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CAPE_TOWN_GEO: Boundaries of towns on Cape Cod, MA

Metadata also available as: OUTLINE | TEXT

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: CAPE_TOWN_GEO: Boundaries of towns on Cape Cod, MA
Abstract:
This coverage is from the Cape Cod Commission (CCC) GIS department's data layers that are the result of data development at the CCC GIS since 1988. These themes, delivered to MassGIS for general distribution statewide, are those most extensively used by the Commission's programs and have been created primarily to support the Commission's Regional Policy Plan and Local Comprehensive Plans with each of the fifteen towns of Cape Cod.
Supplemental_Information:
Most of the coverages the Cape Cod Commission provided to MassGIS were digitized from paper maps using a Calcomp 9100 digitizer and ESRI's ARC/INFO. Source material varies by layer. Some original manuscripts were obtained from the 1990 APCC Atlas; others came from town sources. Other layers were produced with on-screen digitizing in ArcEdit. Attribute information for parcel and zoning coverages came from town planning and engineering departments' and assessors' databases. MassGIS performed quality checking on all layers and standardized all attribute tables before creating the libraries.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Commission, Cape Cod , 1997, CAPE_TOWN_GEO: Boundaries of towns on Cape Cod, MA: MassGIS, Boston, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Poppe, L.J., Paskevich, V.F., Butman, B., Valentine, P.C., Danforth, W.W., Foster, D.S., and Blackwood, D.S., 2006, 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:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.687628
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -69.928113
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.082163
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.514607

  3. What does it look like?

    <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1048/data/basemaps/boundaries/town_bounds/cape_town_geo-thumb.gif> (GIF)
    Thumbnail image showing data layer extent and coverage.
    <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1048/data/basemaps/boundaries/town_bounds/cape_town_geo.gif> (GIF)
    Image map showing data layer extent and coverage.

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

    Calendar_Date: 1997
    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):

      • G-polygon (181)

    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 0.000000. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000000. 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?

    cape_town_geo
    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.

    AREA
    Area of polygon in native units. (Source: USGS)

    PERIMETER
    Perimeter of polygon in native units. (Source: USGS)

    CCPARBND_
    Field carried over from Arc/Info processing. It has no relevance to the use of the data layer. (Source: USGS)

    CCPARBND_I
    Field carried over from Arc/Info processing. It has no relevance to the use of the data layer. (Source: USGS)

    TOWN
    Town name: 3-letter USGS designation of town (Source: MassGIS)

    ValueDefinition
    A1WBARNSTABLE
    BHWBourne
    BMWBrewster
    CGWChatham
    DGWDennis
    EGWEastham
    FSWFalmouth
    HJWHarwich
    MIWMashpee
    OSWOrleans
    PZWProvincetown
    SDWSandwich
    TSWTruro
    WNWWellfleet
    YAWYarmouth

    Character string

    ACRES
    Acres in the polygon (Source: MassGIS)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0.00
    Maximum:39003.260
    Units:acres
    Resolution:.001

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?

    When using MassGIS data on maps or in digital applications, please credit the "Office of Geographic and Environmental Information (MassGIS), Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs" .

    Please recognize the Cape Cod Commission for digitization and creation of the dataset.

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

    Gary Prahm
    c/o Cape Cod Commission
    GIS Systems Manager
    3225 Main St.
    Barnstable, MA 02630-0226
    USA

    (508) 362-3828 (voice)
    (508) 362-3136 (FAX)
    gis@capecodcommission.org

Why was the data set created?

This data layer provides boundaries of the Coast and Town Boundaries of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    CCPARBND (source 1 of 1)
    Commission, Cape Cod , 1997, CCPARBND: Parcel level coastlines and town boundaries of Cape Cod.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Contribution:
    This is the Town outlines and boundaries of Cape Cod as digitized by the Cape Cod Commission. The distributed dataset was registered to the Massachusetts State Plane Coordinate System (NAD83), Mainland Zone (Fipszone 2001).

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

    Date: 09-Jun-2003 (process 1 of 1)
    The downloaded dataset was reprojected from the Massachusetts State Plane Coordinate System (NAD83), Mainland Zone (Gipszone 2001) to geographic NAD83.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    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

    Data sources used in this process:
    • CCPARBND.DBF
    • CCPARBND.SHP
    • CCPARBND.SHX

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • cape_town_geo.dbf
    • cape_town_geo.shp
    • cape_town_geo.shx

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

    Hallett, B.H., Paskevich, V.F., Poppe, L.J., Brand, S.G., and Blackwood, D.S., 2003, A Pictorial Survey of the Bedrock Beneath Western Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2003-221, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

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 is complete as it is a copy of the dataset available from the MassGIS website.

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

    No additional checks for topological consistency were performed on the data.

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:
Public domain data is freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize Office of Geographic and Environmental Information (MassGIS), Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs as the source of this data.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 2)

    EOEA - MassGIS
    251 Causeway Street, Suite 900
    Boston, MA 02114
    USA

    (617) 626-1000 (voice)
    (617) 626-1249 (FAX)

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

    Downloadable Data: Names and boundaries of Cape Cod Towns. The datum for this MassGIS data layer is North American Datum 1983 (NAD83). The data are registered to the Massachusetts State Plane Coordinate System, Mainland Zone (Fipszone 2001). Units are meters.

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

  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.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 2 of 2)

    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

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

    Downloadable Data: Names and boundaries of Cape Cod Towns

  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. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of this data.

    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?

  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:

Generated by mp version 2.8.18 on Wed Mar 22 14:12:05 2006