The Seamless Data Warehouse is
the ideal location to explore and retrieve data. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
and the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) are committed to
providing access to geospatial data through The National Map. An approach is to
provide free downloads of national base layers, as well as other geospatial
data layers. These layers are divided into framework categories.
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Places
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Structures
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Transportation
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Boundaries
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Hydrography
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Orthoimagery
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Land Cover
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Elevation
The Seamless Data
Warehouse capabilities include:
Free downloads up to 3 Gigabytes of data in 250
Megabyte files per request: Users have unlimited access to
the interactive map and can make unlimited requests. The amount of coverage
area depends on the number of products selected for download. For example, if
NED 1 Arc Second is selected as the only product a user can download up to a 30
square degree area. But, if NED 1 arc second and NED 1/3 arc second are selected,
then the area available for download will be considerably smaller. To see the
various sizes of coverage area for each product, click on the List of Products
drop down on the right side of the viewing area and select the desired product.
User can define an area of interest by drawing a
box, defining coordinates, or use available templates to cut out the area: The first method of drawing a box
(square or rectangle) is best for defining a general area. The coordinates are
displayed, in decimal degrees, in the bottom left corner of the window as the
mouse is moved over the map. The second method of defining coordinates can be
used when the user wants a precise area and knows the corner coordinates. The
third method is the use of provided templates, such as 7.5 minute quadrangles.
Tiled Data Distribution System (TDDS) :
allows a user to access historical data from the EROS storage system. The
concept of The National Map Seamless Server is to provide the best available
data. High resolution orthoimagery, the best available will change
approximately every couple of years as new imagery becomes available. The older
imagery will be removed from The National Map Seamless Server and map services
and made available using TDDS.
Query tools are provided to acquire more
information about the an area of interest: An example of the two query tools
are Elevation Point and Elevation Profile. The elevation point tool allows a
user to click anywhere on the map interface and an elevation will be returned,
in feet, as well as the coordinates. The elevation profile tool will provide a
cross section graph between two points, in any direction.
Sample data map:
Tools to Access Data:
ArcGIS Toolbar
Mapping Services
Application Services
Tiled NED Tool
Inventory Search
Seamless Viewer
TNM Viewer
The Seamless Data Warehouse is always growing with new data,
tools, features, and much more.