other academic institutions based on the following themes: historical; political/demographic/administrative, natural sciences; social/health; transportation; general, other. This is not a comprehensive list; however, these sites have been seen as useful points of reference.
- State by State Geospatial Resources (Purdue University Guide)State by State listing of GIS resources
- Geoportal (Big 10 Academic Alliance)Search across selected geospatial resources of institutions in the Big Ten Academic Alliance
Historical
- National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS)The NHGIS contains aggregated census data and GIS boundary files for Census administrative areas between 1790 and 2011. Census tracts were initially only used to break down larger cities and over time were used for the entire United States. Census tracts are meant to contain on average about 4,000 residents and therefore their boundaries change over time.
- Atlas of Historical County Boundaries from the Newberry LibraryThis site is unique in that it contains county boundary changes over time. The principal sources for these data are the most authoritative available: the session laws of the colonies, territories, and states that created and changed the counties.
- National Archives CatalogThis site enables the user to search for geospatial data deposited into the archive. Helpful keywords include: geospatial, agency name related to data interested
- Digital Cartographic Data Holdings in the National ArchivesElectronic records reference report
- Digital Geospatial Data RecordsGuidance on the file formats that may be used by agencies when they transfer permanent electronic records to NARA
- AAG Historical GIS Clearinghouse and ForumProvides information on new GeoHumanities Journal (September 2015), Provides access to the AAG Historical GIS Forum (available to AAG members and non-members) to discuss research needs and network
General (Multiple Thematic Areas)
- Geo.Data.govThe U.S. Government’s open data, which brings together access, search, and browse across U.S. government agencies
- Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)The Federal Geographic Data Committee is an “interagency committee that promotes the coordinated development, use, sharing, and dissemination of geospatial data on a national basis.”
- National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)Provides information at the national level regarding sharing data with users
- GeoplatformPlatform to increase access to geospatial data across various levels of government and the private sector
- Geospatial Data PreservationSite includes resources and materials around geospatial data preservation, which are indexed by subject
Non-Government Sources (Multiple Thematic Areas)
- Stanford EarthworksEnable to user to search the Stanford University Libraries’ catalog; however, not all content may be publicly available. Publicly available content will include an unlocked icon and direct the user to the appropriate holder of the content.
- Harvard WorldMapOpen Source web mapping system, which enables users to create maps, discover data used in other maps, and access data created by researchers
Political/Demographic/Administrative
- United States Census Bureau TIGER ProductsIncludes links to TIGER/Line shapefiles, geodatabases, TIGER/Line with selected demographic and economic data, cartographic boundary shapefiles, KML-cartographic boundary files, and TIGERweb.
- Census Data (was American FactFinder)provides access to data about the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas. It contains data from a broad range of surveys and censuses from the United States.
- US Census, Geography, Maps and DataIncludes links to the Census Data Mapper, TiGER Products, Census Geocoder, Partnership Shapefiles, Statistical Data Tools, and more
Non-Profit Organizations
- NatureServe: Data, Maps & ToolsMultiple environmental and ecosystem-based data sources and tools for users to explore
U.S. Geological Survey
- National Map ViewerThe National Map Viewer provides access to all eight primary data themes of The National Map including orthoimagery, elevation, geographic names, hydrography, boundaries, transportation, structures, and land cover.
- 3D Elevation Program (3DEP)The 3D Elevation program is aimed at developing elevation data in the form of light detection and ranging data (lidar) for the whole United States. This site provides links to other resources and documentation regarding elevation models and links to the download of elevation data from the National Map.
- National map small scaleProvides resources to access small-scale maps through the USGS
- USGS GAP AnalysisThe USGS Gap Analysis Program provides data on land cover, protected areas, species, and aquatics.
- USGS National Hydrography DataThe National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is available via an interactive viewer, pre-staged subregions, data extraction by state, and by data extraction of only the stream gauges and dams
- The National Geologic Map Database:Includes links to downloadable resources across geoscience
- GeonamesSearch the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) for standard geographic nomenclature
- USGS Water Data for the NationProvides link the National Water Information System: Mapper with search options available for surface water sites, groundwater sites, springs, atmospheric sites, and other sites.
- USGS Water ResourcesThis site provides a gateway to water resources information, publication, and data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
- USDA Web Soil SurveyThe Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides the user with access to USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) soil maps and data through Soil Data Explorer interface.
- USDA Geospatial Data GatewayThe USDA Geospatial Data Gateway of the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service enables the user to download data per US county for the following themes: cadastral, Census, climate precipitation, climate PrismRaster, climate temperature, easements, elevation, elevation derivatives, geographic names, government units, hydrologic units, land use land cover, map indexes, ortho imagery, map indexes, ortho NAIP, soils, topographic images, and transportation.
- CropScape - Cropland Data LayerProvides the user with an interactive interface to select cropland data layers from 1997 to 2014.
- U.S. Forest Service Geodata ClearinghouseThe USDA Forest Service provides access to data related to forests, grasslands, boundaries, ownership, natural resources, roads and tails, insect and disease threat of forests. Data is accessible through downloads, data extract tools, and map services.
- SSURGO Data DownloaderInteractive site to search for location of interest and download map packages of soil data
U.S Department of Education
- School District Demographic System, Map ViewerProvides the user to search across states, districts, and show demographics. Data is able to be downloaded in shapefile format
- School District Boundaries, Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE):This site provides access to school districts based on Census geography years up until 2018.
- MapED Story MapsMapED is developed by the NCES Census Mapping Program to provide an interactive experience through story maps and data maps around themes of assessment, demographics, economics, employment, housing, and social indicators.
- College MapSearch for colleges based on desired major and location with abilities to view results by additional characteristics, such as degree, tuition, and more.
- School and District NavigatorView information on districts and schools, along with related characteristics (Common Core of Data), including school details and enrollment
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- National Cancer Institute, Geographic Information Systems and Science websiteThe Geographic Information Systems and Science website provides resources for the public and cancer researchers through access to the NCI GIS Portal (an interactive web-based mapping tools and services), GIS research and tools and data to assist in analysis.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Digital Coast: vector shoreline dataThe Digital Coast Data registry provides access to data of the following types: benthic, birds, corals, demographic, economic, elevation, federal regulations, hazards and climate, imagery, land cover, marine habitat, marine mammals, ocean uses, physical and oceanographic, and weather. Access to datasets are through download and map service options.
- NOAA Shoreline Data ExplorerEnables the user to search shoreline data and download in vector format.
National Park Service
- Data ClearinghouseNational Park Service Data Clearinghouse provides user with link to the Integrated Resource Management Application to search for data, related links on metadata, and GIS.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Flood Hazard LayerThe National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) is available via the FEMA GeoPortal, available via a KMZ file, GIS web services, and from the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. The NFHL contains flood mapping data from FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- HUD User Geospatial Data ResourcesProvides information on the HUD Program Interactive Mapping Applications, HUD Geospatial Data and Map Services, HUD’s Map Gallery, and Other GIS services. Files area available in: GeoServices Representational State Transfer (REST), OpenGIS Web Map Service Interface Standard (WMS), and Keyhole Markup Language (KML) formats.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Branch of Geospatial SupportProvides resources for the management and support of geospatial resources of Indian lands
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: National Wetlands InventoryIncludes links to the Wetlands Mapper, Wetland Codes, Wetlands Data KML, Data Downloaded via the Wetlands Mapper or by state are available in geodatabase or shapefile format
- US Fish & Wildlife Maps CollectionIncludes map resources
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
- Bureau of Ocean Energy ManagementContains mapping data from sources: MarineCadastre.gov; GIS Data/shapefiles for BOEM offshore block grids, boundaries, active leases, pipeline, and more for the Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific, and Alaska
National Weather Service
- National Weather Service, National Weather Service GIS Data PortalProvides access to data in KML (Keyhole Markup Language), Shapefile, and Webs services, and geolocated images
Defense
- Army Geospatial CenterContains information about the Army Geospatial Center, along with information on ordering data products
- Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data (HIFLD)Geospatial data to support community-preparedness at a national level, which is available in csv, kml, shapefile, and webs services
U.S. Department of Transportation
- National Transportation DatabaseIncludes links to the online databases for 2011-2015, with information to the DVD only years (NTAD 2008-2010), Data available online is in zip format.
- Geospatial at the Bureau of Transportationopen data available from the US Bureau of Transportation
- Federal Highway AdministrationIncludes links to data resources from the Federal Highway Administration including: Binational Transportation Planning and Program Process, Census Transportation Planning Package, National Bridge Inventory, and National Highway Planning Network. This site also includes information to access related government agency GIS sites.
- NOAA, Reusable Climate Maps and GIS Data LocatorView climate snap shots and applications related to radar, climate indices, daily summaries, monthly summaries, and U.S. Normals data
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Geospatial Resources at EPAInformation on applications, data, and resources from the EPA
U.S. Energy Information Administration
- U.S. Energy Information Administration MapsIncludes overview resources, coal, electricity, nuclear, oil and natural gas, and renewable resources
- U.S. Energy AtlasIncludes maps and data, such as Energy Infrastructure and Resources Maps, and Energy Distribution Maps
- Energy Infrastructure and Resources MapsHub site with options to explore topics of electricity, natural gas, petroleum, solar, wind, coal, tight oil and shale gas plays, fossil fuels, hydroelectric, biomass, and geothermal maps
- All Energy Infrastructure and ResourcesInteractive map with energy layers a user can interact with by turning on and off layers