Have you ever wanted to create your own maps, or integrate and visualize spatial datasets to examine changes in trends between locations and over time? Follow along with these training tutorials on QGIS, an open source geographic information system (GIS) and learn key concepts, procedures and skills for performing common GIS tasks – such as creating maps, as well as joining, overlaying and visualizing spatial datasets. These tutorials are geared towards new GIS users. We’ll start with foundational concepts, and build towards more advanced topics throughout – demonstrating how with a few relatively easy steps you can get quite a lot out of GIS. You can then extend these skills to datasets of thematic relevance to you in addressing tasks faced in your day-to-day work. Each tutorial video is also accompanied by a written script, providing a step-by-step reference that users can follow alongside the video or consult afterwards.

The dataset provides the usage statistics (covering both the number of downloads and the number of API requests) of open data (spatial data included) of the Open Data Portal per data provider in a specific time period

The Geospatial Data Gateway (GDG) provides access to a map library of over 100 high resolution vector and raster layers in the Geospatial Data Warehouse. It is the one stop source for environmental and natural resource data, available anytime, from anywhere. It allows a user to choose an area of interest, browse and select data, customize the format, then download or have it shipped on media. The map layers include data on: Public Land Survey System (PLSS), Census data, demographic statistics, precipitation, temperature, disaster events, conservation easements, elevation, geographic names, geology, government units, hydrography, hydrologic units, land use and land cover, map indexes, ortho imagery, soils, topographic images, and streets and roads. This service is made available through a close partnership between the three Service Center Agencies (SCA): Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Rural Development (RD). Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Geospatial Data Gateway. File Name: Web Page, url: https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov This is the main page for the GDG that includes several links to view, download, or order various datasets. Find additional status maps that indicate the location of data available for each map layer in the Geospatial Data Gateway at https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/GDGHome_StatusMaps.aspx

Core Based Statistical AreasThis feature layer, utilizing National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) data from the U.S. Census Bureau, depicts Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA). Per the USCB, "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas are together termed CBSAs and are defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and consist of the county or counties or equivalent entities associated with at least one urban core of at least 10,000 population, plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core. Categories of CBSAs are: Metropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urban areas of 50,000 or more population; and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urban areas of at least 10,000 population but less than 50,000 population."Kill Devil Hills, NC (Micro Area)Data currency: This cached Esri federal service is checked weekly for updates from its enterprise federal sources (Metropolitan Statistical Areas & Micropolitan Statistical Areas) and will support mapping, analysis, data exports and OGC API – Feature access.NGDAID: 84 (Series Information for Core-Based Statistical Areas National TIGER/Line Shapefiles, Current)OGC API Features Link: (Core Based Statistical Areas - OGC Features) copy this link to embed it in OGC Compliant viewersFor more information, please visit: Delineation FilesFor feedback please contact: Esri_US_Federal_Data@esri.comNGDA Data SetThis data set is part of the NGDA Governmental Units, and Administrative and Statistical Boundaries Theme Community. Per the Federal Geospatial Data Committee (FGDC), this theme is defined as the "boundaries that delineate geographic areas for uses such as governance and the general provision of services (e.g., states, American Indian reservations, counties, cities, towns, etc.), administration and/or for a specific purpose (e.g., congressional districts, school districts, fire districts, Alaska Native Regional Corporations, etc.), and/or provision of statistical data (census tracts, census blocks, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, etc.). Boundaries for these various types of geographic areas are either defined through a documented legal description or through criteria and guidelines. Other boundaries may include international limits, those of federal land ownership, the extent of administrative regions for various federal agencies, as well as the jurisdictional offshore limits of U.S. sovereignty. Boundaries associated solely with natural resources and/or cultural entities are excluded from this theme and are included in the appropriate subject themes."For other NGDA Content: Esri Federal Datasets

Spatial analysis and statistical summaries of the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) provide land managers and decision makers with a general assessment of management intent for biodiversity protection, natural resource management, and outdoor recreation access across the nation. This data release (PAD-US 4.1 Vector Analysis and Summary Statistics) presents results from statistical summaries of the PAD-US 4.1 protection status (by GAP Status Code) and public access status for various land unit boundaries. Summary statistics are also available to explore and download from the PAD-US Statistics Dashboard ( https://www.usgs.gov/programs/gap-analysis-project/science/pad-us-statistics ). The vector GIS analysis file, source data used to summarize statistics for areas of interest to stakeholders (National, State, Department of the Interior Region, Congressional District, County, EcoRegions I-IV, Urban Areas, Landscape Conservation Cooperative), and complete Summary Statistics Tabular Data (CSV) are included in this data release. Raster analysis files are also available for combination with other raster data (PAD-US 4.1 Raster Analysis child item). The PAD-US Combined Fee, Designation, Easement feature class in the Full Inventory Database, with Military Lands and Tribal Areas from the Proclamation and Other Planning Boundaries feature class, was modified to prioritize and remove overlapping management designations, limiting overestimation in protection status or public access statistics and to support user needs for vector and raster analysis data. Analysis files in this data release were clipped to the Census State boundary file to define the extent and fill in areas (largely private land) outside the PAD-US, providing a common denominator for statistical summaries.

The National Aggregates of Geospatial Data Collection: Population, Landscape, And Climate Estimates, Version 3 (PLACE III) data set contains estimates of national-level aggregations in urban, rural, and total designations of territorial extent and population size by biome, climate zone, coastal proximity zone, elevation zone, and population density zone, for 232 statistical areas (countries and other UN recognized territories). This data set is produced by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).

This tutorial series is designed to provide an accessible introduction to techniques for handling, analysing and visualising spatial data in R. R is an open source software environment for statistical computing and graphics. It has a range of bespoke packages which provide additional functionality for handling spatial data and performing complex spatial analysis operations. The practical series uses open data which has been made readily available for each tutorial and demonstrates a range of techniques that are useful for social science research including multivariate analysis, mapping and spatial interpolation.

The tutorials and their associated data are freely available, although users are required to register for an account on this website to access them. For any questions or concerns please see the contact information below.

Core Based Statistical AreasThis feature layer, utilizing National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) data from the U.S. Census Bureau, depicts Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA). Per the USCB, "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas are together termed CBSAs and are defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and consist of the county or counties or equivalent entities associated with at least one urban core of at least 10,000 population, plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core. Categories of CBSAs are: Metropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urban areas of 50,000 or more population; and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urban areas of at least 10,000 population but less than 50,000 population."Kill Devil Hills, NC (Micro Area)Data currency: This cached Esri federal service is checked weekly for updates from its enterprise federal sources (Metropolitan Statistical Areas & Micropolitan Statistical Areas) and will support mapping, analysis, data exports and OGC API – Feature access.NGDAID: 84 (Series Information for Core-Based Statistical Areas National TIGER/Line Shapefiles, Current)OGC API Features Link: (Core Based Statistical Areas - OGC Features) copy this link to embed it in OGC Compliant viewersFor more information, please visit: Delineation FilesFor feedback please contact: Esri_US_Federal_Data@esri.comNGDA Data SetThis data set is part of the NGDA Governmental Units, and Administrative and Statistical Boundaries Theme Community. Per the Federal Geospatial Data Committee (FGDC), this theme is defined as the "boundaries that delineate geographic areas for uses such as governance and the general provision of services (e.g., states, American Indian reservations, counties, cities, towns, etc.), administration and/or for a specific purpose (e.g., congressional districts, school districts, fire districts, Alaska Native Regional Corporations, etc.), and/or provision of statistical data (census tracts, census blocks, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, etc.). Boundaries for these various types of geographic areas are either defined through a documented legal description or through criteria and guidelines. Other boundaries may include international limits, those of federal land ownership, the extent of administrative regions for various federal agencies, as well as the jurisdictional offshore limits of U.S. sovereignty. Boundaries associated solely with natural resources and/or cultural entities are excluded from this theme and are included in the appropriate subject themes."For other NGDA Content: Esri Federal Datasets

This paper presents the importance of simple spatial statistics techniques applied in positional quality control of spatial data. To this end, Analysis methods of point data spatial distribution pattern are presented, as well as bias analysis in the positional discrepancies samples. To evaluate the points spatial distribution Nearest Neighbor and Ripley's K function methods were used. As for bias analysis, the average directional vectors of discrepancies and the circular variance were used. A methodology for positional quality control of spatial data is proposed, in which includes sampling planning and its spatial distribution pattern evaluation, analyzing the data normality through the application of bias tests, and positional accuracy classification according to a standard. For the practical experiment, an orthoimage generated from a PRISM scene of the ALOS satellite was evaluated. Results showed that the orthoimage is accurate on a scale of 1:25,000, being classified as Class A according to the Brazilian standard positional accuracy, not showing bias at the coordinates. The main contribution of this work is the incorporation of spatial statistics techniques in cartographic quality control.

Spatially-explicit data is increasingly becoming available across disciplines, yet they are often limited to a specific domain. In order to use such datasets in a coherent analysis, such as to decide where to target specific types of agricultural investment, there should be an effort to make such datasets harmonized and interoperable. For Africa South of the Sahara (SSA) region, the HarvestChoice CELL5M Database was developed in this spirit of moving multidisciplinary data into one harmonized, geospatial database. The database includes over 750 biophysical and socio-economic indicators, many of which can be easily expanded to global scale. The CELL5M database provides a platform for cross-cutting spatial analyses and fine-grain visualization of the mix of farming systems and populations across SSA. It was created as the central core to support a decision-making platform that would enable development practitioners and researchers to explore multi-faceted spatial relationships at the nexus of poverty, health and nutrition, farming systems, innovation, and environment. The database is a matrix populated by over 350,000 grid cells covering SSA at five arc-minute spatial resolution. Users of the database, including those conduct researches on agricultural policy, research, and development issues, can also easily overlay their own indicators. Numerical aggregation of the gridded data by specific geographical domains, either at subnational level or across country borders for more regional analysis, is also readily possible without needing to use any specific GIS software. See the HCID database (http://dx.doi.org/10.7910/DVN/MZLXVQ) for the geometry of each grid cell. The database also provides standard-compliant data API that currently powers several web-based data visualization and analytics tools.

Geospatial Data Pack for Visualization 🗺️

Learn Geographic Mapping with Altair, Vega-Lite and Vega using Curated Datasets

Complete geographic and geophysical data collection for mapping and visualization. This consolidation includes 18 complementary datasets used by 31+ Vega, Vega-Lite, and Altair examples 📊. Perfect for learning geographic visualization techniques including projections, choropleths, point maps, vector fields, and interactive displays.

Source data lives on GitHub and can also be accessed via CDN. The vega-datasets project serves as a common repository for example datasets used across these visualization libraries and related projects.

Why Use This Dataset? 🤔

• Comprehensive Geospatial Types: Explore a variety of core geospatial data models:
  • Vector Data: Includes points (like airports.csv), lines (like londonTubeLines.json), and polygons (like us-10m.json).
  • Raster-like Data: Work with gridded datasets (like windvectors.csv, annual-precip.json).
• Diverse Formats: Gain experience with standard and efficient geospatial formats like GeoJSON (see Table 1, 2, 4), compressed TopoJSON (see Table 1), and plain CSV/TSV (see Table 2, 3, 4) for point data and attribute tables ready for joining.
• Multi-Scale Coverage: Practice visualization across different geographic scales, from global and national (Table 1, 4) down to the city level (Table 1).
• Rich Thematic Mapping: Includes multiple datasets (Table 3) specifically designed for joining attributes to geographic boundaries (like states or counties from Table 1) to create insightful choropleth maps.
• Ready-to-Use & Example-Driven: Cleaned datasets tightly integrated with 31+ official examples (see Appendix) from Altair, Vega-Lite, and Vega, allowing you to immediately practice techniques like projections, point maps, network maps, and interactive displays.
• Python Friendly: Works seamlessly with essential Python libraries like Altair (which can directly read TopoJSON/GeoJSON), Pandas, and GeoPandas, fitting perfectly into the Kaggle notebook environment.

Table of Contents

• Why Use This Dataset?
• Dataset Inventory
• Usage Guide
• Appendix: Geospatial Examples by Technique
• Licenses
• Sources
• Learning Resources

Dataset Inventory 🗂️

This pack includes 18 datasets covering base maps, reference points, statistical data for choropleths, and geophysical data.

1. BASE MAP BOUNDARIES (Topological Data)

2. GEOGRAPHIC REFERENCE POINTS (Point Data) 📍

This data set provides an estimate of the vapor pressure deficit. It infers a value for each grid point based on nearby and distant values of the input Level-2 datasets and estimates of the variance of those values, with lower variances given higher weight. The Spatial Statistical Data Fusion (SSDF) surface continental United States (CONUS) products, fuse data from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) instrument on the EOS-Aqua spacecraft with data from the Cross-track Infrared and Microwave Sounding Suite (CrIMSS) instruments on the Suomi-NPP spacecraft. The CrIMSS instrument suite consists of the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) infrared sounder and the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) microwave sounder. These are all daily products on a ¼ x ¼ degree latitude/longitude grid covering the continental United States (CONUS). The SSDF algorithm infers a value for each grid point based on nearby and distant values of the input Level-2 datasets and estimates of the variance of those values, with lower variances given higher weight. Performing the data fusion of two (or more) remote sensing datasets that estimate the same physical state involves four major steps: (1) Filtering input data; (2) Matching the remote sensing datasets to an in situ dataset, taken as a truth estimate; (3) Using these matchups to characterize the input datasets via estimation of their bias and variance relative to the truth estimate; (4) Performing the spatial statistical data fusion. We note that SSDF can also be performed on a single remote sensing input dataset. The SSDF algorithm only ingests the bias-corrected estimates, their latitudes and longitudes, and their estimated variances; the algorithm is agnostic as to which dataset or datasets those estimates, latitudes, longitudes, and variances originated from.

The data sources overall score is a composity measure of whether countries have data available from the following sources: Censuses and surveys, administrative data, geospatial data, and private sector/citizen generated data. The data sources (input) pillar is segmented by four types of sources generated by (i) the statistical office (censuses and surveys), and sources accessed from elsewhere such as (ii) administrative data, (iii) geospatial data, and (iv) private sector data and citizen generated data. The appropriate balance between these source types will vary depending on a country’s institutional setting and the maturity of its statistical system. High scores should reflect the extent to which the sources being utilized enable the necessary statistical indicators to be generated. For example, a low score on environment statistics (in the data production pillar) may reflect a lack of use of (and low score for) geospatial data (in the data sources pillar). This type of linkage is inherent in the data cycle approach and can help highlight areas for investment required if country needs are to be met.

Core Based Statistical AreasThis feature layer, utilizing National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) data from the U.S. Census Bureau, depicts Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA). Per the USCB, "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas are together termed CBSAs and are defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and consist of the county or counties or equivalent entities associated with at least one urban core of at least 10,000 population, plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core. Categories of CBSAs are: Metropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urban areas of 50,000 or more population; and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urban areas of at least 10,000 population but less than 50,000 population."Kill Devil Hills, NC (Micro Area)Data currency: This cached Esri federal service is checked weekly for updates from its enterprise federal sources (Metropolitan Statistical Areas & Micropolitan Statistical Areas) and will support mapping, analysis, data exports and OGC API – Feature access.NGDAID: 84 (Series Information for Core-Based Statistical Areas National TIGER/Line Shapefiles, Current)OGC API Features Link: (Core Based Statistical Areas - OGC Features) copy this link to embed it in OGC Compliant viewersFor more information, please visit: Delineation FilesFor feedback please contact: Esri_US_Federal_Data@esri.comNGDA Data SetThis data set is part of the NGDA Governmental Units, and Administrative and Statistical Boundaries Theme Community. Per the Federal Geospatial Data Committee (FGDC), this theme is defined as the "boundaries that delineate geographic areas for uses such as governance and the general provision of services (e.g., states, American Indian reservations, counties, cities, towns, etc.), administration and/or for a specific purpose (e.g., congressional districts, school districts, fire districts, Alaska Native Regional Corporations, etc.), and/or provision of statistical data (census tracts, census blocks, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, etc.). Boundaries for these various types of geographic areas are either defined through a documented legal description or through criteria and guidelines. Other boundaries may include international limits, those of federal land ownership, the extent of administrative regions for various federal agencies, as well as the jurisdictional offshore limits of U.S. sovereignty. Boundaries associated solely with natural resources and/or cultural entities are excluded from this theme and are included in the appropriate subject themes."For other NGDA Content: Esri Federal Datasets

Spatial analysis and statistical summaries of the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) provide land managers and decision makers with a general assessment of management intent for biodiversity protection, natural resource management, and recreation access across the nation. This data release presents results from statistical summaries of the PAD-US 2.1 protection status for various land unit boundaries (Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) Summary Statistics by GAP Status Code) as well as summaries of public access status (Public Access Statistics), provided in Microsoft Excel readable workbooks, the vector GIS analysis files and scripts used to complete the summaries, and raster GIS analysis files for combination with other raster data. The PAD-US 2.1 Combined Fee, Designation, Easement feature class in the full inventory (with Military Lands and Tribal Areas from the Proclamation and Other Planning Boundaries feature class) was modified to prioritize and remove overlapping management designations, limiting overestimation in protection status or public access statistics and to support user needs for vector and raster analysis data. Analysis files were clipped to the Census State boundary file to define the extent and fill in areas (largely private land) outside the PAD-US, providing a common denominator for statistical summaries.

Spatial heterogeneity represents a general characteristic of the inequitable distributions of spatial issues. The spatial stratified heterogeneity analysis investigates the heterogeneity among various strata of explanatory variables by comparing the spatial variance within strata and that between strata. The geographical detector model is a widely used technique for spatial stratified heterogeneity analysis. In the model, the spatial data discretization and spatial scale effects are fundamental issues, but they are generally determined by experience and lack accurate quantitative assessment in previous studies. To address this issue, an optimal parameters-based geographical detector (OPGD) model is developed for more accurate spatial analysis. The optimal parameters are explored as the best combination of spatial data discretization method, break number of spatial strata, and spatial scale parameter. In the study, the OPGD model is applied in three example cases with different types of spatial data, including spatial raster data, spatial point or areal statistical data, and spatial line segment data, and an R “GD” package is developed for computation. Results show that the parameter optimization process can further extract geographical characteristics and information contained in spatial explanatory variables in the geographical detector model. The improved model can be flexibly applied in both global and regional spatial analysis for various types of spatial data. Thus, the OPGD model can improve the overall capacity of spatial stratified heterogeneity analysis. The OPGD model and its diverse solutions can contribute to more accurate, flexible, and efficient spatial heterogeneity analysis, such as spatial patterns investigation and spatial factor explorations.

Spatial Analysis Software is expanding with a 14.2% CAGR. Explore key drivers, segment growth, and competitive strategies impacting the $502.12 billion market by 2034.

Based on hydrologic data through the 2022 water year (October 1 to September 30), the U.S. Geological Survey South Atlantic Water Science Center updated low-flow frequency, mean annual flow, and flow-duration statistics at 843 streamgages in and near Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Data from 604 of those streamgages, on streams not substantially affected by regulation or diversions, and not tidally influenced, were used to develop regression equations for Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to estimate streamflow statistics at points of interest on similar streams. This data release contains supporting tables and geospatial data for Feaster and others (2026). The data release child page described in this metadata entry consists of 9 geospatial layers in raster GeoTIFF format to be used in calculating regression equations for South Carolina StreamStats.

The Geospatial Analytics Software market has emerged as a vital component in various industries, harnessing the power of location-based data to drive informed decision-making. As organizations increasingly recognize the value of integrating geospatial data into their operations, the market for such softwar...