Spatial Data: by Type

We also have a page about spatial data arranged by geography.

• Digital Elevation Models(DEM)
  • NED via the National Map Viewer replaces Seamless as of January, 2014.
    • National Map Viewer
    • National Elevation Dataset information page.
  • ​These are 1990's 30m DEMs with elevations with Z values in whole meters. Both types of files can be opened directly in ArcMap, but there are slight differences in the data.
    • GTOPO30 Global Topographic Data
      • GTOPO30 is also available on Esri's standard data pack.
• Digital Line Graphics(DLGs)
  • USGS Geographic Data Download
• Digital Raster Graphics(DRGs)
  • While itself a generic term, DRG typically refers to scanned versions of printed maps, particularly topographic base maps. The most common are 1:24,000 (7.5') USGS topographic maps.  Note: The links below are to USGS digital files produced in the early 1990s from paper maps produced from the 1960s through the 1990s.  The current topographic maps are available only as geoPDFs from the USGS.
  • Cal-Atlas has trimmed and untrimmed 7.5', 30' and 1 degree DRGs.  The files were originally created by the Teale Data Center (now the California Department of Technology).
    • Technical information about the Teale DRG projection
    • ESRI .prj file for use with Teale DRGs
  • Digital Raster Graphics from the California Spatial Information Library
  • Collection of topographic maps, ready to use in a GIS.
• National Clearinghouses and Search Engines
  • Data.gov
  • USGS Geographic Data Download 
  • The National Map
• Hydrology
  • USGS Water Data
  • Historical Streamflow Data for the Nation
  • Real-Time Streamflow Data for the Nation
  • USGS Office of Surface Water
  • Water Watch - Current Water Resources Conditions
• Remote Sensing / Aerial Imagery
  • see also pages about MIL's aerial imagery collections.
  • Mid-1990s DOQQs for California are available on CD-ROM.  Please inquire with the Collaboratory.
  • TerraServer
  • National Map Viewer
  • Flexible Image Transport System (FITS)
    • ESA/ESO/NASA Photoshop FITS Liberator
  • Landsat data at EarthExplorer
    Access to the complete 40+ year archive of LandSat imagery.  Registration required.
  • Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change
    Nicely curated selections of LANDSAT imagery over time with thematic groupings that include cities, forests, mining, and natural disasters, among others.
  • MODIS Rapid Response System
    • Daily images from NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites
  • SPOT Imagery
• Land Use and Land Cover
  • National Land Cover Data 2001 30m single file coverage of the conterminous United States
  • National Land Cover Data 1992 30m single file coverage of the conterminous United States
  • USGS National Land Cover Characterization
  • 30m Global Land Cover

  Population and Demographics

  • The US Census Bureau distributes its national TIGER datasets in a variety of formats, including shapefiles and KML.  Please note: many files are geometries only, without Census data attached. Read the page information carefully!
• Social Sciences
  • ICPSR - Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
• Soils
  • Current Official Soil Maps
  • Archived Soil Surveys and Manuscripts (as PDF's)
  • STATSGO (US Soils)
• USGS Documents and Reports
  • USGS Publications Warehouse
    includes Open File Reports, Miscellaneous Field Studies, and other USGS publications. 
  • Scientific Investigations Maps
  • Water Related Open-File Reports
• ZIP Codes
  • ZIP Code Geography and Mapping