LibGuides: Geography: GIS and Geospatial Data

Wisconsin Public Domain Data

Aerial Photograph Collections
Access print and digital aerial photos available from the Robinson Map Library at UW-Madison. Over 260,000 images in the collection, Wisconsin’s landscapes are visible dating back to 1937.
Applied Population Lab
APL is a group of research and outreach professionals located within the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology at UW-Madison.
Big Ten Academic Alliance Geoportal
The Big Ten Geoportal represents geospatial data holdings from 10 academic libraries across the United States. Search this resource to find data available in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Center for Sustainability & the Global Environment
The Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) at UW-Madison aims to improve our understanding of the global environment, and how it is being affected by human activities.
GeoData@Wisconsin
Developed and maintained by UW-Madison Geography Department's Robinson Map Library and WI State Cartographer's Office. Data layers available for download include framework layers such as: tax parcels; roads/ROW; buildings, parks, recreation, trails, addresses; municipal boundaries; hydrography; land use; and zoning.
Wisconsin Geologic & Natural History Survey
The Wisconsin Geologic & Natural History Survey provides GIS data, metadata, a georeferenced image of the map as well as a PDF file of the map and any accompanying report.
WisconsinView
Wisconsin View provides free access to NAIP and USGS aerial photography, Wisconsin DNR orthophotography, Landsat and MODIS satellite imagery, and WI Emergency Management imagery and data.

Country Statistical Data

Country Statistical Data
Need statistical data from countries around the world? Take a look at our Country Statistical Data subject guide.

United States Public Domain Data

ArcGIS Online
ArcGIS Online hosts maps and tasks that can be used in ArcGIS clients. Sign up for a free account to search the data holdings.
Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
A resource for seeking records of past events, and to analyze, interpret and display county-based historical data, and for working on state and local history projects. Special interests range from history to demography, economics, genealogy, geography, law, and politics. The downloadable data can be used with various GIS (Geographic Information Systems) programs to create specialized projects.
Atlas of the Biosphere : Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE)
"The idea behind this website is simple: gather as much information about the environment as possible, and deliver it to as many people as possible. We are dedicated to bringing environmental information to the widest possible audience. Although we specifically target high school to university students and teachers, anyone can benefit from a stroll through our collection."
Big Ten Academic Alliance Geoportal
The Big Ten Geoportal represents geospatial data holdings from 10 academic libraries across the United States. Search this resource to find data available in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Census Bureau "On The Map" - Employment and Worker Statistics/Maps
OnTheMap is a web-based mapping and reporting application that shows where workers are employed, where they live and provides companion reports on age, earnings, industry distributions, race, ethnicity, educational attainment, and sex.
Census Bureau TIGER and TIGER/Line Mapping Center
Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) product information from the US Census Bureau, including up-to-date U.S. Census boundary shapefiles and relationship files.
Cropland Data Layer (USDA)
The Spatial Analysis Reseach Section released the 2009 Cropland Data Layer (CDL) for ALL Continental US States.
DATA.GOV
(Tabular and Statistical data from federal agencies) Data can be limited by "type" as "geospatial."
Economic Data Resources : USDA ERS
ERS's highly trained economists and social scientists conduct research, analyze food and commodity markets, produce policy studies, and develop economic and statistical indicators. The agency’s research program is aimed at the information needs of USDA, other public policy officials, and the research community. ERS information and analysis is also used by the media, trade associations, public interest groups, and the general public
ELEVATION DATA: United States Interagency Elevation Inventory
The U.S. Interagency Elevation Inventory displays high-accuracy topographic and bathymetric data for the United States and its territories. High-accuracy topographic data, including lidar and IfSAR, and bathymetric data, including NOAA hydrographic surveys, multibeam data, and bathymetric lidar.
EPA Smart Location Database: A National Dataset for Characterizing Accessibility and the Built Environment at the Neighborhood Scale
FEMA Map Service Center
Flood Rate Insurance Maps [FIRMs] on the Web,
Forest Service Geospatial Clearinghouse (USFS)
Raster and vector forest data, state and private forestry assessment data, maps, etc
Geospatial Data Gateway
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. This site includes county and state level data, including but not limited to: DRGs, DEMs, census data, land cover, quad indexes, digital orthophotos, etc.
GIS Data Depot
(GeoCommunity Data Clearinghouse) Available data include DOQQs, DRGs, DEMs, Census data, hydrology, land use/land cover, etc.
National Atlas "Streamer"
With Streamer you can explore our Nation's major streams by tracing upstream to their source or downstream to where they empty. Streamer also creates reports about stream traces and the places they pass through.
National Map
USGS provides access to high-quality, geospatial data and information from multiple partners. The National Map is the product of a consortium of Federal, State, and local partners.
National Spatial Data Infrastructure Clearinghouse
(NSDI) - Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)
National Wetlands Inventory
Digital wetlands data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Branch of Habitat Assessment.
NOAA NowCoast
National Weather Service GIS data and maps available from the NowCoast Map Viewer.
Starting the Hunt: Guide to Mostly On-Line and Mostly Free U.S. Geospatial and Attribute Data
Guide to finding free sources for U.S. geospatial data (from the University of Arkansas).
USGS Digital Topographic Map Download
Download free USGS topographic maps at various scales. Use the "Map Locator" to select a site, view the quad boundaries and download a PDF.
USGS Geographic Earth Explorer
U.S. Geological Survey data and one of the largest databases of satellite and aerial imagery available. Data type includes remote sensing data (e.g. Landsat, global land cover).

International Public Domain GIS Data

Antarctic Digital Database
The SCAR Antarctic Digital Database (ADD) is a compilation of topographic data for the continent of Antarctica to 60°S. The SCAR ADD layers include coastline, ice-shelf grounding line, rock outcrop, elevation data and human-presence features such as Research Station locations.
CARPE (Central African Regional Program for the Environment)
An interactive web GIS for the Congo Basin and the CARPE Data Explorer.
China Historical GIS
The CHGIS project was launched to establish a database of populated places and historical administrative units for the period of Chinese history between 222 BCE and 1911 CE.
CIESIN - Center for International Earth Science Information Network
CIESIN specializes in on-line data and information management, spatial data integration and training, and interdisciplinary research related to human interactions in the environment.
Diva GIS
Free GIS datasets for any country in the world.
Famine Early Warning Systems Network
Data provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).
FAO - GIS Gateway
GIS gateway to geosaptial resources within the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
FAO GeoNetwork
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) satellite imagery and spatial data to support sustainable development in agriculture, fisheries and food security.
France: Open Access to French Government Data
Beta version as of December 2011. Open Access Portal to French Government information.
GeoCommons - Open Analysis, Data, and Maps.
GeoCommons is the public community of GeoIQ users who are building an open repository of data and maps for the world.
GeoGratis - GIS data for Canada
GeoGratis is a portal provided by the Earth Sciences Sector (ESS) of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).
Geoscience Australia
Free GIS data downloads from the Australian government.
Global Land Cover Facility
The GLCF is a center for land cover science with a focus on research using remotely sensed satellite data and products to assess land cover change for local to global systems.
Go-Geo! - GIS Database for the United Kingdom
Go-Geo! is a tool designed to help you find details about geospatial datasets and resources within Great Britain.
Map Library.org
Detailed World Administrative Boundaries - From the Mapmaker Trust, Scotland.
NASA Earth Observations (NEO)
Daily snapshots of climate and environmental conditions of Earth. Over 50 different global datasets which are accessible in JPEG, PNG, Google Earth and GeoTIFF formats.
NASA’s Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC)
Retrieve global socioeconomic data from 15 different themes including agriculture, climate, conservation, governance, hazards, health, infrastructure, land use, marine and coastal, population, poverty, remote sensing, sustainability, urban and water.
Natural Earth Data
Public domain cultural and physical vector GIS datasets. Data types include cultural, physical and raster (basemap) data.
Oak Ridge National Labs Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC)
Biogeochemical and ecological data useful for studying environmental processes. The extent of data ranges from site-specific to global, and durations range from days to years.)
Opengeoportal.org
Downloadable data for the United States & countries around the world from collections at Tufts, Harvard, Columbia, MIT, and other Universities. Includes a robust collection of downloadable data provided by the United Nations.
Open Street Map (OSM)
Crowdsourced data from multiple users. Highly detailed data created by the public, however, accuracy varies based on the creator. High spatial resolution cultural vector data (e.g. buildings, land use, railroads, roads, waterways).
OpenStreetMap Data
International streets data and transportation networks from OpenStreetMap data.
Open Topography
High spatial resolution topographic data and tools. Select regions in the world and search available LiDAR data (90% United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Haiti, Mexico and Puerto Rico).
SAFARI - Southern Africa Regional Science Initiative
Direct access (via FTP) to soils, hydrology, climate, satellite imagery,vegetation and wetlands data for the southern Africa region.
SALB - Second Administrative Level Boundaries
The Second Administrative Level Boundaries (SALB) dataset is a dataset aiming at improving the availability of information about administrative boundaries down to the second subnational level.
SEDAC - Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center
One of the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) in the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Sentinel Satellite Data
The European Space Agency’s Sentinel satellite is 10-meter resolution satellite data readily available. Sentinel 2 data has 11 spectral bands including red, green, blue, near-infrared. Raster data – 11 channels from Sentinel-2. Synthetic aperture radar from Sentinel-1.
United Nations Environmental Data Explorer
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) spatial and non-spatial data including freshwater, population, forests, emissions, climate, disasters, health and GDP spatial and non-spatial data.
WorldClim - Global Climate Data
A set of global climate layers (climate grids) with a spatial resolution of about 1 square kilometer.

Geography: GIS and Geospatial Data

What is GIS?

GIS Software

Wisconsin Public Domain Data

Country Statistical Data

United States Public Domain Data

International Public Domain GIS Data