Maps and GIS: GIS

Idaho GIS resources for the MILES (Managing Idaho's Landscapes for Ecosystem Services) project.

These resources are listed by state or by nation-wide collections. If you don't find what you need under a particular state, try the national data aggregations, which often have data at the state or county levels

These resources are listed by Country or by Regional collections

From Natural Resources Canada. Links to geospatial information and mapping products of Canada

“Public-use data sets about mortality (deaths), cancer incidence, HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, vaccinations, natality (births), census data and many other topics are available for query, and the requested data are readily summarized and analyzed, with dynamically calculated statistics, charts and maps.”

Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government. Data.gov provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets. The data catalogs will continue to grow as datasets are added. Federal, Executive Branch data are included in the first version of Data.gov.

The EarthExplorer client/server interface allows users to search and download aerial photography, satellite data, elevation data, land-cover products, and digitized maps.

The EnviroFacts site provides information on environmental activities such as toxic emissions, radiation, water pollution and safety, hazardous wastes, air pollution, and environmental clean-ups. Information is available on substances, industries or facilities that are regulated by the federal government. Individual segments of the site can be searched or there is a multisystem search available which searches all of the databases includes in EnviroFacts. In addition to easily accessible information for the general public, downloadable GIS data is available through the Geospatial Download link. Data are available in CSV, XML, KML, and Shapefile formats.

The EROS (Earth Resources Observation and Science) Center site provides links to information and access to products and data in the areas of aerial photography, satellite imagery, elevation, land cover, and digitized maps. The site also points to other discovery tools such as the EarthExplorer, Glovis, and the Seamless Data Warehouse. There is also a section for information on remote sensing data such as Landsat and Lidar among others. Some of the data are free but some may require payment before download.

Provides a wide range of statistics on the European Union from population to transportation. Use the tab on the top or the button on the left to begin searching for the appropriate data set.

This resource provides downloadable raster format GRID or IMAGINE files that give information on vegetation and land use. The data are divided into regions for download purposes. The entire U.S. is available for the IMAGINE format. Three separate hierarchical levels of data allow the user to choose the level of detail necessary for individual projects. The site also includes a Land Cover viewer and accompanying reports for specific areas.

GeoFred provides economic data in a geographic format. Data provided include employment, income, wages, taxation, and housing as well as several others. The user selects the data and layers desired to then create a custom map. The map can then be saved or the data can be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet.

From the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture. “One Stop Source for environmental and natural resources data, at anytime, from anywhere, to anyone.” Some of the data sets on this page are restricted to Department use as explained in their use policy “Only geospatial data sets produced or financed by USDA Service Center Agencies will be made available to everyone….” Some of the data available for download are from other government agencies, such as Census and Geological Survey, but the majority of available data are from the USDA and include information on climate, soils, ortho-imagery and hydrologic units.

Geospatial data resources at the Centers for Disease Control

GIS data sets for the state of Idaho from the Idaho Geologic Survey

Catalog of geologic maps from the US Geological Survey and the Geological Survey offices of the 50 states and territories. Also contains the U.S. Geologic Names Lexicon ("Geolex"), Historic topo maps, and publications on geologic mapping. Also includes some GIS referencing.

“As one of the cornerstones of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Geospatial Program, The National Map is a collaborative effort among the USGS and other Federal, State, and local partners to improve and deliver topographic information for the Nation. It has many uses ranging from recreation to scientific analysis to emergency response.

National Map Small Scale Collection replaces The National Atlas, which was retired in September 2014. "Even though the 1997-2014 Edition of the National Atlas has retired, nationalmap.gov will continue to offer the Set of Dynamic Topographic Maps Illustrating Physical Features. Additionally hundreds of printable maps, which were developed for the National Atlas 1997-2014 Edition, can be found at the Printable Maps link . All of these maps display the National Atlas logo and are considered a legacy product."

This is, as the name indicates, a clearinghouse site that allows for searching for information and data relevant to the National Parks. Clicking on the map on the page takes you to https://nrinfo.nps.gov/Map.mvc/GeospatialSearch the National Resource Information Portal which allows for searching for and discovering information on topics such as biology, air & climate, geology & soils, water, landscapes and geospatial. Some categories only provide links, both within the Park Service and out, to pages with further information.

The National Transportation Atlas database provides datasets in shapefile format on airports, highways, railways and other transportation related areas such as bridges and freight and hazardous materials routes. Other datasets include census and Congressional district boundaries, military installations, National Park boundaries and hydrographic features.

Produced by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Wetlands Inventory provides information on “the extent and status of the Nation's wetlands”. Online tools, such as the Wetlands Mapper and Google Earth, can be used to view the data on wetlands and riparian areas. In addition, the data files can be downloaded as Geodatabase or Shapefile . Separate files are available for each state and correspond with USGS 1:24,000 quadrangles so there is some overlap of state boundaries.

"This site provides digital boundary definitions for every U.S. Congressional District in use between 1789 and 2012."

The Geospatial Services page of the Fish and Wildlife Service provides links to GIS datasets and maps for habitat, ecosystem and conservation. Also included are links to the National Wetlands Inventory and the National Wildlife Refuge system. Additional links include ECOS (Environmental Conservation Online System) which contains additional information on critical habitat and endangered species information and the Critical Habitat Portal.

"NCI GIS Portal for Cancer Research provides tools for mapping and download of cancer statistics, risk factors, cancer related tobacco policy data, and the information related to geographic disparities in cancer. It is intended for researchers, cancer control planners, cancer advocacy groups, and general public to inform and inspire our efforts to reduce cancer burden in the United States."