GIS DATA
Digital Resources | National | Regional | Surrounding States | Minnesota
While this list is not exhaustive , its goal is to identify and provide access to as wide a variety of online GIS data and resources as possible. Please contact the Borchert Map Library at the address to the left with suggestions for additions to this page
Digital Resources
Click on an arrow 
to go to a link
Resources Available in the Automated Cartographic Information Center (ACIC)
The Automated Cartographic Information Center, located in the Borchert
Map Library, offers a variety of GIS resources on CD-ROM and other media. These resources include
local, national, and worldwide ESRI-format shapefiles and base maps, tabular data, and
special-purpose GIS data sets for local-interest topics.
National
SUBJECT INDEX
General | Agriculture/Forestry | Biology | Census | Environment | Geology
Land Use/Land Cover | Meteorology | Recreation | Transportation | Water/Hydrology
General - Click on an arrow
to go to a link
Federal Geographic Data Committee
An interagency committee that promotes the coordinated development, use,
sharing, and dissemination of geospatial data on a national basis via the
National Spatial Data Infrastructure
- National Spatial Data Infrastructure
Coordinates the sharing of geographic data, maps, and online services through an online portal, geodata.gov, that searches metadata held within the NSDI Clearinghouse Network
geodata.gov
One-stop for federal, state and local geographic data
Agriculture/Forestry - Click on an arrow
to go to a link
USDA Forest Service National Forest Inventory and
Analysis Spatial Data Services
Created to facilitate access to FIA data without compromising the security
of the plot locations or land owner privacy; connects geospatial data submitted
by interested parties to the geospatial information collected by FIA
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Geospatial
Information Branch
Administers Agency's activities related to the use of remotely sensed and
other spatially referenced information for forcasting, estimation, and data
presentation
USDA National Resources Conservation Service National
Cartography and Geospatial Center
The mission of the NCGS is to provide the Natural Resources Conservation
Service with technical leadership and expertise in the areas of cartography,
aerial photography, imagery, natural resources data, geospatial technology,
National Resources Inventory, and soil survey
USDA Risk Management Agency GIS Actuarial Maps
Provides shape files of the high risk or T-yield map layers of FCI-33 maps
BIOLOGY - Click on an arrow
to go to a link
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Geographic Information
Systems & Spatial Data
Offers access to FWS data sets and information
Census - Click on an arrow
or ICON 
to go to a link
U.S. Census Bureau home
- Online Guide to Cartographic and Geographic
Resources
PDF guide with links to all of the U.S. Census Bureau's cartographic and geographic resources - American FactFinder
Source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data - Census Bureau Geography
The integrating factor for all U.S. Census Bureau products; the framework on which the data rest - Maps and Cartographic Resources
Contains links to the U.S. Census Bureau's map products, boundary files and online mapping resources - Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing
System - TIGER Map Service
The TIGER Map Service was developed in 1995 as an experiment in Web-based mapping; still contains some useful data and maps, but mostly replaced by American FactFinder
ENVIRONMENT - Click on an arrow
to go to a link
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) home
- FEMA Mapping and Analysis Center
Provides national level Geographic Information System (GIS) support and coordination to the Federal Emergancy Management Agency (FEMA); includes maps of areas affected by natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency home
- Envirofacts Data Warehouse
Provides access to several EPA databases that provide information about environmental activities that may affect air, water, and land anywhere in the United States - Enviromapper
Allows users to map various types of environmental information, including air releases, drinking water, toxic releases, hazardous wastes, water discharge permits, and Superfund sites
Geology - Click on an arrow
to go to a link
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Data Download
Downloadable ata sets for use in geographical information systems (GIS)
for analysis and integration with other geospatial data
LAND USE/LAND COVER - Click on an arrow
to go to a link
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
State of the Land
Provides data and analysis on land use, soil erosion, water quality, wetlands,
and other issues regarding the conservation and use of natural resources
METEOROLOGY - Click on an arrow
to go to a link
NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data In Information
Service (NESDIS)
Per its homepage, "provides timely access to global environmental data
from satellites and other sources to promote, protect, and enhance the Nation's
economy, security, environment, and quality of life"
NOAA National Ocean Service Data Explorer
Offers interactive mapping tools that allow users to locate NOS products
in any area in the United States and its territories through a metadata
catalog, including imagery
RECREATION - Click on an arrow
to go to a link
National Park Service Geography and Mapping Technologies:
Geographic Information Systems
Provides downloadable data and information related to the National Park
Service
National Park Service Natural Resource and GIS (NR-GIS)
Metadata and Data Store
Manages and shares natural resource and GIS metadata and data generated
by the Natural Resource and Servicewide GIS Programs of the National Park
Service
TRANSPORTATION - Click on an arrow
to go to a link
U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics home
- Geographic Information Services (GIS)
National resource for transportation spatial data and analysis that utilizes Geographic Information Systems (GIS); includes downloadable maps and the National Transportation Atlas database
WATER/HYDROLOGY - Click on an arrow
to go to a link
National Wetlands Inventory Wetlands NWI produces and provides information on the characteristics, extent, and status of the Nation's wetlands and deepwater habitats and other wildlife habitats; contains a variety of maps and data including the interactive Wetlands Mapper
Regional
Click on an arrow
to go to a link
Regional GIS data is also available in the NATIONAL section
Maps and GIS of the Great Lakes Region
Provides a place where people can find and submit digital data for areas
within the Great Lakes region; site has four major parts: GIS Datasets,
Online Mapping, Map Gallery, and Resources
Geospatial Data and Analysis for Wildlife Refuge Management
and Planning
Per their homepage, "the University of Minnesota Department of Forest
Resources is working cooperatively with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) Region 3 to develop geospatial data and analysis tools for use in
wildlife refuge management and planning activities. Region 3 includes the
eight states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana,
Ohio, and Missouri"
SURROUNDING STATES
Click on an arrow
to go to a link
Resources in this section are produced by Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin state and local agencies. GIS data for for these states is also available in the NATIONAL section
Iowa Geographic Information Council
Fosters an efficient GIS environment through cooperation and coordination
with public and private entities that access, collect, provide, and share
data, metadata, applications and educational opportunities
Iowa Geospatial Data Clearinghouse
Use query for metadata describing data available for download on the Iowa
State University campus and links to popular data sources from state, federal
and private organizations. The ISU GIS Support and Research Facility maintains
an FTP server that mirrors many of the popular geospatial datasets published
by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and other state agencies
North Dakota Geographic Information Systems
Portal to North Dakota geospatial data and information
South Dakota GIS
Portal to South Dakota geospatial data and information
Wisconsin Department of Administration Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) Services
Provides a variety of Wisconsin-related data, including TIGER files
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources GIS
Access to Wisconsin DNR data
Minnesota
Resources in this section are produced by Minnesota state and local agencies. GIS data for Minnesota is also available in the NATIONAL section
Click on an arrow
to go to a link
Metropolitan Council
The regional planning agency serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan
area and providing essential services to the region
- GIS at the Metropolitan Coucil
Supports the Council's planning, transit and environmental services activities through the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology; the department works very closely with MetroGIS to facilitate the sharing of GIS data among government agencies within the Twin Cites Metropolitan Area
Legislative Coordinating Commission Geographic Information
Services
Repository of statewide boundary information for legislative use; maintains
a map library of spatial information, provided by the Census Bureau and
a host of Minnesota State agencies, that can be integrated with many sources
of information to produce maps and reports of pertinent information for
legislators and legislative staff
MetroGIS
Regional geographic information systems initiative serving the seven-county
Minneapolis-St. Paul (Minnesota) metropolitan area; provides a regional
forum to promote and facilitate widespread sharing of geospatial data
- MetroGIS DataFinder
Supplies GIS data and metadata for the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources DNR Data
Deli
Provides easy access to a wide variety of spatial data to the Minnesota
GIS community at no cost, within the constraints of the Minnesota DNR GIS
Data License Agreement
Minnesota Department of Transportation home
- BaseMap
A planning level set of data developed at a scale of 1:24000. The data set includes information about transportation features (roads, railroads and navigable waters), as well as boundary information (State, County, and Municipal Boundaries, Mn/DOT District Boundaries, Civil, and Congressional Townships, State Forests and Parks, Military Reservations, Indian Reservation Lands, National Forests and Parks), and stream and lake locations - Geospatial Data
Includes maps and data related to right of way, parcels and railroads
Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC)
Serves Minnesota by helping other government and non-government organizations
achieve better, faster, and more cost-effective results for the state through
the creative use of GIS and other geospatial information technologies
- Minnesota Geographic Data Clearinghouse
Serves as a convenient source for geographic data, ranging from simple state maps to complex geospatial data needed to power Geographic Information Systems; provides access to a wide variety of sources making it the first stop for geographic data for Minnesota
Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium
A forum for communicating information to, and improving cooperation among,
those interested in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Land Information
Systems (LIS) in the State of Minnesota