STATE_BOUNDS: internal United States boundaries

Metadata also available as

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: STATE_BOUNDS: internal United States boundaries
Abstract:
This GIS data layer represents the internal boundaries of the United States and the political boundaries between the US, Canada and Mexico.
Supplemental_Information:
This dataset was created to be used with the NOS80K coastline (allus80k.shp) to provide state bounds without redrawing the coastline. 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 US beyond the political boundaries. If this is unacceptable to the user, they should consider masking the annexed US possession.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Paskevich, Valerie, 2006, STATE_BOUNDS: internal United States boundaries: Open-File Report 2006-1046, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Arsenault, M.A., Reid, J.A., Jenkins, C.J., Williams, S.J., Poppe, L.J., and Reid, J.M., 2006, Surficial Sediment Character of the New York-New Jersey Offshore Continental Shelf Region: a GIS Compilation: Open-File Report 2006-1046, 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: -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/2006/1046/data/basemaps/state_bounds/state_bounds-thumb.gif> (GIF)
    Thumbnail image showing the extent and coverage of the data layer.
    <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1046/data/basemaps/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)

  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?

  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 2.8.6 on Tue Jun 27 14:12:09 2006