Data Resources
Some of these data sites are more specific by subject or by region than others. However, it is suggested to first try the links under the “National and International Data” heading before going to more specific sites. The National and International sites are more generic in some instances and may have the data that you are trying to locate. When searching these sites, the keywords of “GIS” and the “subject” in question are usually good starting points if you are having difficulty. Map Collection (Regenstein Library) The University of Chicago Libraries have access to a large number of digital GIS datasets. Most of the data is on CD or DVD but also available at the circulation desk in JMedia. This link lists some of the available data but there are others that are not listed. Some spatial information is not in digital format. In that case, paper maps and atlases may be the only source data that exists. For more information or assistance, visit the Map Collection on the 3rd floor of the Regenstein Library.
National and International Data
- Atlas: Louisiana Statewide GIS
- LIDAR, DOQs, wetland inventory, and many more GIS data layers available for state of Louisiana
- Center for Disease Control: Injuries
- Includes data about injuries and deaths in the US (raw data, no shapefiles)
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
- Environmental and socioeconomic data about a number of subjects ranging from human impact to agriculture
- Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative
- Links to numerous spatial data download sites on subjects dealing with anthropology and sociology
- GIS Data Depot
- Numerous GIS datasets on various subjects but international data is not well documented
- GIS Spatial Data Clearinghouse Directory
- A clearing house with diverse data: mostly links to US data (but with some European and North American data)
- Global Administrative Areas
- Extensive repository of political boundaries for hundreds of countries
- Hawaii Statewide GIS Program
- Clearinghouse for natural resource, coastline, administrative, and transportation GIS data for the state of Hawaii
- Israel Social Sciences Data Center
- Links to social science data distribution sites around the world
- Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
- Data on a large amount of political and socioeconomic subjects
- Kansas Geospatial Community Commons
- Large clearinghouse of environmental, infrastructure, and transportation GIS data for the state of Kansas
- Massachusetts Geographic Information System
- Clearinghouse for natural resource, coastline, administrative, and transportation GIS data for the state of Massachusetts
- NASA Imaging RADAR @ Southport
- RADAR images from space shuttle missions, global coverage
- National Atlas of the United States
- Interactive map with information about the US
- National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) Products and Services
- Locate GIS/imagery/map data collected by intelligence agencies over the past 50 years
- National Hurricane Center
- Hurricane GIS data for the US, often going back to 2008
- New York City DataMine
- Includes raw data for NYC as well as GIS data ranging from zoning to political districts to police precincts
- New York State GIS Clearinghouse
- Gain access to New York State GIS metadata and data repository
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center
- Biogeochemical and ecological spatial data useful for studying environmental processes
- Oregon Spatial Data Library
- Includes administrative boundaries, climate, hazards, hydrography, land use, imagery, transportation, among other data for Oregon.
- Rhode Island Geographic Information System
- Clearinghouse for natural resource, coastline, administrative, and transportation GIS data for the state of Rhode Island
- Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center
- Links to socioeconomic data warehouses around the world for population and environmentally related subjects
- Tennessee Spatial Data Server
- Clearinghouse for natural resource, administrative, and transportation GIS data for the state of Tennessee
- Tropical Rain Forest Information Center
- Provides NASA remote sensing earth science data as well as digital deforestation maps and databases
- University of Arkansas Geographic Information Systems and Maps
- Starting the Hunt: Guide to Mostly On-Line and Mostly Free U.S. Geospatial and Attribute Data
- University of California, Santa Barbara: Alexandria Digital Library
- Main items cataloged are a portion of the holdings of the UCSB's Map and Imagery Laboratory
- United States Census Bureau TIGER/Line Data
- Census bureau boundaries and designations in Shapefile format
- United States Fish and Wildlife Service
- Various environmental and conservation datasets are available for the US…hydrology, habitats, ecosystems, etc.
- Utah GIS Portal
- Includes Utah spatial data for boundaries, transportation, demographics, environment, among many others.
- World Digital Elevation Map
- 90m DEM dataset is a processed distribution of NASA's worldwide elevation data
- World Wildlife Fund
- Ecoregions of the world, hydrology, wetlands, etc.
Regional (Chicago and Illinois) Data
- City of Chicago GIS Data
- Current administrative, political, and transportation data maintained by the city of Chicago
- Historical Chicago GIS Data
- Administrative and political historical data for the city of Chicago maintained by the University of Chicago Map Library
- Illinois State Water Survey Data
- Environmental, rainfall, flood, and watershed data for Illinois
- Africa Data Dissemination Service
- Administrative boundaries, agro-climatic zones, cropland use intensity, elevation, hydrology, precipitation, transportation, and vegetation data collected from various government resources
- Africa: South of the Sahara
- Various links to socioeconomic and GIS data on specific regions and countries in Africa, some have no English translation
- Central African Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE)
- A long-term initiative by USAID to address the issues of deforestation and biodiversity loss in the Congo Basin forest zone. Environmental GIS and remote sensing data along with some population data
- SAFARI 2000
- Environmental and elevation data for southern Africa collected between 1999-2001 by various research organizations
South Africa
- Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa
- Socioeconomic and GIS data for elections, infrastructure, crime, demographics, and environmental issues
- British Antarctic Survey
- Biological, physical, geologic, and mapping data collected over the past 10 years
- USGS Atlas of Antarctic Research
- Various images, maps, and elevation data compiled by the USGS
- Atlas of South Australia
- Environmental, land use, socioeconomic, and administrative infrastructure data for the province of South Australia
- Geographx
- Environmental and geologic GIS data layers for New Zealand
- GeoScience Australia
- Geologic, mining, and environmental GIS and remote sensing data for all of Australia
Afghanistan
- Afghanistan Election Data
- Election data for Afghanistan running from 2004 to present
- Afghanistan Information Management Service
- Various administrative boundaries, transportation, cities, and hydrologic data
China
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
- Environmental and socioeconomic data about a number of subjects ranging from human impact to agriculture
- China Data Center
- Socioeconomic and census data managed by the University of Michigan
- China Historical GIS
- Links to various datasets on China’s changing political boundaries and demographics
India
- A Historical Atlas of South Asia
- Digital version of the Joseph Schwartzberg atlas maintained by the Digital South Asia Library at the University of Chicago
Israel
- Israel Social Sciences Data Center
- Socioeconomic and GIS data on Israel
- The GIS Center
- Data layers maintained by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem include environmental, land use, socioeconomic, and administrative infrastructure data for Israel
Pakistan
- Pakistan Flood Response
- Data related to the Pakistan Flood of 2010: administrative boundaries, affected areas, hydrology, and elevation, among others.
Thailand
- Townsend Thai Project
- xtensive socioeconomic and GIS data maintained at the University of Chicago
Canada
- GeoConnections
- Similar datasets to GeoGratis, some subject matter may be more extensive
- GeoGratis
- Agricultural, socioeconomic, transportation, and environmental GIS and remote sensing data for ALL of Canada
- Geomatics Yukon
- Environmental, forestry, and mining spatial data for the Yukon Territory
- MapPlace
- Facilitates easy access to the maps and databases of the British Columbian Ministry of Energy and Mines
Mexico
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
- Environmental and socioeconomic data about a number of subjects ranging from human impact to agriculture
- Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geografía e Informática
- Various administrative, environmental, and socioeconomic GIS datasets, no English translation
- Baltic Sea Region GIS, Maps, and Statistical Database
- Administrative, environmental, and socioeconomic data concerning the Baltic Sea drainage basin
- Centre for Data Digitisation and Analysis
- Digital census data for Ireland and Great Britain dating back hundreds of years
- GeoStrategies Digital Data
- Administrative and environmental data for Romania and Eastern Europe
- UK Marine Renewable Energy Resources
- Indicates the distribution of potential regional resources for the future deployment of renewable energy technologies – wind, wave and tidal.
Peru
- Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica
- Socioeconomic and GIS data for the entire country
- Chicago Police Department
- Data on Chicago police precincts, crime, community areas, etc.
- National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
- Crime data and statistics distributed in various forms
- SpatialNews Crime Mapping Links
- Links to crime data distribution sites and major urban GIS crime systems
- Cancer Mortality Maps and Graphs
- Data from the National Cancer Institute from 1950-1994 for the entire United States
- HRSA Geospatial Data Warehouse
- Spatial data concerning a wide range of subject matter from the Health Resources and Services Administration
- National Center for Health Statistics
- Links to numerous GIS/health data distribution sites compiled by the Center for Disease Control
- World Health Organization
- A good place to start for international health/GIS data on mortality and disease from member countries
- National Cancer Institute
- GIS data, maps, and information about cancer
- The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care
- Interactive maps and data about health care in the US
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Data and Statistics
- Has health-related data and a link to GIS sources
- Center for Disease Control: Wonder
- Data query system for public health data
- WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System)
- Provides customized reports of injury-related data
- SEER - Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results
- Information on incidence, prevalence, and survival rates of cancer
- Administration on Aging
- US statistics related to the aging process
- SAMHSA: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Statistics
- Statistics on substance abuse and mental health
- Centre for Data Digitisation and Analysis
- Digital census data for Ireland and Great Britain dating back hundreds of years
- China Historical GIS
- Links to various datasets on China’s changing political boundaries and demographics
- Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative
- Links to numerous spatial data download sites on subjects dealing with anthropology and sociology
- National Historic Geographic Information System
- Data for the United States dating back to 1790 on socioeconomic variables, demographics, elections, religion, labor, and education
- Paleomap Project
- Plate tectonic development of oceans and continents dating back billions of years
- US Historical County Boundaries
- Data about the creation and all subsequent changes in the size, shape, and location of every county in the US and the D.C.
- National Hydrography Dataset
- Data compiled by the EPA and USGS for the United States
- Water Resources of the United States
- Links to various data containing locations of aquifers, drainage basins, stream flow, etc. for the United States
- Ocean Biogeographic Information System
- Archive for marine mammal, sea turtle, and seabird data
- Bathymetry, fishing, coastlines, sea floor topography, etc.
- Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Common resource areas in GIS format defined by landscape conditions, soil, climate, human considerations, and other natural resource information
- Soil Information for Environmental Modeling and Ecosystem Management
- Various multi-layer soil characteristic databases for the United States
- Mass Media Calculated Contours
- GIS datasets showing the range of signals and location of FM radio and television broadcast antennas
- Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s Universal Licensing System Database
- Data containing the location and owners of wireless transmission services, cellular, radio, television, etc.