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Northeastern United States Index County Polygon

Frequently-asked questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
Northeastern United States Index County Polygon

Abstract:
Northeastern United States Index County Polygon includes generalized State and County boundaries for Northeastern United States. Includes data for Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The index version is a faster drawing representation of counties for use in interactive map applications. The data layer was created by merging towns within the same county. The source was Northeast United States Index Town  Polygon which was, in turn, derived from Northeast United States Town Polygon. In the Index version boundary lines have been minimally generalized to reduce vertices. Features such as small and medium offshore islands were eliminated. It may contain some boundary line and county name errors for states other than Connecticut.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (data compiler, editor and publisher), U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program (data compiler), MassGIS (data compiler and publisher), Maine Office of Geographic Information Systems (data compiler and publisher), Complex Systems Research Center, University of New Hampshire (data compiler and publisher), New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (data compiler and publisher), State of New York (data compiler and publisher), Rhode Island Geograhic Information System (data compiler and publisher), Vermont Center for Geograhic Information (data compiler and publisher), 20080708, Northeastern United States Index County Polygon: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

    Online links:
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    Bounding coordinates:
    West: -80.390502
    East: -66.629197
    North: 47.508619
    South: 38.745042

  3. What does it look like?

    http://www.cteco.uconn.edu/metadata/dep/browsegraphic/northeastcountyfullview.gif (GIF)
    Full View of Northeastern United States County Boundary polygon features

    http://www.cteco.uconn.edu/metadata/dep/browsegraphic/northeastcountyctview.gif (GIF)
    A view of Northeastern United States County Boundary polygon and line features for the greater Connecticut area

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

    Calendar date: 2008
    Currentness reference:
    publication date

  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:
      Includes State code, State name, County code, and County name for the States of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • G-polygon (226)

    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 0.000500.
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000500.
      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?

    Northeast United States Index County Polygon
    Includes line features representing State and county boundaries; the shoreline; island shorelines; and lines enclosing open water areas along the outer limits of the data extent. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)

    SHAPE
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)
                      

    Coordinates defining the features.

    LAND_CLASS
    Land Class - Distinguishes land from water. This dataset includes a large water polygon feature that may impact polygon drawing performance. To improve drawing performance, exclude all water features by using the following expression in a layer definition query: LAND_CLASS = "Land"

    ValueDefinition
    Land
    Land Feature - Mainland or island
    Water
    Water Feature - Marine and selected large fresh waterbody

    CT_LEGEND
    Connecticut Legend - Classifies features to highlight and differentiate Connecticut from other states. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    Connecticut
    State of Connecticut
    Other States
    Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont
    Water
    Water

    MA_LEGEND
    Massachusetts Legend - Classifies features to highlight and differentiate Massachusetts from other states. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    Massachusetts
    Commonwealth of Massachusetts
    Other States
    Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont
    Water
    Water

    ME_LEGEND
    Maine Legend - Classifies features to highlight and differentiate Maine from other states. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    Maine
    State of Maine
    Other States
    Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont
    Water
    Water

    NH_LEGEND
    New Hampshire Legend - Classifies features to highlight and differentiate New Hampshire from other states. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    New Hampshire
    State of New Hampshire
    Other States
    Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont
    Water
    Water

    NJ_LEGEND
    New Jersey Legend - Classifies features to highlight and differentiate New Jersey from other states. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    New Jersey
    State of New Jersey
    Other States
    Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont
    Water
    Water

    NY_LEGEND
    New York Legend - Classifies features to highlight and differentiate New York from other states. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    New York
    State of New York
    Other States
    Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont
    Water
    Water

    RI_LEGEND
    Rhode Island Legend - Classifies features to highlight and differentiate Rhode Island from other states. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    Rhode Island
    State of Rhode Island
    Other States
    Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont
    Water
    Water

    VT_LEGEND
    Vermont Legend - Classifies features to highlight and differentiate Vermont from other states. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    Vermont
    State of Vermont
    Other States
    Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island
    Water
    Water

    STATE_COD
    State Code (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    'blank'
    No State designation. Used to encode open water features.
    CT
    State of Connecticut
    ME
    State of Maine
    MA
    Commonwealth of Massachusetts
    NH
    State of New Hampshire
    NJ
    State of New Jersey
    NY
    State of New York
    RI
    State of Rhode Island
    VT
    State of Vermont

    STATE_NAME
    State Name (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    'blank'
    No State designation. Used to encode open water features.
    Connecticut
    State of Connecticut
    Maine
    State of Maine
    Massachusetts
    Commonwealth of Massachusetts
    New Hampshire
    State of New Hampshire
    New Jersey
    State of New Jersey
    New York
    State of New York
    Rhode Island
    State of Rhode Island
    Vermont
    State of Vermont

    CNTY_FIELD
    County Field Name - The name of the attribute in the (original State) data source that stores the county number (county code) value. This is a cross reference back to the original data source. In the (original State) data source, this is the name of the field that stores the value recorded in the CNTY_COD attribute. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    'blank'
    No County designation. Used to encode open water features.
    CNTY_COD
    Connecticut county code field name
    FIPS-COUNTY
    Massachusetts county code field name
    CNTYCODE
    Maine county code field name
    COUNTY
    New Hampshire county code field name
    FIPSCO
    New Jersey county code field name
    CNTYC0DE
    New York county code field name
    CFIPS
    Rhode Island county code field name
    CNTY
    Vermont county code field name

    CNTY_COD
    County Field Value - The county number (county code) value in the (original State) data source that identifies the county. In the (original State), this value is stored in the fieldname referenced by the CNTY_FIELD attribute. These values may not be unique across all states. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    Numberic value

    CNTY_NAME
    County Name - Text values that correspond to numeric CNTY_COD attribute values. CNTY_NAME is the English language equivalent of (decodes) the CNTY_COD field. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    Text value

    LABEL_FLAG
    Label Flag - Identifies polygons considered to be large and significant enough in size to be labeled on a map with county names. Polygons designated for labeling are assigned LABEL_FLAG values equal to "True", whereas small island polygons along coast, not typically labeled with county names, are assigned LABEL_FLAG values equal to "False". Label selected features with the MAP_LABEL attribute. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    True
    Polygon feature you can label with MAP_LABEL attribute
    False
    Polygon feature not to label with MAP_LABEL attribute

    MAP_LABEL
    Map Label Text - Text values from the CNTY_NAME field used for map labeling purposes. Use the LABEL_FLAG field to query for polygon features to label with this field. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    Text value

    OBJECTID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)
                      

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    CT_LABEL_Y
    Connecticut Map Label - Map label text for Connecticut counties. Use this field to label all Connecticut counties without using the LABEL_FLAG field to query for the appropriate features to label, which is a slower technique. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    CNTY_NAME values only for polygon features where MAP_LABEL = 'True' and STATE_COD = 'CT'.

    CT_LABEL_N
    Not Connecticut Map Label - Map label text for all but Connecticut counties. Use this field to label all but Connecticut counties without using the LABEL_FLAG field to query for the appropriate features to label, which is a slower technique. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)
                      

    CNTY_NAME values only for polygon features where MAP_LABEL = 'True' and STATE_COD not equal to 'CT'.

    SHAPE.area
    SHAPE.len
    Entity and attribute overview:
    Attributes identify and describe the geographic areas and boundaries between states and counties for the States of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Use the BOUNDARY attribute to cartographically represent state and county boundary lines. Use the LAND_CLASS attribute to cartographically distinguish land from water polygon features. Use the STATE_COD, STATE_NAME, COUNTY_NAME or MAP_LABEL attributes to label polygon features with state and county names. Use the LABEL_FLAG attribute to identify polygons large enough to label with county names at larger scales using the MAP_LABEL attribute. Or use the CT_LABEL_Y and CT_LABEL_N attributes to label just Connecticut counties or all but Connecticut counties without querying for the appropriate features and labeling them with the MAP_LABEL values, which is a slower technique. Use the CT_LEGEND, MA_LEGEND, ME_LEGEND, and other similarly named polygon attributes to classify and highlight features in the corresponding state. This dataset includes a large water polygon feature that may impact polygon drawing performance. To improve drawing performance, exclude all water features by using the following expression in a layer definition query: LAND_CLASS = "Land"
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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?

Northeastern United States Index County Boundary data are intended for geographic display of state and county boundaries at statewide and regional levels. Use it to map and label counties in an interactive map where drawing speed is important. Not suitable for analytic or similar GIS uses. This information should be displayed at scales appropriate for 1:100,000-scale data and smaller. The State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP) assembled this regional data layer using data from other states in order to create a single, seamless representation of political boundaries within the vicinity of Connecticut that could be easily incorporated into mapping applications as background information.

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How was the data set created?

  1. Where did the data come from?

  2. What changes have been made?

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    All attributes have valid values. These attribute values are directly based on or derived from attribute and or spatial (feature location) information supplied by the respective data sources. This information does not depict official boundaries established by the respective state and municipal governments. It may contain some state and county boundary line errors for all states and county name errors for all states other than Connecticut.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    The horizontal positional accuracy of this data is unkown.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

    This map layer includes boundaries for Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Data completeness has been altered from the original through elimination of features consistant  with the goal of creating simplified, faster drawing data.

  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 not performed.

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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 1:100,000 scale. 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 as the data publisher. For example, include the following data source description when printing this layer on a map: Political Boundaries - From the Northeastern United States Index County Polygon layer, published by CT DEP.

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?

    Northeastern United States Index County Polygon

  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 (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: 20111208

Metadata author:
Diana Danenberg
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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