STATE_BOUNDS: internal United States (US) boundaries

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: STATE_BOUNDS: internal United States (US) boundaries
Abstract:
This shapefile data layer represents the internal boundaries of the 48 contiguous United States and the political boundaries between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Supplemental_Information:
This dataset was created to be used with the NOS80K coastline (allus80k.shp) to provide state bounds. In creating the data layer, some issues of the NOS80K coastline became apparent. One example, is the US/Mexico boundary. The NOS80K coastline closes and draws a straight line well below the Texas border. The same type of problem can be seen around the US/Canada boundary of the Great Lakes. The state_bounds.shp will draw the political boundaries while the allus80k.shp file will display the U.S. beyond the political boundaries. If this is unacceptable to the user, they should consider masking the annexed U.S. possession.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Paskevich, Valerie, Unpublished Material, STATE_BOUNDS: internal United States (US) boundaries.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -124.211606
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -67.158958
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 49.384359
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 25.837377

  3. What does it look like?

    <http://coastalmap.marine.usgs.gov/GISdata/basemaps/boundaries/state_bounds/state_bounds.gif> (GIF)
    Image showing extent and coverage of the state_bounds shapefile with large US lakes.

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Calendar_Date: 04-Oct-2002
    Currentness_Reference: publication date

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):

      • String (19)

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.000001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    state_bounds.dbf
    Shapefile Attribute Table (Source: ESRI)

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    Coordinates defining the features.

    ID
    Assigned feature id and has no applicable relevenace to the data. (Source: User Defined)

    Unspecified.

    LENGTH
    Length of line in native units (Source: User Defined)

    Unspecified.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

    The dataset is a derived from ESRI's 50 individual state 'trct' files.

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Valerie Paskevich
    U. S. Geological Survey
    Computer Specialist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2281 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    vpaskevich@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

This data layer includes the internal boundaries for the United States and the political boundaries of the US, Canada and Mexico. The state boundaries are drawn to the U.S. coastline and does not include any coastline or islands. The state boundaries does not extend beyond the shoreline and therefore does not represent state water territories. This data layer was created so it could be used to indicate state boundaries when used with the high resolution NOS80K coastline (allus80k.shp) which does not include any internal boundaries.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    usa.shp (source 1 of 1)
    Paskevich, Valerie, Unpublished Material, USA: United States basemap data layer.

    Type_of_Source_Media: disc
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 500000
    Source_Contribution:
    The compiled usa.shp file was used as the source for this new data layer.

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    Date: 03-Oct-2002 (process 1 of 1)
    The dataset is a derived from ESRI's 50 individual state 'trct' files. The original state shapefiles were processed to dissolve the individual counties and create a comprehensive shapefile for each state. Those individual state files where then combined to create the single US shapefile. Several fields from the original dataset were removed.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Valerie Paskevich
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Information Specialist, GIS Coordinator
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2281 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    vpaskevich@usgs.gov

    Data sources used in this process:
    • 'state'trct.dbf
    • 'state'trct.shp
    • 'state'trct.shx

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • usa.dbf
    • usa.shp
    • usa.shx

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Positional accuracy is unknown, therefore boundaries are not to be used for legal purposes.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

    This data set contains the internal boundaries for the continental United States (US) and the US/Canada and US/Mexico political boundaries.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    No additional checks for topological consistency were performed on this data set.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
Not to be used for legal purposes.

Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the source of this information.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)

    U.S. Geological Survey
    c/o Valerie Paskevich
    Information Specialist, GIS Coordinator
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2281 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    vpaskevich@usgs.gov

  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Downloadable Data

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although these data have been used by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the U.S. Geological Survey as to the accuracy of the data.

    Trade, firm, or product names and other references to non-USGS products and services are provided for information only and do not constitute endorsement or warranty, express or implied, by the USGS, USDOI, or U.S. Government, as to their suitability, content, usefulness, functioning, completeness, or accuracy.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

    These data are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) shapefile format. The user must have ArcGIS¨ or ArcView¨ 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView or ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing data. A free data viewer, arcexplorer, capable of displaying the data is available from ESRI at www.esri.com.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 07-Apr-2005
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
c/o Valerie Paskevich
Information Specialist, GIS Coordinator
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
USA

(508) 548-8700 x2281 (voice)
(508) 457-2310 (FAX)
vpaskevich@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
Metadata extensions used:

Generated by mp version 2.8.11 on Fri Oct 28 07:55:47 2005