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Unites States County Boundaries (With Shorelines), 2013

Identification Information
Citation
Originator
United States. Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Originator
United States. Bureau of the Census. Geography Division
Publication Date
2011
Title
Unites States County Boundaries (With Shorelines), 2013
Edition
2013
Geospatial Data Presentation Form
vector digital data
Online Linkage
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/eds/gis/images/ntad_2013_county.zip
Abstract
County boundaries with shorelines cut in. The TIGER/Line Files are shapefiles and related database files (.dbf) that are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). The MTDB represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line File is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. The primary legal divisions of most States are termed counties. In Louisiana, these divisions are known as parishes. In Alaska, which has no counties, the equivalent entities are the organized boroughs, city and boroughs, and municipalities, and for the unorganized area, census areas. The latter are delineated cooperatively for statistical purposes by the State of Alaska and the Census Bureau. In four States (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia), there are one or more incorporated places that are independent of any county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of their States. These incorporated places are known as independent cities and are treated as equivalent entities for purposes of data presentation. The District of Columbia and Guam have no primary divisions, and each area is considered an equivalent entity for purposes of data presentation. The Census Bureau treats the following entities as equivalents of counties for purposes of data presentation: Municipios in Puerto Rico, Districts and Islands in American Samoa, Municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The entire area of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas is covered by counties or equivalent entities. The 2010 Census boundaries for counties and equivalent entities are as of January 1, 2010, primarily as reported through the Census Bureau's Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS).
Purpose
In order for others to use the information in the Census MAF/TIGER database in a geographic information system (GIS) or for other geographic applications, the Census Bureau releases to the public extracts of the database in the form of TIGER/Line Shapefiles.
Temporal Extent
Currentness Reference
publication date
Time Instant
2012
Bounding Box
West
-179.168566
East
179.748709
North
71.389610
South
-14.599758
Theme Keyword
line
boundaries
county
polygon
Theme Keyword Thesaurus
ISO 19115 Topic Categories
Theme Keyword
Polygon
State or equivalent entity
Theme Keyword Thesaurus
None
Place Keyword
United States
Place Keyword Thesaurus
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Temporal Keyword
2013
Temporal Keyword Thesaurus
None
Access Restrictions
None
Use Restrictions
None
Status
Complete
Maintenance and Update Frequency
As needed
Point of Contact
Contact Organization
Research and Innovative Technology Administration's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (RITA/BTS)
Delivery Point
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
City
Washington
State
DC
Postal Code
20590
Country
US
Contact Telephone
202-366-DATA
Contact Facsimile Telephone
202-366-3640
Contact Electronic Mail Address
answers@bts.gov
Point of Contact
Contact Organization
U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division
Cross-Reference
Online Linkage
http://www.bts.gov/programs/geographic_information_services/
Data Quality Information
Attribute Accuracy Report
Accurate against Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), FIPS Publication 6-4, and FIPS-55 at the 100% level for the codes and base names. The remaining attribute information has been examined but has not been fully tested for accuracy.
Logical Consistency Report
The Census Bureau performed automated tests to ensure logical consistency and limits of shapefiles. Segments making up the outer and inner boundaries of a polygon tie end-to-end to completely enclose the area. All polygons are tested for closure. The Census Bureau uses its internally developed geographic update system to enhance and modify spatial and attribute data in the Census MAF/TIGER database. Standard geographic codes, such as FIPS codes for states, counties, municipalities, county subdivisions, places, American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian areas, and congressional districts are used when encoding spatial entities. The Census Bureau performed spatial data tests for logical consistency of the codes during the compilation of the original Census MAF/TIGER database files. Most of the codes for geographic entities except states, counties, urban areas, Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs), American Indian Areas (AIAs), and congressional districts were provided to the Census Bureau by the USGS, the agency responsible for maintaining FIPS 55. Feature attribute information has been examined but has not been fully tested for consistency. For the TIGER/Line Shapefiles, the Point and Vector Object Count for the G-polygon SDTS Point and Vector Object Type reflects the number of records in the shapefile attribute table. For multi-polygon features, only one attribute record exists for each multi-polygon rather than one attribute record per individual G-polygon component of the multi-polygon feature. TIGER/Line Shapefile multi-polygons are an exception to the G-polygon object type classification. Therefore, when multi-polygons exist in a shapefile, the object count will be less than the actual number of G-polygons.
Completeness Report
Data completeness of the TIGER/Line Shapefiles reflects the contents of the Census MAF/TIGER database at the time the TIGER/Line Shapefiles were created.
Lineage
Source
Originator
U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division
Publication Date
unpublished material
Title
Census MAF/TIGER database
Online Linkage
http://www.bts.gov/programs/geographic_information_services/
Type of Source Media
onLine
Source Temporal Extent
Time Period Information
Range of Dates/Times
Beginning Date
20100101
Ending Date
20100701
Source Currentness Reference
publication date
Contribution
The selected geographic and cartographic information (line segments) are derived from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) database.
Spatial Data Organization Information
Indirect Spatial Reference Method
Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), ANSI, and feature names.
Direct Spatial Reference Method
Vector
Point and Vector Object Information
SDTS Terms Description
SDTS Point and Vector Object Type
GT-polygon composed of chains
Point and Vector Object Count
3234
Spatial Reference Information
Horizontal Coordinate System Definition
Geographic
Latitude Resolution
8.983152841195215e-009
Longitude Resolution
8.983152841195215e-009
Geographic Coordinate Units
Decimal Degrees
Geodetic Model
Horizontal Datum Name
D WGS 1984
Ellipsoid Name
WGS 1984
Semi-major Axis
6378137.0
Denominator of Flattening Ratio
298.257223563
Entity and Attribute Information
Entity Type
Entity Type Label
county
Entity Type Definition
ESRI shapefile of the United States counties
Entity Type Definition Source
ESRI and RITA/BTS
Attributes
FID
Internal feature number. (Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.)
Definition Source
ESRI
Shape
Feature geometry.
"polygon"
A "polygon" is an area feature comprised of points and line segments.
(Coordinates defining the features.)
Definition Source
ESRI
STFIPS
State FIPS code (Federal Information Processing Standard, Publication 6-4National Institute for Standards and Technology)
Definition Source
Bureau of the Census (BOC)
CTFIPS
County FIPS code (Federal Information Processing Standard, Publication 6-4National Institute for Standards and Technology)
Definition Source
Bureau of the Census (BOC)
STATE
State name (Offical List of State NamesBureau of the Census (BOC))
Definition Source
Bureau of the Census (BOC)
COUNTY
County name (Official List of U.S. County NamesBureau of the Census (BOC))
Definition Source
Bureau of the Census (BOC)
Distribution Information
Distributor
Research and Innovative Technology Administration's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (RITA/BTS)
Online Access
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger
Name
Metadata Reference Information
Metadata Date
20140925
Metadata Contact
Contact Information
Contact Organization Primary
Contact Organization
Research Data Services (RDS), Columbia University Libraries
Contact Person
GIS/Metadata Librarian
Contact Address
Address
420 W. 118th St., 215 IAB, MC 3301
City
New York
State or Province
NY
Postal Code
10027
Country
USA
Contact Voice Telephone
(212)854-6012
Contact Electronic Mail Address
data@library.columbia.edu
Metadata Standard Name
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata Standard Version
FGDC-STD-001-1998
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