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Connecticut Town Line

Frequently-asked questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
Connecticut Town Line

Abstract:
Connecticut Town Line includes the line features of a layer named Town. Town is a 1:24,000-scale, polygon and line feature-based layer that includes state, county and town (municipal) boundary features depicted on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps for the State of Connecticut. This layer only includes information for Connecticut. Line features include State, county, and town (municipal) boundaries. Polygon features depict the geographic areas for individual towns (municipalities). A town may be represented by more than one polygon feature. For example, in addition to representing the portion of a town on the mainland, a polygon feature may also define an island along the coast of Long Island Sound. The layer is based on information from USGS topographic quadrangle maps published between 1969 and 1984 and latitude and longitude coordinates that define the boundary between the states of Connecticut and New York in Long Island Sound. Attribute information is comprised of codes to classify and cartographically symbolize political boundaries by type and identify the geographic areas encompassed by individual towns. Polygon feature attributes include state, county, and town codes and names. Feature length and geographic area are encoded for linear and polygon features, respectively. This layer was originally published in 1994. With the exception of the Middletown-Portand town boundary, the 2005 edition, includes the same features originally published in 1994. The Middletown-Portand was corrected and changed from its location, as depicted on the USGS topographic quadrangle maps, from along the banks of the Connecticut River in Portand to the middle of the Connecticut River south of Wilcox Island to the Pecausett Meadows area in Portland. Some attribute information has been slightly modified and made easier to use.

Supplemental information:
The Town layer only includes town boundaries. It does not include the boundary lines of individual boroughs such as the Borough of Stonington, for example. The boundaries of individual boroughs are included in the layer named Town Master from USGS, which is also published by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection. In 2004, the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection developed automated procedures to maintaining feature topology and attribute integrity for the Town Master from USGS layer and layers derived from the Town Master from USGS layer such as the Town Master layer. Using ArcInfo Workstation 8.3 software and Arc Macro Language (AML) scripting environment, the automated procedures were recorded in an AML file named MAKECOVER.AML for the political boundary category of data published by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection. The MAKECOVER.AML maintains the features and feature attribute data for the Town Master from USGS, Town Master, Town, Connecticut, and Connecticut Mainland layers. Use the Town Master layer when mapping town boundaries in Connecticut and nearby portions of Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. For additional information related to the original source of data from the U.S. Geological Survey, refer to the Data User Guides and Standards for 1:24,000-Scale Digital Line Graphs and Quadrangle Maps available from the U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (data editor and publisher), U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program (data compiler), 19940101, Connecticut Town Line: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

    Online links:
    Other citation details:
    The USGS is the collector of the data (compiler). The State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection is the creator and maintainer of the data layer (editor) and producer (publisher) of this information for use. The 2005 Edition essentially includes the same set of geographic features published in 1994. However, the 2005 Edition differs from information published in 1994 primarily as a result of minor corrections and improvements to feature geometry and feature attribute information. Some feature attribute information (data fields) have been slightly modified and made easier to use. This layer includes information that is relatively static and does not change over time. Data is not updated. Data compiled at 1:24,000 scale.

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    Bounding coordinates:
    West: -73.742172
    East: -71.781365
    North: 42.052612
    South: 40.949970

  3. What does it look like?

    http://www.cteco.uconn.edu/metadata/dep/browsegraphic/connecticuttownfull.gif (GIF)
    Full view of Connecticut Town polygon and line features

    http://www.cteco.uconn.edu/metadata/dep/browsegraphic/connecticuttowndetailview.gif (GIF)
    Detail view of Connecticut Town polygon and line features

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Beginning date: 1969
    Ending date: 1984
    Currentness reference:
    Publication dates of the USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps for the State of Connecticut through 1984.

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial data presentation form: vector digital data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      Indirect spatial reference:
      Connecticut town names and numbers

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • String (1431)

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      The map projection used is Lambert Conformal Conic.

      Projection parameters:
      Lambert Conformal Conic
      Standard parallel: 41.200000
      Standard parallel: 41.866667
      Longitude of central meridian: -72.750000
      Latitude of projection origin: 40.833333
      False easting: 999999.999996
      False northing: 499999.999998

      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair.
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000250.
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000250.
      Planar coordinates are specified in survey feet.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

      Vertical coordinate system definition:
      Altitude system definition:
      Altitude resolution: 1.000000
      Altitude encoding method: Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    Connecticut Town Line
    Includes line features representing the Connecticut state boundary, Connecticut county boundaries, Connecticut town boundaries, the Connecticut coastline; and the shorelines for Connecticut islands in Long Island Sound. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program)

    LENGTH_MI
    Calculated length of feature in miles. Note, LENGTH_MI values are not automatically updated after modifying feature geometry (shape). Values must be recalculated after features are edited, simplified, generalized, clipped, dissolved, etc. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    Numeric value

    OBJECTID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)
                      

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)
                      

    Coordinates defining the features.

    TBARC_COD
    Town Boundary Arc Code - Numeric values that identify town boundary line feature types. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    0
    Closure Line
    101
    Connecticut State Boundary
    102
    Connecticut Coastline
    103
    Connecticut Island Coastline
    104
    Connecticut Town Boundary
    107
    Connecticut County Boundary

    TOWN_ARC
    Town Boundary Type - Text values that correspond to numeric TBARC_COD attribute values. TOWN_ARC is the English language equivalent of (decodes) the TBARC_COD field. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program)
                      

    See Enumerated Domain Value Definitions for TBARC_COD attribute.

    AV_LEGEND
    ArcView Legend. A text field for symbolizing different feature types on a map. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    Coastline
    Includes features with TBARC_COD attribute values 102, and 103.
    County Boundary
    Includes features with TBARC_COD attribute value 107.
    State Boundary
    Includes features with TBARC_COD attribute value 101.
    Town Boundary
    Includes features with TBARC_COD attribute value 104.

    IMS_LEGEND
    Internet Mapping Software Legend. A text field for classifying and symbolizing feature types in a simple manner for an Internet map. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    Coastline
    Includes features with TBARC_COD attribute values 102 and 103.
    State
    Includes features with TBARC_COD attribute value 101.
    Town
    Includes features with TBARC_COD attribute values 104 and 107.

    COASTA_COD
    Coastal Arc Code - Identifies line features that are landward and seaward of a series of connecting hydrography line features that define a shoreline along the coast. These connecting hydrography line features that define the shoreline along the coast are referred to as Coastline Arcs and have a COASTA_COD value of 2. Coastline Arc features from the Hydrography layer have been incorporated into the Town Master layer to enclose town polygon features along the coast. Coastline Arcs define a cartographic boundary that separates inland (landward) features from coastal (seaward) features. This shoreline boundary does not represent a line of demarcation between tidal and non-tidal waters or between fresh, saline and brackish waters. Rather, these features define a standard shoreline boundary that is often incorporated into other layers compiled at 1:24,000 scale for consistency. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    1
    Inland Arcs - Line features that are inland (landward) of the line of Coastline Arcs, which have COASTA_COD values of 2.
    2
    Coastline Arcs - Line features that define a coastline that separates inland from coastal features. This is a cartographic boundary that often defines the shoreline in other 1:24,000-scale datalayers published by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection. Note, this boundary line does not represent a line of demarcation between tidal and non-tidal waters or between fresh, saline and brackish waters.
    3
    Island Interior Arcs - Line features that separate (define a portion of the boundary of) smaller polygon features within Coastal Island polygons. For example, a State or Town boundary line that cuts through an island.
    4
    Island Coastline Arcs - Line features that define the shorelines for Coastal Island Polygon features. Coastal Island Polygon features have a COASTP_COD value of 2.
    5
    Open Water Arcs - Line features seaward of the line of Coastline Arcs that outline Coastal Water Polygon features. Coastal Water Polygon features are polygon features with a COASTP_COD value of 3. In this layer, Open Water Arcs mostly define unofficial town boundaries in Long Island Sound for towns along the Connecticut coastline. These boundaries are partially based on town boundary information published on the USGS topographic quadrangle maps and extend from the Connecticut coastline to the Connecticut - New York state boundary in Long Island Sound.

    COAST_ARC
    Coastal Arc - Text values that correspond to numeric COASTA_COD attribute values. COAST_ARC is the English language equivalent of (decodes) the COASTA_COD field. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    See Enumerated Domain Value Definitions for COASTA_COD attribute. .

    STATE_COD
    Connecticut State Code - Identifies features located in Connecticut (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    CT
    Connecticut feature

    STATE_FLG
    State Boundary Flag - Identifies line features representing state boundaries for Connecticut, Massachussets, New York and Rhode Island (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    False
    Not a State boundary
    True
    State boundary

    FIPS_FLG
    FIPS County Boundary Flag - Identifies line features representing county boundaries for Connecticut, Massachussets, New York and Rhode Island (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    False
    Not a FIPS boundary
    True
    FIPS boundary

    CONN_FLG
    Connecticut State Boundary Flag - Identifies line features representing the state boundariy for Connecticut. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    False
    Not a Connecticut State boundary
    True
    Connecticut State boundary

    TOWN_FLG
    Connecticut Town Boundary Flag - Identifies line features that define Connecticut Town boundaries, including unofficial boundaries between Connecticut towns in Long Island Sound. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    False
    Not a Connecticut Town boundary
    True
    Connecticut Town boundary

    CNTY_FLG
    Connecticut County Boundary Flag - Identifies line features representing Connecticut County boundaries, including features that define the Connecticut coastline. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    False
    Not a Connecticut County boundary
    True
    Connecticut County boundary

    TNO_LEFT
    Town Number Left - ID number for the Connecticut town (municipality) on the left side of feature. Values are based on the Town Codes issued by the State of Connecticut, Office of the State Controller. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    Numeric values ranging from 1 to 169 for Connecticut Towns. Zero value (0) assigned to features out of State.

    TOWN_LEFT
    Town Left - Text values that correspond to numeric TNO_LEFT attribute values. TOWN_LEFT is the English language equivalent of (decodes) the TNO_LEFT field (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    See Enumerated Domain Value Definitions for TNO_LEFT attribute.

    TNO_RIGHT
    Town Number Right - ID number for the Connecticut town (municipality) on the right side of feature. Values are based on the Town Codes issued by the State of Connecticut, Office of the State Controller. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    Numeric values ranging from 1 to 169 for Connecticut Towns. Zero value (0) assigned to features out of State.

    TOWN_RIGHT
    Town Right - Text values that correspond to numeric TNO_RIGHT attribute values. TOWN_RIGHT is the English language equivalent of (decodes) the TNO_RIGHT field. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    See Enumerated Domain Value Definitions for TNO_RIGHT attribute.

    SHAPE
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)
                      

    Coordinates defining the features.

    SHAPE.len
    Entity and attribute overview:
    Includes polygonal and linear features for political boundary information published on the U.S. Geological Survey 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps. Polygon and line features primarily represent town areas and boundaries, respectively, with attributes that distinguish state, county, and town (municipal) areas and boundaries. Information encoded about features includes Town Boundary polygon and arc (line) type classification, standard symbology classification schemes, state, town, county codes, feature area feature area in acreage and square miles, and feature length in miles. Use the AV_LEGEND attribute to symbolize features by type. Use the IMS_LEGEND attribute to more generally symbolize the features by type. Label polygon feature with the TOWN attribute to display town names on a map.

    Entity and attribute detail citation:
    For additional information related to the original source of data from the U.S. Geological Survey, refer to the Data User Guides and Standards for 1:24,000-Scale Digital Line Graphs and Quadrangle Maps available from the U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program.
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Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)


  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Howie Sternberg
    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106-5127
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)
    860-424-4058 (FAX)
    dep.gisdata@ct.gov
    Hours of Service: Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:30 Eastern Standard Time
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Why was the data set created?

Town is 1:24,000-scale base map data. It depicts the location of all state, county and town (municipal) boundaries published on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps for the State of Connecticut. For base map purposes, use this layer with other 1:24,000-scale base map data such as Hydrography, Waterbody, Named Waterbody, Roads and Trails, Railroads, and Airports. All of these layers include information for Connecticut. Town may be used as a possible data source for other 1:24,000-scale layers having features that should coincide with the political boundaries on the USGS topographic quadrangle maps. Not intended for maps printed at map scales greater or more detailed than 1:24,000 scale (1 inch = 2,000 feet.)

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How was the data set created?

  1. Where did the data come from?

    Source 1 - Town Master from USGS (source 1 of 4)

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (data editor and publisher), U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program (data compiler), 19940101, Connecticut Town Master from USGS layer: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

    Online links:
    Type of source media: disc
    Source scale denominator: 24000
    Source contribution:
    Town Master from USGS is a 1:24,000-scale, polygon and line feature-based layer that includes all political boundary features depicted on all of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps that cover the State of Connecticut. Line features include State, county, town (municipal), and borough boundaries. Polygon features depict the geographic areas for individual towns (municipalities) and cities and boroughs within individual towns. This layer is the primary data source for a set of political boundary layers published by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection. The Town Master, Town, Connecticut, and Connecticut Mainland layers are all ultimately derived from the polygon and line features of the Town Master from USGS layer. Note, the town boundary between Middletown and Portand was corrected and changed from its location, as depicted on the USGS topographic quadrangle maps, from along the banks of the Connecticut River in Portand to the middle of the Connecticut River south of Wilcox Island to the Pecausett Meadows area in Portland. Additionally, coastline and island feature information from the Hydrography Master layer was incorporated into the Town Master from USGS layer in order to enclose the land areas encompassed by towns adjacent to Long Island Sound and to define the islands that are part of these coastal towns. Features derived from the Hydrography Master layer are attributed with specific COASTA_COD and COASTP_COD values. Town Master from USGS is in ArcInfo Coverage format.

    Source 2 - Town (source 2 of 4)

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (data editor and publisher), U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program (data compiler), 19940101, Connecticut Town: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

    Online links:
    Type of source media: disc
    Source scale denominator: 24000
    Source contribution:
    Town is in ArcInfo Coverage format.

    Source 3 - Connecticut_Town_Line.shp (source 3 of 4)

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (data editor and publisher), U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program (data compiler), 19940101, Connecticut Town Line: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

    Online links:
    Type of source media: disc
    Source scale denominator: 24000
    Source contribution:
    A line feature-based layer representing all state, county, and town (municipal) boundary features depicted on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps for the State of Connecticut. This layer only includes information for Connecticut. Connecticut_Town_Line.shp is in Shapefile format.

    Source 4 - Connecticut_Town_Line (source 4 of 4)

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (data editor and publisher), U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program (data compiler), 19940101, Connecticut Town Line: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

    Online links:
    Type of source media: disc
    Source scale denominator: 24000
    Source contribution:
    A line feature-based layer representing all state, county, and town (municipal) boundary features depicted on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps for the State of Connecticut. This layer only includes information for Connecticut. Connecticut_Town_Line is in GeoDatabase Feature Class format.

  2. What changes have been made?

    Date: 2005 (change 1 of 3)
    Create 2005 Edition of Town - The State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection developed an automated procedure to maintain feature topology and attribute integrity for the Town layer by creating (deriving) the layer from a layer named Town Master from USGS. This procedure is documented in an Arc Macro Language (AML) script named MAKECOVER.AML for the political boundary category of data for the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection. This procedure combined the geometry of certain features and ensured consistent attribute values by programmatically joining lookup data tables to decode numeric code fields and basing certain line attributes on topological relationships between line and polygon features. Topology-based values were obtained for following line attributes: STATE_FLG, FIPS_FLG, CONN_FLG, TOWN_FLG, CITY_FLG, BORO_FLG, CNTY_FLG, TNO_LEFT, TOWN_LEFT, TNO_RIGHT, TOWN_RIGHT, CITY_LEFT, and CITY_RIGHT. For example, given that each line feature inherently has a (from-to) direction, the value for the TNO_LEFT (Town Number Left) line attribute is based the value of the TOWN_NO (Town Number) attribute for the polygon to the left of the boundary line feature. And the TNO_RIGHT (Town Number Right) line attribute is based the value of the TOWN_NO (Town Number) attribute for the polygon to the right of the boundary line feature. The direction of the line feature is arbitrary and usually reflects the direction with which the feature was digitized. Additionally, the MAKECOVER.AML also encoded Boolean type fields that flag (tag) line features such as state boundaries, county boundaries, town boundaries, etc. For example, the CNTY_FLG (Connecticut County Boundary Flag) field stores either a value of "True" or "False" to distinguish county boundaries from other boundaries and is attributed by comparing the value of the CNTY_COD (Connecticut County Code) attribute of the polygon to the left and right of every line feature. If the two CNTY_COD polygon attribute values differ, then the line feature separates towns in two different counties (making it a county boundary) so the CNTY_FLG line attribute is assigned a value of "True". In 2005, all Boolean fields such as STATE_FLG, FIPS_FLG, CONN_FLG, TOWN_FLG, CITY_FLG, and BORO_FLG were converted from storing previously used 1 an 0 numeric values to represent true and false conditions to storing "True" and "False" text string values, respectively. The MAKECOVER.AML creates the Town layer by extracting and processing features from the Town Master from USGS layer. All polygon and line features from the Town Master from USGS layer that defined boundaries in Connecticut were extracted and output to a separate ArcInfo Coverage named TOWN. Subsequently, the CONN_CITY, CONN_BORO polygon attributes and CITY_FLG, BORO_FLG, CITY_LEFT and CITY_RIGHT line attributes were removed and polygon features were dissolved to eliminate smaller city and borough polygon features that were part of (contained within) larger town area polygon features. The MAKECOVER.AML was executed in 2005 in order to derive the Town layer from the 2005 Edition of the Town Master from USGS layer. The name of the resulting ArcInfo coverage created by this automated process is TOWN.
    
    Note, all information is based on boundary lines depicted on USGS topographic quadrangle maps with the exception of most of the state boundary in Long Island Sound. The boundary line between the states of Connecticut and New York is described in Special Laws of Connecticut, Volume 16, pages 1104-1108, Senate Bill #322, An Act Establishing The Boundary Line Between Connecticut and New York. This Special Act documents the latitude and longitude coordinates of the state boundary monuments on the ground and points in the waters of Long Island Sound. These geodetic positions are based on Clark's spheroid of 1866 and are in degrees, minutes and seconds (DMS). The following boundary points enumerated in this act were used to define the state boundary in Long Island Sound.
    
    Point No. 170: Latitude 40 57 03.228, Longitude -73 36 46.418
    Point No. 171: Latitude 41 15 31.321, Longitude -72 05 24.685
    Point No. 172: Latitude 41 17 26.341, Longitude -72 01 10.937
    Point No. 173: Latitude 41 18 37.835, Longitude -71 55 47.626
    Point No. 174: Latitude 41 18 16.249, Longitude -71 54 28.477

    Person responsible for change:
    Howie Sternberg
    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)

    Data sources used in this process:
    • Source 1 - Town Master from USGS

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Source 2 - Town

    Date: 2005 (change 2 of 3)
    Export to Shapefile format - Converted line feature data from an ArcInfo coverage named TOWN to a Shapefile named Connecticut_Town_Line.shp. Excluded the FNODE#, TNODE#, LPOLY#, RPOLY#, LENGTH, TOWN#, and TOWN-ID attributes from the Shapefile because their values are only maintained by ArcInfo software with data that is in ArcInfo Coverage format.

    Person responsible for change:
    Howie Sternberg
    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)

    Data sources used in this process:
    • Source 2 - Town

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Source 3 - Connecticut_Town_Line.shp

    Date: 2006 (change 3 of 3)
    Convert to GeoDatabase Feature Class format - Defined new Feature Class named Connecticut_Town_Line; and imported the attribute definitions, loaded features and imported metadata from Connecticut_Town_Line.shp shapefile. 
    
    Spatial Reference Properties for Feature Class:
    
    Coordinate System: NAD_1983_StatePlane_Connecticut_FIPS_0600_Feet
    XY Domain MinX: 100000; MaxX: 2247483.645
    XY Domain MinY: 200000; MaxY: 2347483.645
    Precision: 1000

    Person responsible for change:
    Howie Sternberg
    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)

    Data sources used in this process:
    • Source 3 - Connecticut_Town_Line.shp

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Source 4 - Connecticut_Town_Line

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How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    This data retains the political boundary (linear) feature types identified by the USGS and adds new polygon feature types of importance to the State of Connecticut for the purpose of mapping areas of the State of Connecticut and its counties and towns. All attributes have valid values. Values are within defined domains. The accuracy test for the TBARC_COD and TBPOLY_COD attribute values was conducted by comparing the political boundaries published on the source topographic quadrangle maps with 1:24,000-scale check plots or interactive displays of the data on a computer graphic system. These checkplots and computer displays depicted the features in different colors based on their respective TBARC_COD and TBPOLY_COD values for comparison with the paper quadrangle maps. The TOWN_ARC, TOWN_POLY, AV_LEGEND, and IMS_LEGEND attribute values are based on TBARC_COD and TBPOLY_COD values. TOWN_POLY is the English language equivalent of (decodes) the TBPOLY_COD field for polygon features. TOWN_ARC is the English language equivalent of (decodes) the TBARC_COD field for line features. AV_LEGEND and IMS_LEGEND are broad classifications of TBPOLY_COD and TBARC_COD values for polygon and line features, respectively. Based on the TBPOLY_COD and TBARC_COD attribute values, the TOWN_POLY, TOWN_ARC, AV_LEGEND, and IMS_LEGEND fields were populated through table joins to lookup tables. These decode values were not manually entered. The COASTA_COD line attributes for the shoreline features were transferred with the Coastal Arc (coastline) features copied from the Hydrography Master layer. All other polygon and line features were manually selected and assigned COASTP_COD and COASTA_COD values based on their relative landward and seaward orientation to Coastline Arcs. The COAST_POLY and COAST_ARC attributes decode the COASTP_COD and COASTA_COD attribute values and were populated through table joins to lookup tables. The COAST_POLY field decodes the COASTP_COD field for polygon features. The COAST_ARC field decodes the COASTA_COD field line features. The STATE_COD, FIPS, TOWN_NO, and CNTY_COD polygon attributes were manually entered and visually inspected and compared to information on the USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps. The TOWN attribute is the English equivalent of (decodes) the TOWN_NO polygon attribute and was populated though a table join to a town lookup table. The STATE_FLG, FIPS_FLG, CONN_FLG, TOWN_FLG, CNTY_FLG, TNO_LEFT, and TNO_RIGHT line attributes were programmatically attributed, basing line attribute values on polygon and line feature topology relationships. The ACREAGE (area in acres) and AREA_SQMI (area in square miles) fields were automatically calculated for each polygon feature based on computer generated feature area in square feet. The LENGTH_MI (length in miles) field was automatically calculated for each line feature base on computer generated feature length.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    This data complies with United States National Map Accuracy Standards for 1:24,000 scale maps. According to this standard, not more than 10 percent of the points tested are to be in error by more than 1/50 inch (40 feet) measured on the publication scale of a USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle map.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

    The completeness of the data reflects the USGS National Mapping Division standards for feature content of the data sources, which are the Large Scale (7.5 minute) Digital Line Graph (DLG) files available from the USGS. For Connecticut, the Large Scale DLG files used to create this layer are for the 1:24,000-scale topographic quadrangle maps published between 1969 and 1984.  The data is complete in the sense that it accurately reflects the contents of the most recently published USGS topographic quadrangle maps available at the time the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection began creating the layer. More recent quadrangle maps have been published by the USGS since 1984; however, the State of Connecticut did not incorporate this information into the layer. This data is not updated.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    Polygon features conform to the following topological rules. Polygons are single part. There are no duplicate polygons. Polygons do not self overlap. Polygons do not overlap other polygons. Polygons are bound by lines. Line features conform to the following topological rules. Lines are single part. There are no duplicate lines. Lines do not self overlap. Lines do not overlap other lines. Lines intersect only at nodes, and nodes anchor the ends of all lines. Lines do not overshoot or undershoot other lines they are supposed to meet and intersect. The tests of logical consistency were performed by the State of Connecticut using ESRI ArcInfo software to maintain feature topology in ArcInfo coverage format. The data is topologically clean. The ArcInfo Clean function was repeatedly used following edits to verify topology and enforce a minimum distance between vertices of 4 feet (fuzzy tolerance) and a minimum allowed overshoot length of 10 feet (dangle length).

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How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access constraints: None. The data is in the public domain and may be redistributed.
Use constraints:
No restrictions or legal prerequisites for using the data. The data is suitable for use at appropriate scale, and is not intended for maps printed at scales greater or more detailed than 1:24,000 scale (1 inch = 2,000 feet). Although this data set has been used by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection as to the accuracy of the data and or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection in the use of these data or related materials. The user assumes the entire risk related to the use of these data. Once the data is distributed to the user, modifications made to the data by the user should be noted in the metadata. When printing this data on a map or using it in a software application, analysis, or report, please acknowledge the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program as the source for this information. For example, include the following data source description when printing this layer on a map: Political Boundaries - From the Town layer, compiled and published by CT DEP and USGS. Source map scale is 1:24,000.

Distributor 1 of 1

  1. Who distributes the data set?

    State of Connecticut, Department of Enviromental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106-5127
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)
    860-424-4058 (FAX)
    dep.gisdata@ct.gov
    Hours of Service: Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:30 Eastern Standard Time

  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Connecticut Town Line

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although this data set  has been used by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection as to the accuracy of the data and or related materials.  The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection in the use of these data or related materials. The user assumes the entire risk related to the use of these data. Once the data is distributed to the user, modifications made to the data by the user should be noted in the metadata.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

    • Availability in digital form:


    • Data format:
      in format Shapefile, Feature Class, ArcInfo Coverage (version ArcGIS)
      Network links:http://www.ct.gov/deep

    • Cost to order the data: An online copy of the data may be accessed without charge.


  5. Is there some other way to get the data?

    The data distributor does not provide custom GIS analysis or mapping services. Data is available in a standard format and may be converted to other formats, projections, coordinate systems, or selected for specific geographic regions by the party receiving the data.

  6. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

    Geographic information sytem (GIS), computer-aided drawing or other mapping software is necessary to display, view and access the information.

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Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 20111207

Metadata author:
Howie Sternberg
State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
79 Elm Street
Hartford, Connecticut 06106-5127
USA

860-424-3540 (voice)
860-424-4058 (FAX)
dep.gisdata@ct.gov
Hours of Service: Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:30 Eastern Standard Time

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata(FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Metadata extensions used:
  • http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html

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