GIS Specialist
Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information
Select Regional Sources
- Inspire Geoportal (European Union)The INSPIRE geoportal enables search of spatial data and services, with subject to access restrictions.
- EuroGeographics Open DataOpen data available for Europe at 1: 1 million scale, including administrative boundaries, water networks, transportation, developments, and place names.
- European Union Open Data PortalOpen data is searchable by keyword and theme, covering environmental variables of interest or more.
- European Environment Agency, Data and MapsIncludes searchable data products, maps, interactive maps, and downloadable datasets
- Corine Land Cover 2006Raster land cover data for Europe
- Ancient World Mapping CenterInterdisciplinary research center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill focuses on ancient studies, including mapping.
- MPIDR Population History GIS CollectionIncludes historic administrative boundaries of select European locations.
- Government of Canada, Open Data, Open MapsThis site provides geospatial data for Canada with the ability to search for layers and download.
- AfricaMapRepresents multiple layers for Africa with source information
- USGS FEWS NET Data PortalDrought monitoring, data, and map application viewers for select international regions
Historical Boundaries of India 1951-2011 Infomap Data
World
- AidDataProvides open data for international development, in which the user is able to search for applications of policy analysis, international development, and resource management needs.
- Maxar Open DataMaxar open data for disaster response
- Diva-GIS: Download Data by CountryData by country available, such as administrative boundaries, roads, railroads, and land cover
- EarthExplorerContains a phenomenal amount of land use data collection by the United State Geological Survey worldwide.
- Esri, ArcGIS Living Atlas of the WorldExplore layers, maps, and applications that are part of the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World
- FAO GeoNetworkThe Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) GeoNetwork provides Internet access to interactive maps, satellite imagery, and related spatial databases maintained by FAO and its partners.
- GADM (database of global administrative areas)Administrative areas in this database are countries and lower level subdivisions. GADM describes where these administrative areas are (the "spatial features"), and for each area it provides some attributes, such as the name and variant names.
- GeoFrabrikSite enables the download of openstreetmap data
- GEO PortalThe GEO portal is a gateway to global Earth Observation data, information, and services developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).
- Humanitarian Data ExchangeSearchable for international locations and multiple file formats
- International Open Data SiteThis site includes links to international open data government sites, which often includes maps and geospatial data.
- Natural Earth DataFree vector and raster files. Include: cultural vectors such as administrative boundaries (countries), as well as physical vectors. Raster files include: shaded relief, bathymetry (ocean-depth), and natural earth. Public domain map dataset available at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110 million scales.
- USAID Spatial Data RepositorySelect Data from The Demographic and Health Surveys and the U.S. Census for single countries, multiple countries, and all countries in GIS format
- World Resources InstituteIncludes a searchable repository of international-themed datasets
- Global Elevation ModelsInformation on global elevation models
- USGS Elevation ProductsUSGS links on elevation products
- Historical National Boundaries (University of Minnesota)Historical national boundaries for key years in history, including 1800, 1914, 1918, 1939, 1945, 1970, 1990, and 2000.
- Here maps student dataSample data for educational use
- Open TopographyUsers are able to register with a .edu email address for access to elevation products, included USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) products.
- Open Sea MapDownload nautical data to use with supported applications.
World: LandScan (World Population)
The LandScan Program was initiated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in 1997 to address the need for improved estimates of population for consequence assessment. For example, natural and manmade disasters across the globe place vast populations at risk, often with little or no advance warning. This motivated the need for a more realistic population distribution that could capture where people are likely to be throughout the course of a day, not just residential locations as are reported in official censuses. Further, it was critical to develop highly resolved estimates so that they were useful to evaluate to events across multiple geographic scales. This initial effort is what is known as LandScan Global and has been updated annually since the first version in 1998.
This data should not be used for year to year comparison of population.
East View Geospatial has done some repackaging of the data to create a GIS Web Service Connection that you can plug directly into your GIS software without having to download.
To connect to the server, in your GIS software, add the WMS link , where <year> is the year you want to link
http://wms.cartographic.com/gws/services/LandScan<year>/dataset/mapserver/wmsserver?
For example
http://wms.cartographic.com/gws/services/LandScan2001/dataset/mapserver/wmsserver?
- East View Geospatial LandScan Global ArchiveIncludes link to online archive to download desired countries and geographic extents
- LandScan Global2011-2017 DVD plus links to download 2010-2012 worldwide coverage. For more coverage, see above link.
- LandScan Frequently asked questions (EastView page)Provides additional responses to common questions on LandScan
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), LandScan DocumentationIncludes viewer for the LandScan population data product and download options
- LandScan High Definition (HD) Data for Russia (Gridded Population Estimates)Download free Russia LandScan population estimates (~100m) resolution
- LandScan High Definition (HD) Data for Ukraine (Gridded Population Estimates)Download free Russia LandScan population estimates (~100m) resolution
World: Digital Chart of the World and VMap data
The Penn State University Libraries no longer maintains Digital Chart of the World (DCW); however, an archived version and alternate alternative products are available below.
The Digital Chart of the World is a comprehensive 1:1,000,000 scale vector basemap of the world, which was originally created from U.S. Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) data of aeronautical charts. Thematic layers include roads, populated places, land cover, and vegetation.
- Digital Chart of the World DataThis link provides a compressed (.zip) folder of Digital Chart of the World (dcw) data organized by country. Uncompress directory to use with software.
- About the Digital Chart of the World Data DocumentationArchived pages of the Digital Chart of the World website are accessible via the Wayback machine (https://web.archive.org) using the site search for: www.maproom.psu.edu/dcw A pdf of the About page is available from this link.
- VMap backgroundBackground on VMap1, VMap2, and VMap2
- VMap0 DownloadDownload of VMap0 data in shapefile format.
- VMap1 DownloadBackground and download options for VMap1
Alternative sources of vector geospatial data
- Open Street MapSite includes multiple ways to download Open Street Map data as shapefiles, access via services, and additional conversion tools