Map and Geographic Information Sources for Collaboration

There is an enormous amount of free and high-quality geographic information available to anyone with an internet connection. This Story Map will examine a few of these, including the USGS National Map; state and local geographic information clearinghouses; and other publicly accessible sources such as Google Maps and ESRI’s Living Atlas of the World. Specifically, we will look at:

• Collections of topographic and other maps that easily downloaded and used for your projects.

• Interactive, online web maps that may be useful for understanding your communities and landscapes.

• Sources of downloadable geographic data that can me examined into geographic viewers such as Google Maps™ or professional geographic information systems. These include government clearinghouses as well as selected private and non-profit collections.

This Story Map is for those with little or no background in geographic information technology but would like to learn about where to find maps and information that can support their planning and activities.

• Source of Information (Is it trusted/authoritative)

• Age

• Spatial Detail and Accuracy (scale)

• Content Detail and Accuracy (scale and intended use)

• Some require specialized software (e.g. kml/kmz, shapefile)

• Sometimes data are compressed (zipped)

• Adobe Flash no longer supported  https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/end-of-life.html 

• Chrome cannot access ftp sites

• Datasets may be large

• Interactive maps usually need good bandwidth

• Federal

• State

• Local

• Clearinghouses and Agencies (Government, Education, Non-profit, private)

• Topo Maps

• The National Map

• Hydrologic data

• Elevation

• Census

• U. S. Forest Service (USFS)

• Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

• U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• National Park Service (NPS)

• U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

• Many more

The nation's civilian mapping agency. Data producer and clearing house for selected other agency data.

Authoritative source for US demographic data, including selected employment statistics

Data and maps can be challenging to work with

Some states have more detailed data

Data often repackaged by commercial entities

Mostly for U. S. Forest Service managed lands

Builds upon USGS base data

National, Region, and Forest specific maps and datasets

Maps for BLM managed lands. Often includes adjacent lands

Coverage inconsistent, depending on the state

Surface management Maps (1:100,000 scale topographic maps with BLM overlay)

Not all states are available for download.

BLM Surface Management Status Maps  https://www.blm.gov/maps/frequently-requested/colorado/100k-maps 

Purchase from  https://publiclands.org/collections/newmexicoblmmaps  

Soils and other data targeted primarily at agriculture producers.

Source for USDA national Aerial Imagery Program (NAIP) aerial photography, sils data, topographic maps, and selected climate, terrain and demographic data.

Interactive viewer and map tool for soils and ecological site data.

GIS-ready USDA soil data packages at the HUC 8 level

Provided by ESRI.

Mostly data related to environmental regulation and permitting (especially pollution related). Some public health indicators as well.

Interactive web map covering most EPA-related topics.

Compiles data from many other EPA program areas and map applications.

Includes some analysis tools.

Maps and GIS data for national park lands and select other areas such as National Historic Trails and National Scenic Trails.

Static and interactive maps, GIS data.

Downloadable features in many formats, including kml for Google Earth.

Maps and GIS data for National Wildlife Refuges and topics within USFWS jurisdiction such as wetlands and threatened and endangered species.

Maps and data related to program areas under USACE jurisdiction.

Includes some analysis tools.

State GIS data clearinghouses

State agencies

Local governments

• Councils of Government

• Conservancy districts

• Counties

• Municipalities

Information often compiled from all government levels, include state level subsets of national datasets.

Usually more data than maps, though some states may have interactive viewers.

Examples:

Often at various levels in the organization

Examples:

Councils of Government

Note: County and Municipal parcel ownership data is often only available for a fee. Some localities provide free, interactive viewers. For some counties, these data only exist in hardcopy form.

Many non-profits are involved in conservation. National and regional organizations often have very good mapping capabilities. Landscape datasets and maps may exist; however, these data are often at the project level.

Examples:

Web maps for birding and other activities

Curated web maps, apps, and data from around the world.

Multiple scales and timeframes

Often contains more user friendly packaging of government agency data.

Google provides a power suite of resources for viewing and creating online, interactive maps. Most capabilities can be viewed through a browser. The popular Google Earth Pro software is a popular tool for viewing data downloaded from multiple sources.

Google Earth

Earth and atmospheric science data. Structure for "big data" analytics and advanced users. Most of these data are available in more user friendly forms at other sites.

• Source of Information (Is it trusted/authoritative)

• Age

• Spatial Detail and Accuracy (scale)

• Content Detail and Accuracy (scale and intended use)

• Do you have the technology to use and view the data?

Spatial Reserves is a blog site focused on public domain geospatial data and supplements the book  The GIS Guide to Public Domain Data 

To learn about some ways to put these resources to work, check out our Creating and Sharing Maps tutorial: