Subject Guides: Geographic Information Systems &amp; Cartography: Data by Subject Area

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Data Portals

ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World
The ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World is a collection of geographic information from around the world. The content is frequently updated and intended for use with ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro software.
Currently, access is limited to current faculty and students for teaching, learning, and scholarly research.
Access prohibited from the following locations: Iran, Sudan, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and the Crimea region in the Ukraine.
To access:
- Click the Sign In button
- On the sign-in page, click to expand ‘Your ArcGIS Organization’s URL'
- Enter americanu in the input box
- Click ‘Continue’
- Click ‘American University’
- Sign in on the familiar AU sign in page
Questions? Send email to geospatial@american.edu.

Geolode.org
A collaborative catalog of open geodata websites around the world.
GeoPlatform
GeoPlatform is a project of the U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee to provide geospatial data from a multitude of federal agencies.
Google Dataset Search
A Google search engine specifically for locating datasets on the web. Contains ~45 million datasets from 13,000 sources. Enables users to curate, download, cite, and share links to datasets.

Aerial Photography/Satellite Imagery

Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center
Home to the world's largest collection of remotely sensed images of the Earth’s land surface and the primary source of Landsat satellite images and data products. NASA’s Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC) is also located at EROS.
DC From Above
Since its inception in 2000, the District has collected Orthophotography and now LiDAR. These aerial images have a variety of uses including web based visualizations and to create derivative data such as buildings, roads and elevation models. They are viewed in many District web applications and made available as downloadable files.

Demographic Data

National Historic Geographic Information System (NHGIS)
Access to summary tables and time series of population, housing, agriculture, and economic data, along with GIS-compatible boundary files, for years from 1790 through the present and for all levels of U.S. census geography, including states, counties, tracts, and blocks.

Social Explorer
Coverage: U.S. Census and demographic data from 1790 to present. Updated: Continuously. Contains current and historical U.S. Census and demographic data that can be downloaded. One can create thematic and interactive maps as well as reports at the state, county, census tract, block group, and ZIP code level.
** You must register for a free account to use this resource. **
**Access limited to 3 concurrent users. **

TerraPopulus
World population and environmental data, including population censuses and surveys, land cover information from remote sensing, climate records from weather stations, and land use records from statistical agencies.
LandScan Global Data Archive (2000-Present) [AU-Restricted]
LandScan is an ambient global population distribution dataset created at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories. LandScan data is produced at a 1 km resolution (30" X 30").

Geopolitical Data

Common and Fundamental Operational Datasets Registry
International datasets that are used to support the work of humanitarian actors across multiple sectors (including data for Afghanistan, Bolivia, Central African Republic, Congo, Palestine, and more)
Empirical Studies of Conflict
Wide range of original GIS data for Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Iraq, Mexico, Pakistan, Phillipines, and Vietnam.
Humanitarian Data Exchange
The Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) is an open platform for sharing global data across crises and organizations operated by OCHA's Centre for Humanitarian Data, which is located in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Strauss Center: Climate Change and African Political Stability Data Sets
Social Conflict Analysis Database, Armed Conflict Location and Event Dataset, Malawai Geocoded and Climate Aid Dataset, Sub-National African Education and Infrastructure Access Data.
Humanitarian Information Unit (HUI) - US State Department
Website displays some of the featured products and datasets published by the HIU for U.S. Government decision makers and humanitarian partners.

Environmental Data

EnviroMapper for Envirofacts
A single point of access to select U.S. EPA environmental data. This Web site provides access to several EPA databases to provide you with information about environmental activities that may affect air, water, and land anywhere in the United States.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Geospatial Data Download Service
Provides downloadable files of facilities or sites subject to environmental regulation in the following formats: Extensible Markup Language (XML), Keyhole Markup Language (KML), ESRI Geodatabase, and Comma Separated Value (CSV). Within the file is key facility information, along with associated environmental interests for use in mapping and reporting applications.
FEMA GIS Data
GIS files available for current and historical disaster declaration areas, FEMA Regions and Offices, and Hurricane Evacuation routes.
Group of Earth Observations' Geoportal
Global data on agriculture, biodiversity, climate, disasters, ecosystems, energy, health, water, and weather.
The National Map Viewer
Source for topographic data from the United States Geological Survey.
NatureServe Biodiversity Open Data
NatureServe’s Biodiversity Open Data provides comprehensive, freely available datasets covering At-Risk Species, Ecosystems, Freshwater, Climate Change Vulnerability, and Pressures & Threats. These resources support research, conservation planning, and decision-making by offering detailed insights into biodiversity patterns and risks across North America.
NOAA National Geophysical Data Center: Shoreline/Coastline Resources
The National Geophysical Data Center provides access to a variety of shoreline/coastline data sets.
Red List Spatial Data
Shapefiles of habitats of endangered species (mammals, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and marine life)
Sea Level Rise Viewer & Data (NOAA)
NOAA online tool and associated data set showing the impact of sea level rise and potential coastal flooding impact areas and relative depth.
TerraPopulus
World population and environmental data, including population censuses and surveys, land cover information from remote sensing, climate records from weather stations, and land use records from statistical agencies.
United Nations Environment Programme / Global Resource Information Database: Population Database
Africa Population Distribution Database (1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000), Asia Population Distribution Database (1995), Latin America And Caribbean Population Distribution Database (1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000), Global Population Distribution (1990), Soil and Terrain Database for Latin America and the Caribbean

Historic Data

National Historic Geographic Information System (NHGIS)
Access to summary tables and time series of population, housing, agriculture, and economic data, along with GIS-compatible boundary files, for years from 1790 through the present and for all levels of U.S. census geography, including states, counties, tracts, and blocks.
Native Land Digital
An interactive mapping tool to help users learn about Indigenous territories, languages, and treaties across the world. The tool allows users to explore Indigenous land connections based on geographic location, promoting awareness of Indigenous histories and ongoing relationships to land. The project is community-driven, with contributions from Indigenous communities and researchers, and serves as an educational resource for libraries, educators, and the public.
US Historic Transportation Shapefiles
These GIS SHP files cover the spread of different modes of transportation in the Lower 48 states from this nation’s founding through (approximately) 1911. Each transportation mode–canals, steamboat-navigated (as opposed to navigable) rivers, and railroads–has its own archive ZIP file which contains the complete series of files (projection, database and polyline files, etc.) required by ESRI’s ArcGIS and ArcGIS Pro.