STATE_BOUNDS: internal United States boundaries

Frequently-anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How should this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  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?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How should this data set be cited?

   Paskevich, Valerie, 2006, STATE_BOUNDS: internal United States boundaries: Open-File Report 2005-1048, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

   Online Links:

   • <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1048/data/basemaps/boundaries/state_bounds/state_bounds.zip>
   • <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1048/htmldocs/data_catalog.htm>
   • <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1048/data/basemaps/boundaries/state_bounds/>

   This is part of the following larger work.

   Poppe, L.J., Paskevich, V.F., Butman, B., Ackerman, S.D., Danforth, W.W., Foster, D.S., and Blackwood, D.S., 2005, Geological Interpretation of Bathymetric and Backscatter Imagery of the Sea Floor off Eastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2005-1048, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

   Online Links:

   • <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1048/>

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://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1048/data/basemaps/boundaries/state_bounds/state_bounds-thumb.gif> (GIF)

   Thumbnail image showing the extent and coverage of the data layer.

   <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1048/data/basemaps/boundaries/state_bounds/state_bounds.gif> (GIF)

   Image map showing the extent and coverage of the data layer.

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 relevance to the data. (Source: USGS)

   LENGTH

   Length of line in native units (Source: USGS)

Who produced the data set?

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

2. Who also contributed to the data set?

3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Valerie Paskevich
   U.S. Geological Survey
   GIS Coordinator
   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. This data layer may be 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_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 usa.shp file was copied and edited to remove the coastline and islands. Because the file contained shapes for the individual states, duplicate common boundaries were numerous. The file was edited further to remove these duplicate shapes and remove the original table information. A final clean-up was done to combine (UNION) line segments and reduce the number of individual shapes.

   Person who carried out this activity:
   

   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
   

   Data sources used in this process:

   • usa.shp

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • state_bounds.shp

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?

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 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:

These data are not to be used for legal purposes.

Public domain data 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
   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 all data have been used by the USGS, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data or related materials.

   Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. government.

4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	The SHP file contains the geospatial data. The SHX file contains the index of the geospatial data. The DBF file contains the attribute data in dBASE format. The PRJ file contains the coordinate system information (optional). The AVL file contains the legend information (optional). The SBN and SBX files contain the spatial index of the geospatial data (optional). The XML file contains the metadata describing the data set <data set name>.shp.xml. An ASCII version of the metadata file. A browse graphic showing the data layer coverage and extent (optional). in format SHP (version 3.3) ESRI Polygon Shapefile Size: 2.623
     Network links:	<http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1048/data/basemaps/boundaries/state_bounds/state_bounds.zip> <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1048/htmldocs/data_catalog.htm> <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1048/data/basemaps/boundaries/state_bounds/>
     Media you can order:	DVD-ROM (Density 4.75 Gbytes) (format UDF)

   • Cost to order the data: None

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: 17-Mar-2006

Metadata author:

Valerie Paskevich
U.S. Geological Survey
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:

• <http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html>