The Geographic Information Retrieval and Analysis System (GIRAS) was developed in the mid 70s to put into digital form a number of data layers which were of interest to the USGS. One of these data layers was the Hydrologic Units. The map is based on the Hydrologic Unit Maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey Office of Water Data Coordination, together with the list descriptions and name of region, subregion, accounting units, and cataloging unit. The hydrologic units are encoded with an eight- digit number that indicates the hydrologic region (first two digits), hydrologic subregion (second two digits), accounting unit (third two digits), and cataloging unit (fourth two digits).
The data produced by GIRAS was originally collected at a scale of 1:250K. Some areas, notably major cities in the west, were recompiled at a scale of 1:100K. In order to join the data together and use the data in a geographic information system (GIS) the data were processed in the ARC/INFO GUS software package. Within the GIS, the data were edgematched and the neatline boundaries between maps were removed to create a single data set for the conterminous United States.
The SOURCE item has four special codes to describe the source linework. Code 1 stands for all arcs that were from 1:100,000 scale GIRAS files and were internal to the quadrangle (no neatlines). Code 2 stands for all arcs from the 1:250,000-scale GIRAS files which were internal to the quadrangle. Code 3 is for lines from either GIRAS source scale but were part of the neatline which may be used to connect arcs that dont join cleanly between quads. Code 4 is for linework in the southern Central Valley and southern Coastal California where the GIRAS data were replaced with 1:2 million scale basin boundaries.
A companion NAMES file (HUC250.NAMES) is provided with this data set to allow a user to perform a temporary join between the basin polygons and display or query basins based on their assigned text names rather than just the basin number (HUC).