Data Collection and Sources

The availability and extent of the data sets listed below are indicated in parentheses. Data Server indicates networked access via the Geodata Server. CD-ROM indicates offline availability. Follow the links for additional information about the data sets. Licensing provisions require that some of the data sets be made available online only to NCSU affiliated users.

To look up data resources by layer name, title, or keyword, use the search box for GIS Lookup.


Active Data Collections

Active collections are those that either are regularly updated, or that are the latest data version of a particular feature representation.

North Carolina statewide datasets

  • NC OneMap (Maintained by the NC Center for Geographic Information & Analysis, or CGIA) -Current and archived data versions, including information about the former BasinPro data collections. For public access to current data layers, go directly to
    NC OneMap GeoPortal Data Download.
  • NC Department of Transportation (DOT) Data - Various transportation related datasets and map products. Important details about much of the data provided by NCDOT are provided on websites listed below (ie, DRGs, elevation, flood data, etc.)

Census Data Guide (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Links and resources for finding Census data, from the 1790 Census to the present. Explanation of Census terminology and data products.

County Government GIS Data (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Public Access links, NCSU Libraries' collection of current and archived local government orthophotos, parcel data, street centerlines, etc. To see NCSU Libraries' holdings, click the "Lib Web" links.

ESRI Data & Maps and StreetMap USA for ArcGIS (Data Server, CD/DVD) NCSU
A wide variety of world, U.S., Canadian, Mexican and European data.

ESRI Software and Services (Web)
Download links and details for getting the latest Esri software, access to E-Learning, ArcGIS Online, Business Analyst Online, and other Esri services.

Coastal GIS Data (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Federal and state sources for GIS data of coastal and marine areas, and ocean data. Includes archived collections.

Digital Aerial Imagery and Orthophotographs (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Also known as digital aerial photographs, orthoimagery, orthophotos, and orthos.

Digital Raster Graphics (DRGs) (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Digitized, georeferenced 1:24k, 11:100k and 1:250k topographic map quadrangle sheets.

Elevation Data Sources (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Raster elevation datasets, including DEM, SRTM, GTOPO, and LIDAR based, and sources for vector contour lines. See also: DEM data.

Energy Data Resources for GIS (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Various geospatial data collections and sources that pertain to energy resources.

FEMA Flood Data (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Data from NC Floodplain Mapping Program (NCFMP), including geodatabases with flood zones, DFIRMs, and LiDAR. Also, FEMA Digital Q3 data.

FEMA HAZUS-MH Data (Data Server, CD/DVD)
Hazard mitigation software and data. Includes flood, hurricane, shelter, facilities, instrastructure, and background data. NC and national coverage.

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) (Web)
A point database containing locations for millions of physical and cultural geographic features in the United States.

Geologic Maps of North Carolina (Web)
Hundreds of scanned and georeferenced maps showing the geology of NC at many different scales, extents, and from multiple sources.

Hyperspectral Imagery (Data Server)
Multi-spectral, multi-band, color infrared, near-infrared - all terms used to describe aerial and satellite imagery that contain a fourth color value beyond R,G,B.

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) (Web) NCSU
Data related to political science, economics, sociology, psychology, education, social work, public administration, criminal justice, etc.

Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Various sources for raster-based land cover data, including the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD).

Landsat Satellite Imagery (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Multispectral satellite imagery - Links to free downloads and NCSU Libraries' Collection.

National Atlas of the United States (USGS) (Web, Data Server)
Predominately 1:2,000,000 scale physical and cultural data layers in shapefile format.

North American Environmental Atlas (Web, Data Server)
1:10,000,000 scale environmental and base data harmonized among Canada, US, and Mexico.

National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) (Web, Data Server)
Nationwide hydrography/hydrology (streams, rivers, lakes, and other surface waters) at 1:100,000 and 1:24,000 scales.

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Data (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
STATSGO and SSURGO soils, National Resources Inventory (NRI), State of the Land maps and coverages.

NCSU Campus GIS Data (Data Server)
Data from campus Facilities, Transportation, Libraries, etc., including various vector layers, orthophotos, elevation, and CAD datasets.

Raleigh City GIS Data (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Topographic, planimetric, utilities, orthophotos, and zoning data.

Transportation Related Data (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Various sources for street centerlines and other data pertaining to transportation infrastructure.

Wake County GIS Data (Web, Data Server, CD/DVD)
Parcels, streets, orthophotos, and many other locally produced datasets.

Weather and Climate Data (Web)
Instructions on how to obtain weather and climate data online and from other resources.

Wetlands Data (Web, Data Server)
National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) and Coastal North Carolina wetlands data sources.


Data Collections From the Past

Webpage content for the following data collections would take a considerable amount of time to update, yet the data are either not considered the most current available, found elsewhere online, superceded, or otherwise inactive. Therefore, the pages have been un-linked and archived. In order to preserve the documentation of these collections, the archived page names are listed in parentheses, and may be found by going to https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/gis/old_files/{page.html}. If you need further assistance, contact Data Services.


 

ArcAtlas(arcatlas.html, Data Server) NCSU
Over 40 layers of global physical and cultural data at 1:10 million to 1:25 million scale.
An alternative current data source is ArcGIS.com.

 

ArcUSA (arcusa.html, Data Server) NCSU
Contains geographic and attribute data for the coterminous United States at two scales: 1:2,000,000 and 1:25,000,000.
An alternative current data source is ArcGIS.com.

ArcWorld (arcworld.html, Data Server) NCSU
Contains global geographic and attribute data at two scales: 1:3,000,000 and 1:25,000,000.
An alternative current data source is ArcGIS.com.

Block to Zip Correspondence File (blockzip.html, Data Server) NCSU
Census geography to Zip Code correspondence file for North Carolina, based on Nov. 1998 Zip Codes.

BusinessMAP 4 (busmap.html, DVD) NCSU
Standalone ESRI software & data for basic GIS viewing, mapping, and business decision-support.

Coastal Change and Analysis Program (C-CAP) (ccaplc.html, Web, Data Server)
Land cover change data for coastal NC, SC, GA, VA, others.

Community 2020 (HUD) (comm2020.html, Govt. Docs. CD Collection)
HUD program data, census, streets & boundaries, demographic estimates and projections. HUD community planning software.
For current mapping, see the HUD Enterprise Geographic Information System (EGIS) site (This link is broken. We're working on fixing it).

Digital Chart of the World (dcw.html, Web)
A 1:1,000,000 scale geographic and tabular database of the world.
An alternative current data source is ArcGIS.com.

Dynamap Traffic Counts (gdttraf.html, Data Server) NCSU
Traffic counts (point shapefile) for North Carolina, mostly 1995.
For NC Traffic Counts, see Traffic Volume Maps (This link is broken. We're working on fixing it) from NC DOT.

Dynamap 2000 (dynamap.html, by request) NCSU
Added value streets, address, boundary & landmark data for North Carolina, class use only.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) (esi.html, Data Server, CD-ROM, Web)
Coastal habitat data and PDF maps (NC, SC, GA).

EPA BASINS Data (basins.html, Web, CD-ROM)
Reach 3 Alpha hydrology, LULC data, and various environmental data sets, downloadable by river subbasin.

FCC License Areas and Database Extracts (fcclic.html, Web, Data Server)
FCC license areas and point extracts from TV, cellular and wireless databases.

Geology, Oil and Gas Fields and Geological Provinces (geolprov.html, CD-ROM, Web)
A USGS world data series in various ESRI formats.

Geology of the Conterminous U.S. (geol125m.html, CD-ROM, Web)
Geology data at 1:2.5m scale in ArcInfo, DLG formats.

NC Groundwater Section Data (ncdenr.html, Data Server)
Downloaded in the late 90's. No longer available online.

Labels & Lists Voter Registration Data (voter.html, Data Server) NCSU
Voter registration data for North Carolina.

Landscan Global Population (landscan.html, Data Server, CD-ROM)
30 arc second gridded population data.

LandView III (landview.html, CD-ROM, D. H. Hill Jr. GIS Workstation 4)
Environmental data and mapping software package including TIGER 95, EPA data and census tabular data.

National Geochemical Atlas (geochem.html, CD-ROM, Web)
TIFFs, shapefiles and original DBF data.

Ocean GIS Southeast (oceangis.html, Web, Data Server)
Over 50 ARC/INFO or Shapefile data layers for NC, SC, GA, FL coasts and offshore areas.

Protected Areas GIS (pagis.html, CD-ROM)
Estuarine reserve boundaries, DRG's, DOQQ's, nautical charts.

Southern Appalachian Assessment (SAA) GIS Data Base (saagis.html, CD-ROM, Web)
Over 200 ARC/INFO data layers for an eight state area, including 22 NC counties.

SPOT Panchromatic Imagery for NC (spot.html, Data Server) NCSU
A satellite-imagery-based black-and-white mosaic of the entire State of North Carolina with a resolution of about 10 m.

Sure!MAPS Raster (suremaps.html, D. H. Hill Jr. GIS Workstations) NCSU
A commercial source for digital topo map data. Can be output seamlessly in a projection of choice at an extent of choice.

Triangle J Council of Governments (tjcog.html, Data Server)
Transit planning data, employment/population projections, waste facilities & water lines.

UNEP GRID Data (unepgrid.html, Web, Data Server)
Global and regional environmental and human data.

USGS Report Series Data (usgspubs.html, CDROM, Web)
Various national and regional data resources.

Wessex Estimates & Projections
Demographic estimates for 1997, projections for 2002/2007. Available nationwide at block group, tract, zip, county, etc. levels.
Not supported by NCSU Libraries any longer. See the Census links under Active Data Collections at the top of this page for other options.