• Add labels and set their properties

• Customize the pop-up

• Use as an input to the ArcGIS Online analysis tools. This layer works well as a reference layer with the trace downstream and watershed tools. The buffer tool can be used to draw protective boundaries around streams and the extract data tool can be used to create copies of portions of the data.
  

• Use as an input to geoprocessing. For example, copy features allows you to select then export portions of the data to a new feature class.
  

• Change the symbology and the attribute field used to symbolize the data

• Open table and make interactive selections with the map

• Modify the pop-ups

• Apply Definition Queries to create sub-sets of the layer

Important Note: This item is in mature support as of September 2023 and will be retired in December 2025. A new version of this item is available for your use. Esri recommends updating your maps and apps to use the new version.The USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) is the official inventory of public parks and other protected open space. The spatial data in PAD-US represents public lands held in trust by thousands of national, state and regional/local governments, as well as non-profit conservation organizations.GAP 1 and 2 areas are primarily managed for biodiversity, GAP 3 are managed for multiple uses including conservation and extraction, GAP 4 no known mandate for biodiversity protection. Provides a general overview of protection status including management designations. PAD-US is published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS), Gap Analysis Project (GAP). GAP produces data and tools that help meet critical national challenges such as biodiversity conservation, recreation, public health, climate change adaptation, and infrastructure investment. See the GAP webpage for more information about GAP and other GAP data including species and land cover.The USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) classifies lands into four GAP Status classes:GAP Status 1 - Areas managed for biodiversity where natural disturbances are allowed to proceedGAP Status 2 - Areas managed for biodiversity where natural disturbance is suppressedGAP Status 3 - Areas protected from land cover conversion but subject to extractive uses such as logging and miningGAP Status 4 - Areas with no known mandate for protectionIn the United States, areas that are protected from development and managed for biodiversity conservation include Wilderness Areas, National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, and Wild & Scenic Rivers. Understanding the geographic distribution of these protected areas and their level of protection is an important part of landscape-scale planning. Dataset SummaryPhenomenon Mapped: Areas protected from development and managed to maintain biodiversity Coordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary SphereExtent: 50 United States plus Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and other Pacific Ocean IslandsVisible Scale: 1:1,000,000 and largerSource: USGS Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS), Gap Analysis Project (GAP) PAD-US version 3.0Publication Date: July 2022Attributes included in this layer are: CategoryOwner TypeOwner NameLocal OwnerManager TypeManager NameLocal ManagerDesignation TypeLocal DesignationUnit NameLocal NameSourcePublic AccessGAP Status - Status 1, 2, or 3GAP Status DescriptionInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Description - I: Strict Nature Reserve, II: National Park, III: Natural Monument or Feature, IV: Habitat/Species Management Area, V: Protected Landscape/Seascape, VI: Protected area with sustainable use of natural resources, Other conservation area, UnassignedDate of EstablishmentThe source data for this layer are available here. What can you do with this Feature Layer?Feature layers work throughout the ArcGIS system. Generally your work flow with feature layers will begin in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Pro. Below are just a few of the things you can do with a feature service in Online and Pro.ArcGIS OnlineAdd this layer to a map in the map viewer. The layer is limited to scales of approximately 1:1,000,000 or larger but a vector tile layer created from the same data can be used at smaller scales to produce a webmap that displays across the full range of scales. The layer or a map containing it can be used in an application.Change the layer’s transparency and set its visibility rangeOpen the layer’s attribute table and make selections and apply filters. Selections made in the map or table are reflected in the other. Center on selection allows you to zoom to features selected in the map or table and show selected records allows you to view the selected records in the table.Change the layer’s style and filter the data. For example, you could set a filter for Gap Status Code = 3 to create a map of only the GAP Status 3 areas.Add labels and set their propertiesCustomize the pop-upArcGIS ProAdd this layer to a 2d or 3d map. The same scale limit as Online applies in ProUse as an input to geoprocessing. For example, copy features allows you to select then export portions of the data to a new feature class. Note that many features in the PAD-US database overlap. For example wilderness area designations overlap US Forest Service and other federal lands. Any analysis should take this into consideration. An imagery layer created from the same data set can be used for geoprocessing analysis with larger extents and eliminates some of the complications arising from overlapping polygons.Change the symbology and the attribute field used to symbolize the dataOpen table and make interactive selections with the mapModify the pop-upsApply Definition Queries to create sub-sets of the layerThis layer is part of the Living Atlas of the World that provides an easy way to explore the landscape layers and many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics.

The National Hydrography Dataset Plus High Resolution (NHDplus High Resolution) maps the lakes, ponds, streams, rivers and other surface waters of the United States. Created by the US Geological Survey, NHDPlus High Resolution provides mean annual flow and velocity estimates for rivers and streams. Additional attributes provide connections between features facilitating complicated analyses.For more information on the NHDPlus High Resolution dataset see the User’s Guide for the National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus) High Resolution.Dataset SummaryPhenomenon Mapped: Surface waters and related features of the United States and associated territoriesCoordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere Extent: The Contiguous United States, Hawaii, portions of Alaska, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, Northern Marianas Islands, and American Samoa Visible Scale: Visible at all scales but layer draws best at scales larger than 1:1,000,000Source: USGSPublication Date: July 2022This layer was symbolized in the ArcGIS Map Viewer and while the features will draw in the Classic Map Viewer the advanced symbology will not. Prior to publication, the network and non-network flowline feature classes were combined into a single flowline layer. Similarly, the Area and Waterbody feature classes were merged under a single schema.Attribute fields were added to the flowline and waterbody layers to simplify symbology and enhance the layer's pop-ups. Fields added include Pop-up Title, Pop-up Subtitle, Esri Symbology (waterbodies only), and Feature Code Description. All other attributes are from the original dataset. No data values -9999 and -9998 were converted to Null values.What can you do with this Feature Layer?Feature layers work throughout the ArcGIS system. Generally your work flow with feature layers will begin in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Pro. Below are just a few of the things you can do with a feature service in Online and Pro.ArcGIS OnlineAdd this layer to a map in the map viewer. The layer or a map containing it can be used in an application. Change the layer’s transparency and set its visibility rangeOpen the layer’s attribute table and make selections. Selections made in the map or table are reflected in the other. Center on selection allows you to zoom to features selected in the map or table and show selected records allows you to view the selected records in the table.Apply filters. For example you can set a filter to show larger streams and rivers using the mean annual flow attribute or the stream order attribute.Change the layer’s style and symbologyAdd labels and set their propertiesCustomize the pop-upUse as an input to the ArcGIS Online analysis tools. This layer works well as a reference layer with the trace downstream and watershed tools. The buffer tool can be used to draw protective boundaries around streams and the extract data tool can be used to create copies of portions of the data.ArcGIS ProAdd this layer to a 2d or 3d map.Use as an input to geoprocessing. For example, copy features allows you to select then export portions of the data to a new feature class.Change the symbology and the attribute field used to symbolize the dataOpen table and make interactive selections with the mapModify the pop-upsApply Definition Queries to create sub-sets of the layerThis layer is part of the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World that provides an easy way to explore the landscape layers and many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics.

Wetlands are areas where water is present at or near the surface of the soil during at least part of the year. Wetlands provide habitat for many species of plants and animals that are adapted to living in wet habitats. Wetlands form characteristic soils, absorb pollutants and excess nutrients from aquatic systems, help buffer the effects of high flows, and recharge groundwater. Data on the distribution and type of wetland play an important role in land use planning and several federal and state laws require that wetlands be considered during the planning process.The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) was designed to assist land managers in wetland conservation efforts. The NWI is managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.Dataset SummaryPhenomenon Mapped: WetlandsCoordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary SphereExtent: 50 United States plus Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana IslandsVisible Scale: This layer preforms well between scales of 1:1,000,000 to 1:1,000. An imagery layer created from this dataset is also available which you can also use to quickly draw wetlands at smaller scales.Number of Features: 35,720,203Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServicePublication Date: October 1, 2023This layer was created from the October 1, 2023 version of the NWI. The features were converted from multi-part to a single part using the Multipart To Singlepart tool. Features with more than 50,000 vertices were split with the Dice tool. The Repair Geometry tool was run on the features, using tool defaults.The layer is published with a related table that contains text fields created by Esri for use in the layer's pop-up. Fields in the table are:Popup Header - this field contains a text string that is used to create the header in the default pop-up System Text - this field contains a text string that is used to create the system description text in the default pop-upClass Text - this field contains a text string that is used to create the class description text in the default pop-upModifier Text - this field contains a text string that is used to create the modifier description text in the default pop-upSpecies Text - this field contains a text string that is used to create the species description text in the default pop-upCodes, names, and text fields were derived from the publication Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States.What can you do with this Feature Layer?Feature layers work throughout the ArcGIS system. Generally your work flow with feature layers will begin in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Pro. Below are just a few of the things you can do with a feature service in Online and Pro.ArcGIS OnlineAdd this layer to a map in the map viewer. The layer is limited to scales of approximately 1:1,000,000 or larger but an imagery layer created from the same data can be used at smaller scales to produce a webmap that displays across the full scale range. The layer or a map containing it can be used in an application.Change the layer’s transparency and set its visibility rangeOpen the layer’s attribute table and make selections and apply filters. Selections made in the map or table are reflected in the other. Center on selection allows you to zoom to features selected in the map or table and show selected records allows you to view the selected records in the table.Change the layer’s style and filter the data. For example, you could set a filter for System Name = 'Palustrine' to create a map of palustrine wetlands only.Add labels and set their propertiesCustomize the pop-upArcGIS ProAdd this layer to a 2d or 3d mapUse as an input to geoprocessing. For example, copy features allows you to select then export portions of the data to a new feature class. Change the symbology and the attribute field used to symbolize the dataOpen table and make interactive selections with the mapModify the pop-upsApply Definition Queries to create sub-sets of the layerThis layer is part of the Living Atlas of the World that provides an easy way to explore the landscape layers and many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics.

Soil map units are the basic geographic unit of the Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO). The SSURGO dataset is a compilation of soils information collected over the last century by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Map units delineate the extent of different soils. Data for each map unit contains descriptions of the soil’s components, productivity, unique properties, and suitability interpretations.Each soil type has a unique combination of physical, chemical, nutrient and moisture properties. Soil type has ramifications for engineering and construction activities, natural hazards such as landslides, agricultural productivity, the distribution of native plant and animal life and hydrologic and other physical processes. Soil types in the context of climate and terrain can be used as a general indicator of engineering constraints, agriculture suitability, biological productivity and the natural distribution of plants and animals. Data from the gSSURGO database was used to create this layer.Dataset SummaryPhenomenon Mapped: Soils of the United States and associated territoriesGeographic Extent: The 50 United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, Marshall Islands, Northern Marianas Islands, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and American SamoaCoordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary SphereVisible Scale: 1:144,000 to 1:1,000Source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation ServiceUpdate Frequency: AnnualPublication Date: December 2024What can you do with this layer?Feature layers work throughout the ArcGIS system. Generally your work flow with feature layers will begin in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Pro. Below are just a few of the things you can do with a feature service in Online and Pro.ArcGIS OnlineAdd this layer to a map in the map viewer. The layer is limited to scales of approximately 1:144,000 or larger but a vector tile layer created from the same data can be used at smaller scales to produce a webmap that displays across the full scale range. The layer or a map containing it can be used in an application.Change the layer’s transparency and set its visibility rangeOpen the layer’s attribute table and make selections and apply filters. Selections made in the map or table are reflected in the other. Center on selection allows you to zoom to features selected in the map or table and show selected records allows you to view the selected records in the table.Change the layer’s style and filter the data. For example, you could set a filter for Farmland Class = "All areas are prime farmland" to create a map of only prime farmland.Add labels and set their propertiesCustomize the pop-upArcGIS ProAdd this layer to a 2d or 3d map. The same scale limit as Online applies in ProUse as an input to geoprocessing. For example, copy features allows you to select then export portions of the data to a new feature class.Change the symbology and the attribute field used to symbolize the dataOpen table and make interactive selections with the mapModify the pop-upsApply Definition Queries to create sub-sets of the layerThis layer is part of the Living Atlas of the World that provides an easy way to explore the landscape layers and many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics.Data DictionaryAttributesKey fields from nine commonly used SSURGO tables were compiled to create the 173 attribute fields in this layer. Some fields were joined directly to the SSURGO Map Unit polygon feature class while others required summarization and other processing to create a 1:1 relationship between the attributes and polygons prior to joining the tables. Attributes of this layer are listed below in their order of occurrence in the attribute table and are organized by the SSURGO table they originated from and the processing methods used on them.Map Unit Polygon Feature Class Attribute TableThe fields in this table are from the attribute table of the Map Unit polygon feature class which provides the geographic extent of the map units.Area SymbolSpatial VersionMap Unit SymbolMap Unit TableThe fields in this table have a 1:1 relationship with the map unit polygons and were joined to the table using the Map Unit Key field.Map Unit NameMap Unit KindFarmland ClassInterpretive FocusIntensity of MappingIowa Corn Suitability RatingLegend TableThis table has 1:1 relationship with the Map Unit table and was joined using the Legend Key field.Project ScaleSurvey Area Catalog TableThe fields in this table have a 1:1 relationship with the polygons and were joined to the Map Unit table using the Survey Area Catalog Key and Legend Key fields.Survey Area VersionTabular VersionMap Unit Aggregated Attribute TableThe fields in this table have a 1:1 relationship with the map unit polygons and were joined to the Map Unit attribute table using the Map Unit Key field.Slope Gradient - Dominant ComponentSlope Gradient - Weighted AverageBedrock Depth - MinimumWater Table Depth - Annual MinimumWater Table Depth - April to June MinimumFlooding Frequency - Dominant ConditionFlooding Frequency - MaximumPonding Frequency - PresenceAvailable Water Storage 0-25 cm - Weighted AverageAvailable Water Storage 0-50 cm - Weighted AverageAvailable Water Storage 0-100 cm - Weighted AverageAvailable Water Storage 0-150 cm - Weighted AverageDrainage Class - Dominant ConditionDrainage Class - WettestHydrologic Group - Dominant ConditionIrrigated Capability Class - Dominant ConditionIrrigated Capability Class - Proportion of Mapunit with Dominant ConditionNon-Irrigated Capability Class - Dominant ConditionNon-Irrigated Capability Class - Proportion of Mapunit with Dominant ConditionRating for Buildings without Basements - Dominant ConditionRating for Buildings with Basements - Dominant ConditionRating for Buildings with Basements - Least LimitingRating for Buildings with Basements - Most LimitingRating for Septic Tank Absorption Fields - Dominant ConditionRating for Septic Tank Absorption Fields - Least LimitingRating for Septic Tank Absorption Fields - Most LimitingRating for Sewage Lagoons - Dominant ConditionRating for Sewage Lagoons - Dominant ComponentRating for Roads and Streets - Dominant ConditionRating for Sand Source - Dominant ConditionRating for Sand Source - Most ProbableRating for Paths and Trails - Dominant ConditionRating for Paths and Trails - Weighted AverageErosion Hazard of Forest Roads and Trails - Dominant ComponentHydric Classification - PresenceRating for Manure and Food Processing Waste - Weighted AverageComponent Table – Dominant ComponentMap units have one or more components. To create a 1:1 join component data must be summarized by map unit. For these fields a custom script was used to select the component with the highest value for the Component Percentage Representative Value field (comppct_r). Ties were broken with the Slope Representative Value field (slope_r). Components with lower average slope were selected as dominant. If both soil order and slope were tied, the first value in the table was selected.Component Percentage - Low ValueComponent Percentage - Representative ValueComponent Percentage - High ValueComponent NameComponent KindOther Criteria Used to Identify ComponentsCriteria Used to Identify Components at the Local LevelRunoff ClassSoil loss tolerance factorWind Erodibility IndexWind Erodibility GroupErosion ClassEarth Cover 1Earth Cover 2Hydric ConditionHydric RatingAspect Range - Counter Clockwise LimitAspect - Representative ValueAspect Range - Clockwise LimitGeomorphic DescriptionNon-Irrigated Capability SubclassNon-Irrigated Unit Capability ClassIrrigated Capability SubclassIrrigated Unit Capability ClassConservation Tree Shrub GroupGrain Wildlife HabitatGrass Wildlife HabitatHerbaceous Wildlife HabitatShrub Wildlife HabitatConifer Wildlife HabitatHardwood Wildlife HabitatWetland Wildlife HabitatShallow Water Wildlife HabitatRangeland Wildlife HabitatOpenland Wildlife HabitatWoodland Wildlife HabitatWetland Wildlife HabitatSoil Slip PotentialSusceptibility to Frost HeavingConcrete CorrosionSteel CorrosionTaxonomic ClassTaxonomic OrderTaxonomic SuborderGreat GroupSubgroupParticle SizeParticle Size ModCation Exchange Activity ClassCarbonate ReactionTemperature ClassMoist SubclassSoil Temperature RegimeEdition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy Used to Classify SoilCalifornia Storie IndexComponent KeyComponent Table – Weighted AverageMap units may have one or more soil components. To create a 1:1 join, data from the Component table must be summarized by map unit. For these fields a custom script was used to calculate an average value for each map unit weighted by the Component Percentage Representative Value field (comppct_r).Slope Gradient - Low ValueSlope Gradient - Representative ValueSlope Gradient - High ValueSlope Length USLE - Low ValueSlope Length USLE - Representative ValueSlope Length USLE - High ValueElevation - Low ValueElevation - Representative ValueElevation - High ValueAlbedo - Low ValueAlbedo - Representative ValueAlbedo - High ValueMean Annual Air Temperature - Low ValueMean Annual Air Temperature - Representative ValueMean Annual Air Temperature - High ValueMean Annual Precipitation - Low ValueMean Annual Precipitation - Representative ValueMean Annual Precipitation - High ValueRelative Effective Annual Precipitation - Low ValueRelative Effective Annual Precipitation - Representative ValueRelative Effective Annual Precipitation - High ValueDays between Last and First Frost - Low ValueDays between Last and First Frost - Representative ValueDays between Last and First Frost - High ValueRange Forage Annual Potential Production - Low ValueRange Forage Annual Potential Production - Representative ValueRange Forage Annual Potential Production - High ValueInitial Subsidence - Low ValueInitial Subsidence - Representative ValueInitial Subsidence - High ValueTotal Subsidence - Low ValueTotal Subsidence - Representative ValueTotal Subsidence - High ValueCrop Productivity IndexEsri SymbologyThis

Coordinate system Update:Notably, this dataset will be provided in NAD 83 Connecticut State Plane (2011) (EPSG 6434) projection, instead of WGS 1984 Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere (EPSG 3857) which is the coordinate system of the 2023 dataset and will remain in Connecticut State Plane moving forward.Ownership Suppression and Data Access:The updated dataset now includes parcel data for all towns across the state, with some towns featuring fully suppressed ownership information. In these instances, the owner’s name will be replaced with the label "Current Owner," the co-owner’s name will be listed as "Current Co-Owner," and the mailing address will appear as the property address itself. For towns with suppressed ownership data, users should be aware that there was no "Suppression" field in the submission to verify specific details. This measure was implemented this year to help verify compliance with Suppression.New Data Fields:The new dataset introduces the "Land Acres" field, which will display the total acreage for each parcel. This additional field allows for more detailed analysis and better supports planning, zoning, and property valuation tasks. An important new addition is the FIPS code field, which provides the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) code for each parcel’s corresponding block. This allows users to easily identify which block the parcel is in.Updated Service URL:The new parcel service URL includes all the updates mentioned above, such as the improved coordinate system, new data fields, and additional geospatial information. Users are strongly encouraged to transition to the new service as soon as possible to ensure that their workflows remain uninterrupted. The URL for this service will remain persistent moving forward. Once you have transitioned to the new service, the URL will remain constant, ensuring long term stability.For a limited time, the old service will continue to be available, but it will eventually be retired. Users should plan to switch to the new service well before this cutoff to avoid any disruptions in data access.The dataset has combined the Parcels and Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) data for 2024 into a single dataset. This dataset is designed to make it easier for stakeholders and the GIS community to use and access the information as a geospatial dataset. Included in this dataset are geometries for all 169 municipalities and attribution from the CAMA data for all but one municipality. Pursuant to Section 7-100l of the Connecticut General Statutes, each municipality is required to transmit a digital parcel file and an accompanying assessor’s database file (known as a CAMA report), to its respective regional council of governments (COG) by May 1 annually. These data were gathered from the CT municipalities by the COGs and then submitted to CT OPM. This dataset was created on 10/31/2024 from data collected in 2023-2024. Data was processed using Python scripts and ArcGIS Pro, ensuring standardization and integration of the data.CAMA Notes:The CAMA underwent several steps to standardize and consolidate the information. Python scripts were used to concatenate fields and create a unique identifier for each entry. The resulting dataset contains 1,353,595 entries and information on property assessments and other relevant attributes.CAMA was provided by the towns.Spatial Data Notes:Data processing involved merging the parcels from different municipalities using ArcGIS Pro and Python. The resulting dataset contains 1,290,196 parcels.No alteration has been made to the spatial geometry of the data.Fields that are associated with CAMA data were provided by towns.The data fields that have information from the CAMA were sourced from the towns’ CAMA data.If no field for the parcels was provided for linking back to the CAMA by the town a new field within the original data was selected if it had a match rate above 50%, that joined back to the CAMA.Linking fields were renamed to "Link".All linking fields had a census town code added to the beginning of the value to create a unique identifier per town.Any field that was not town name, Location, Editor, Edit Date, or a field associated back to the CAMA, was not used in the creation of this Dataset.Only the fields related to town name, location, editor, edit date, and link fields associated with the towns’ CAMA were included in the creation of this dataset. Any other field provided in the original data was deleted or not used.Field names for town (Muni, Municipality) were renamed to "Town Name".The attributes included in the data: Town Name OwnerCo-OwnerLinkEditorEdit DateCollection year – year the parcels were submittedLocationMailing AddressMailing CityMailing StateAssessed TotalAssessed LandAssessed BuildingPre-Year Assessed Total Appraised LandAppraised BuildingAppraised OutbuildingConditionModelValuationZoneState UseState Use DescriptionLand Acre Living AreaEffective AreaTotal roomsNumber of bedroomsNumber of BathsNumber of Half-BathsSale PriceSale DateQualifiedOccupancyPrior Sale PricePrior Sale DatePrior Book and PagePlanning RegionFIPS Code *Please note that not all parcels have a link to a CAMA entry.*If any discrepancies are discovered within the data, whether pertaining to geographical inaccuracies or attribute inaccuracy, please directly contact the respective municipalities to request any necessary amendmentsAdditional information about the specifics of data availability and compliance will be coming soon.If you need a WFS service for use in specific applications : Please Click Here

Named Landforms of the World (NLW) contains four sub-layers representing geomorphological landforms, provinces, divisions, and their respective cartographic boundaries. The latter is to support map making, while the first three represent basic units such landforms comprise provinces, and provinces comprise divisions. NLW is a substantial update to World Named Landforms in both compilation method and the attributes that describe each landform.For more details, please refer to our paper, Named Landforms of the World: A Geomorphological and Physiographic Compilation, in Annals of the American Assocation of Geographers.Landforms are commonly defined as natural features on the surface of the Earth. The National Geographic Society specifies terrain as the basis for landforms and lists four major types: mountains, hills, plateaus, and plains. Here, however, we define landforms in a richer way that includes properties relating to underlying geologic structure, erosional and depositional character, and tectonic setting and processes. These characteristics were asserted by Dr. Richard E. Murphy in 1968 in his map, titled Landforms of the World. We blended Murphy's definition for landforms with the work E.M. Bridges, who in his 1990 book, World Geomorphology, provided a globally consistent description of geomorphological divisions, provinces, and sections to give names to the landform regions of the world. AttributeDescription Bridges Full NameFull name from E.M. Bridges' 1990 "World Geomorphology" Division and if present province and section - intended for labeling print maps of small extents. Bridges DivisionGeomorphological Division as described in E.M. Bridges' 1990 "World Geomorphology" - All Landforms have a division assigned, i.e., no nulls. Bridges ProvinceGeomorphological Province as described in E.M. Bridges' 1990 "World Geomorphology" - Not all divisions are subdivided into provinces. Bridges SectionGeomorphological Section as described in E.M. Bridges' 1990 "World Geomorphology" - Not all provinces are subdivided into sections. StructureLandform Structure as described in Richard E. Murphy's 1968 "Landforms of the World" map. Coded Value Domain. Values include: - Alpine Systems: Area of mountains formed by orogenic (collisions of tectonic plates) processes in the past 350 to 500 million years. - Caledonian/Hercynian Shield Remnants: Area of mountains formed by orogenic (collisions of tectonic plates) processes 350 to 500 million years ago. - Gondwana or Laurasian Shields: Area underlaid by mostly crystalline rock formations fromed one billion or more years ago and unbroken by tectonic processes. - Rifted Shield Areas: fractures or spreading along or adjacent to tectonic plate edges. - Isolated Volcanic Areas: volcanic activity occurring outside of Alpine Systems and Rifted Shields. - Sedimentary: Areas of deposition occurring within the past 2.5 million years Moist or DryLandform Erosional/Depositional variable as described in Richard E. Murphy's 1968 "Landforms of the World" map. Coded Value Domain. Values include: - Moist: where annual aridity index is 1.0 or higher, which implies precipitation is absorbed or lost via runoff. - Dry: where annual aridity index is less than 1.0, which implies more precipitation evaporates before it can be absorbed or lost via runoff. TopographicLandform Topographic type variable as described in Richard E. Murphy's 1968 "Landforms of the World" map. Karagulle et. al. 2017 - based on rich morphometric characteristics. Coded Value Domain. Values include: - Plains: Areas with less than 90-meters of relief and slopes under 20%. - Hills: Areas with 90- to 300-meters of local relief. - Mountains: Areas with over 300-meters of relief - High Tablelands: Areas with over 300-meters of relief and 50% of highest elevation areas are of gentle slope. - Depressions or Basins: Areas of land surrounded land of higher elevation. Glaciation TypeLandform Erosional/Depositional variable as described in Richard E. Murphy's 1968 "Landforms of the World" map. Values include: - Wisconsin/Wurm Glacial Extent: Areas of most recent glaciation which formed 115,000 years ago and ended 11,000 years ago. - Pre-Wisconsin/Wurm Glacial Extent: Areas subjected only to glaciation prior to 140,000 years ago. ContinentAssigned by Author during data compilation. Bridges Short NameThe name of the smallest of Division, Province, or Section containing this landform feature. Murphy Landform CodeCombination of Richard E. Murphy's 1968 "Landforms of the World" variables expressed as a 3- or 4- letter notation. Used to label medium scale maps. Area_GeoGeodesic area in km2. Primary PlateName of tectonic plate that either completely underlays this landform feature or underlays the largest portion of the landform's area. Secondary PlateWhen a landform is underlaid by two or more tectonic plates, this is the plate that underlays the second largest area. 3rd PlateWhen a landform is underlaid by three or more tectonic plates, this is the plate that underlays the third largest area. 4th PlateWhen a landform is underlaid by four or more tectonic plates, this is the plate that underlays the fourth largest area. 5th PlateWhen a landform is underlaid by five tectonic plates, this is the plate that underlays the fifth largest area. NotesContains standard text to convey additional tectonic process characteristics. Tectonic ProcessAssigns values of orogenic, rift zone, or above subducting plate.

These data are also available as an ArcGIS Pro Map Package: Named_Landforms_of_the_World_v2.0.mpkx.These data supersede the earlier v1.0: World Named Landforms.Change Log:

DateDescription of Change July 20, 2022Corrected spelling of Guiana from incorrect representation, "Guyana", used by Bridges. July 27, 2022Corrected Structure coded value domain value, changing "Caledonian/Hercynian Shield" to "Caledonian , Hercynian, or Appalachian Remnants".

Cite as:Frye, C., Sayre R., Pippi, M., Karagulle, Murphy, A., D. Soller, D.R., Gilbert, M., and Richards, J., 2022. Named Landforms of the World. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33178.93129. Accessed on:

The USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) is the official inventory of public parks and other protected open space. The spatial data in PAD-US represents public lands held in trust by thousands of national, state and regional/local governments, as well as non-profit conservation organizations.Manager Type provides a coarse level land manager description from the PAD-US "Agency Type" Domain, "Manager Type" Field (for example, Federal, State, Local Government, Private).PAD-US is published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS), Gap Analysis Project (GAP). GAP produces data and tools that help meet critical national challenges such as biodiversity conservation, recreation, public health, climate change adaptation, and infrastructure investment. See the GAP webpage for more information about GAP and other GAP data including species and land cover.Dataset SummaryPhenomenon Mapped: This layer displays protected areas symbolized by manager type.Coordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary SphereExtent: 50 United States plus Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and other Pacific Ocean IslandsVisible Scale: 1:1,000,000 and largerSource: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS), Gap Analysis Project (GAP) PAD-US version 3.0Publication Date: July 2022Attributes included in this layer are: CategoryOwner TypeOwner NameLocal OwnerManager TypeManager NameLocal ManagerDesignation TypeLocal DesignationUnit NameLocal NameSourcePublic AccessGAP Status - Status 1, 2, 3 or 4GAP Status DescriptionInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Description - I: Strict Nature Reserve, II: National Park, III: Natural Monument or Feature, IV: Habitat/Species Management Area, V: Protected Landscape/Seascape, VI: Protected area with sustainable use of natural resources, Other conservation area, UnassignedDate of EstablishmentThe source data for this layer are available here. What can you do with this Feature Layer?Feature layers work throughout the ArcGIS system. Generally your work flow with feature layers will begin in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Pro. Below are just a few of the things you can do with a feature service in Online and Pro.ArcGIS OnlineAdd this layer to a map in the map viewer. The layer is limited to scales of approximately 1:1,000,000 or larger but a vector tile layer created from the same data can be used at smaller scales to produce a webmap that displays across the full range of scales. The layer or a map containing it can be used in an application.Change the layer’s transparency and set its visibility rangeOpen the layer’s attribute table and make selections and apply filters. Selections made in the map or table are reflected in the other. Center on selection allows you to zoom to features selected in the map or table and show selected records allows you to view the selected records in the table.Change the layer’s style and filter the data. For example, you could set a filter for Gap Status Code = 3 to create a map of only the GAP Status 3 areas.Add labels and set their propertiesCustomize the pop-upArcGIS ProAdd this layer to a 2d or 3d map. The same scale limit as Online applies in ProUse as an input to geoprocessing. For example, copy features allows you to select then export portions of the data to a new feature class. Note that many features in the PAD-US database overlap. For example wilderness area designations overlap US Forest Service and other federal lands. Any analysis should take this into consideration. An imagery layer created from the same data set can be used for geoprocessing analysis with larger extents and eliminates some of the complications arising from overlapping polygons.Change the symbology and the attribute field used to symbolize the dataOpen table and make interactive selections with the mapModify the pop-upsApply Definition Queries to create sub-sets of the layerThis layer is part of the Living Atlas of the World that provides an easy way to explore the landscape layers and many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics.

*This dataset is authored by ESRI and is being shared as a direct link to the feature service by Pend Oreille County. NHD is a primary hydrologic reference used by our organization.The National Hydrography Dataset Plus High Resolution (NHDplus High Resolution) maps the lakes, ponds, streams, rivers and other surface waters of the United States. Created by the US Geological Survey, NHDPlus High Resolution provides mean annual flow and velocity estimates for rivers and streams. Additional attributes provide connections between features facilitating complicated analyses.For more information on the NHDPlus High Resolution dataset see the User’s Guide for the National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus) High Resolution.Dataset SummaryPhenomenon Mapped: Surface waters and related features of the United States and associated territoriesCoordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere Extent: The Contiguous United States, Hawaii, portions of Alaska, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, Northern Marianas Islands, and American Samoa Visible Scale: Visible at all scales but layer draws best at scales larger than 1:1,000,000Source: USGSPublication Date: July 2022This layer was symbolized in the ArcGIS Map Viewer and while the features will draw in the Classic Map Viewer the advanced symbology will not.Prior to publication, the network and non-network flowline feature classes were combined into a single flowline layer. Similarly, the Area and Waterbody feature classes were merged under a single schema.Attribute fields were added to the flowline and waterbody layers to simplify symbology and enhance the layer's pop-ups. Fields added include Pop-up Title, Pop-up Subtitle, Esri Symbology (waterbodies only), and Feature Code Description. All other attributes are from the original dataset. No data values -9999 and -9998 were converted to Null values.What can you do with this Feature Layer?Feature layers work throughout the ArcGIS system. Generally your work flow with feature layers will begin in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Pro. Below are just a few of the things you can do with a feature service in Online and Pro.ArcGIS OnlineAdd this layer to a map in the map viewer. The layer or a map containing it can be used in an application. Change the layer’s transparency and set its visibility rangeOpen the layer’s attribute table and make selections. Selections made in the map or table are reflected in the other. Center on selection allows you to zoom to features selected in the map or table and show selected records allows you to view the selected records in the table.Apply filters. For example you can set a filter to show larger streams and rivers using the mean annual flow attribute or the stream order attribute.Change the layer’s style and symbologyAdd labels and set their propertiesCustomize the pop-upUse as an input to the ArcGIS Online analysis tools. This layer works well as a reference layer with the trace downstream and watershed tools. The buffer tool can be used to draw protective boundaries around streams and the extract data tool can be used to create copies of portions of the data.ArcGIS ProAdd this layer to a 2d or 3d map.Use as an input to geoprocessing. For example, copy features allows you to select then export portions of the data to a new feature class.Change the symbology and the attribute field used to symbolize the dataOpen table and make interactive selections with the mapModify the pop-upsApply Definition Queries to create sub-sets of the layerThis layer is part of the ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World that provides an easy way to explore the landscape layers and many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics.

World Imagery provides one meter or better satellite and aerial imagery in many parts of the world and lower resolution satellite imagery worldwide. The map includes 15m TerraColor imagery at small and mid-scales (~1:591M down to ~1:72k) and 2.5m SPOT Imagery (~1:288k to ~1:72k) for the world. The map features 0.5m resolution imagery in the continental United States and parts of Western Europe from DigitalGlobe. Additional DigitalGlobe sub-meter imagery is featured in many parts of the world. In the United States, 1 meter or better resolution NAIP imagery is available in some areas. In other parts of the world, imagery at different resolutions has been contributed by the GIS User Community. In select communities, very high resolution imagery (down to 0.03m) is available down to ~1:280 scale. You can contribute your imagery to this map and have it served by Esri via the Community Maps Program. View the list of Contributors for the World Imagery Map.CoverageView the links below to learn more about recent updates and map coverage:What's new in World ImageryWorld coverage mapCitationsThis layer includes imagery provider, collection date, resolution, accuracy, and source of the imagery. With the Identify tool in ArcGIS Desktop or the ArcGIS Online Map Viewer you can see imagery citations. Citations returned apply only to the available imagery at that location and scale. You may need to zoom in to view the best available imagery. Citations can also be accessed in the World Imagery with Metadata web map.UseYou can add this layer to the ArcGIS Online Map Viewer, ArcGIS Desktop, or ArcGIS Pro. To view this layer with a useful reference overlay, open the Imagery Hybrid web map. A similar raster web map, Imagery with Labels, is also available.FeedbackHave you ever seen a problem in the Esri World Imagery Map that you wanted to report? You can use the Imagery Map Feedback web map to provide comments on issues. The feedback will be reviewed by the ArcGIS Online team and considered for one of our updates.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) produces Flood Insurance Rate maps and identifies Special Flood Hazard Areas as part of the National Flood Insurance Program's floodplain management. Special Flood Hazard Areas have regulations that include the mandatory purchase of flood insurance.Dataset SummaryPhenomenon Mapped: Flood Hazard AreasCoordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary SphereExtent: Contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, Northern Marianas Islands and American Samoa.Visible Scale: The layer is limited to scales of 1:1,000,000 and larger. Use the USA Flood Hazard Areas imagery layer for smaller scales.Source: Federal Emergency Management AgencyPublication Date: October 13, 2021This layer is derived from the October 13, 2021 version of the National Flood Hazard Layer feature class S_Fld_Haz_Ar. The data were aggregated into eight classes to produce the Esri Symbology field based on symbology provided by FEMA. All other layer attributes are derived from the National Flood Hazard Layer.The layer was projected to Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere, then the repair geometry geoprocessing tool was run on it. Its resolution was set to 0.0001 meter.To improve performance Flood Zone values "Area Not Included", "Open Water", "D", "NP", and No Data were removed from the layer. Areas with Flood Zone value "X" subtype "Area of Minimal Flood Hazard" were also removed. An imagery layer created from this dataset provides access to the full set of records in the National Flood Hazard Layer.A web map featuring this layer is available for you to use.What can you do with this Feature Layer?Feature layers work throughout the ArcGIS system. Generally your work flow with feature layers will begin in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Pro. Below are just a few of the things you can do with a feature service in Online and Pro.ArcGIS OnlineAdd this layer to a map in the map viewer. The layer is limited to scales of approximately 1:1,000,000 or larger but an imagery layer created from the same data can be used at smaller scales to produce a webmap that displays across the full range of scales. The layer or a map containing it can be used in an application.Change the layer’s transparency and set its visibility rangeOpen the layer’s attribute table and make selections and apply filters. Selections made in the map or table are reflected in the other. Center on selection allows you to zoom to features selected in the map or table and show selected records allows you to view the selected records in the table.Change the layer’s style and filter the data. For example, you could change the symbology field to Special Flood Hazard Area and set a filter for = “T” to create a map of only the special flood hazard areas. Add labels and set their propertiesCustomize the pop-upUse in analysis tools to discover patterns in the dataArcGIS ProAdd this layer to a 2d or 3d map. The same scale limit as Online applies in ProUse as an input to geoprocessing. For example, copy features allows you to select then export portions of the data to a new feature class. Areas up to 1,000-2,000 features can be exported successfully.Change the symbology and the attribute field used to symbolize the dataOpen table and make interactive selections with the mapModify the pop-upsApply Definition Queries to create sub-sets of the layerThis layer is part of the Living Atlas of the World that provides an easy way to explore the landscape layers and many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics.

This vector tile layer provides a detailed reference overlay for the world symbolized with populated places, admin areas, and boundary lines. The minimal features and styling is designed to draw attention to your thematic content. This layer is designed to be used with the World Terrain Base layer and hillshade. The vector tile layer is loosely based off the Terrain with Labels raster basemap. This vector tile layer provides unique capabilities for customization and high-resolution display. Use this MapThis map is designed to be used as a reference layer in a web map. You can add this layer to a web map and save as your own map. If you would like to use this map as a basemap layer in a web map, you may use the vector basemap Terrain with Labels web map.Customize the MapBecause this map is delivered as a vector tile layer, users can customize the map to change its content and symbology, including fonts. Users are able to turn on and off layers, change symbols for layers, switch to alternate local language (in some areas), and refine the treatment of disputed boundaries. See the Vector Basemap group for other vector tile layers. For details on how to customize this map, please refer to these articles on the ArcGIS Online Blog and view the Esri Vector Basemaps Reference Document.

World Imagery provides one meter or better satellite and aerial imagery in many parts of the world and lower resolution satellite imagery worldwide. The map includes 15m TerraColor imagery at small and mid-scales (~1:591M down to ~1:72k) and 2.5m SPOT Imagery (~1:288k to ~1:72k) for the world. The map features 0.5m resolution imagery in the continental United States and parts of Western Europe from DigitalGlobe. Additional DigitalGlobe sub-meter imagery is featured in many parts of the world. In the United States, 1 meter or better resolution NAIP imagery is available in some areas. In other parts of the world, imagery at different resolutions has been contributed by the GIS User Community. In select communities, very high resolution imagery (down to 0.03m) is available down to ~1:280 scale. You can contribute your imagery to this map and have it served by Esri via the Community Maps Program. View the list of Contributors for the World Imagery Map.CoverageView the links below to learn more about recent updates and map coverage:What's new in World ImageryWorld coverage mapCitationsThis layer includes imagery provider, collection date, resolution, accuracy, and source of the imagery. With the Identify tool in ArcGIS Desktop or the ArcGIS Online Map Viewer you can see imagery citations. Citations returned apply only to the available imagery at that location and scale. You may need to zoom in to view the best available imagery. Citations can also be accessed in the World Imagery with Metadata web map.UseYou can add this layer to the ArcGIS Online Map Viewer, ArcGIS Desktop, or ArcGIS Pro. To view this layer with a useful reference overlay, open the Imagery Hybrid web map. A similar raster web map, Imagery with Labels, is also available.FeedbackHave you ever seen a problem in the Esri World Imagery Map that you wanted to report? You can use the Imagery Map Feedback web map to provide comments on issues. The feedback will be reviewed by the ArcGIS Online team and considered for one of our updates.

Wetlands are areas where water is present at or near the surface of the soil during at least part of the year. Wetlands provide habitat for many species of plants and animals that are adapted to living in wet habitats. Wetlands form characteristic soils, absorb pollutants and excess nutrients from aquatic systems, help buffer the effects of high flows, and recharge groundwater. Data on the distribution and type of wetland play an important role in land use planning and several federal and state laws require that wetlands be considered during the planning process.The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) was designed to assist land managers in wetland conservation efforts. The NWI is managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.Dataset SummaryPhenomenon Mapped: WetlandsCoordinate System: Web Mercator Auxiliary SphereExtent: 50 United States plus Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana IslandsVisible Scale: This layer preforms well between scales of 1:1,000,000 to 1:1,000. An imagery layer created from this dataset is also available which you can also use to quickly draw wetlands at smaller scales.Number of Features: 36,577,969Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServicePublication Date: October 26, 2024This layer was created from the October 26, 2024 version of the NWI. The features were converted from multi-part to a single part using the Multipart To Singlepart tool. Features with more than 50,000 vertices were split with the Dice tool. The Repair Geometry tool was run on the features, using the OGC option.The layer is published with a related table that contains text fields created by Esri for use in the layer's pop-up. Fields in the table are:Popup Header - this field contains a text string that is used to create the header in the default pop-up System Text - this field contains a text string that is used to create the system description text in the default pop-upClass Text - this field contains a text string that is used to create the class description text in the default pop-upModifier Text - this field contains a text string that is used to create the modifier description text in the default pop-upSpecies Text - this field contains a text string that is used to create the species description text in the default pop-upCodes, names, and text fields were derived from the publication Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States.What can you do with this Feature Layer?Feature layers work throughout the ArcGIS system. Generally your work flow with feature layers will begin in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Pro. Below are just a few of the things you can do with a feature service in Online and Pro.ArcGIS OnlineAdd this layer to a map in the map viewer. The layer is limited to scales of approximately 1:1,000,000 or larger but an imagery layer created from the same data can be used at smaller scales to produce a webmap that displays across the full scale range. The layer or a map containing it can be used in an application.Change the layer’s transparency and set its visibility rangeOpen the layer’s attribute table and make selections and apply filters. Selections made in the map or table are reflected in the other. Center on selection allows you to zoom to features selected in the map or table and show selected records allows you to view the selected records in the table.Change the layer’s style and filter the data. For example, you could set a filter for System Name = 'Palustrine' to create a map of palustrine wetlands only.Add labels and set their propertiesCustomize the pop-upArcGIS ProAdd this layer to a 2d or 3d mapUse as an input to geoprocessing. For example, copy features allows you to select then export portions of the data to a new feature class. Change the symbology and the attribute field used to symbolize the dataOpen table and make interactive selections with the mapModify the pop-upsApply Definition Queries to create sub-sets of the layerThis layer is part of the Living Atlas of the World that provides an easy way to explore the landscape layers and many other beautiful and authoritative maps on hundreds of topics.

Reason for Selection Protected natural areas in urban environments provide urban residents a nearby place to connect with nature and offer refugia for some species. Because beaches in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are open to the public, beaches also provide important outdoor recreation opportunities for urban residents, so we include beaches as parks in this indicator. Input Data

Southeast Blueprint 2023 subregions: Caribbean
Southeast Blueprint 2023 extent
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Coastal Relief Model, accessed 11-22-2022
Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) 3.0: VI, PR, and Marine Combined Fee Easement
Puerto Rico Protected Natural Areas 2018 (December 2018 update): Terrestrial and marine protected areas (PACAT2018_areas_protegidasPR_TERRESTRES_07052019.shp, PACAT2018_areas_protegidasPR_MARINAS_07052019.shp) 
2020 Census Urban Areas from the Census Bureau’s urban-rural classification; download the data, read more about how urban areas were redefined following the 2020 census
OpenStreetMap data “multipolygons” layer, accessed 3-14-2023

A polygon from this dataset is considered a park if the “leisure” tag attribute is either “park” or “nature_reserve”, and considered a beach if the value in the “natural” tag attribute is “beach”. OpenStreetMap describes leisure areas as “places people go in their spare time” and natural areas as “a wide variety of physical geography, geological and landcover features”. Data were downloaded in .pbf format and translated ton an ESRI shapefile using R code. OpenStreetMap® is open data, licensed under the Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL) by the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF). Additional credit to OSM contributors. Read more on the OSM copyright page.

TNC Lands - Public Layer, accessed 3-8-2023
U.S. Virgin Islands beaches layer (separate vector layers for St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John) provided by Joe Dwyer with Lynker/the NOAA Caribbean Climate Adaptation Program on 3-3-2023 (contact jdwyer@lynker.com for more information)

Mapping Steps

Most mapping steps were completed using QGIS (v 3.22) Graphical Modeler.
Fix geometry errors in the PAD-US PR data using Fix Geometry. This must be done before any analysis is possible.
Merge the terrestrial PR and VI PAD-US layers.
Use the NOAA coastal relief model to restrict marine parks (marine polygons from PAD-US and Puerto Rico Protected Natural Areas) to areas shallower than 10 m in depth. The deep offshore areas of marine parks do not meet the intent of this indicator to capture nearby opportunities for urban residents to connect with nature.
Merge into one layer the resulting shallow marine parks from marine PAD-US and the Puerto Rico Protected Natural Areas along with the combined terrestrial PAD-US parks, OpenStreetMap, TNC Lands, and USVI beaches. Omit from the Puerto Rico Protected Areas layer the “Zona de Conservación del Carso”, which has some policy protections and conservation incentives but is not formally protected.
Fix geometry errors in the resulting merged layer using Fix Geometry.
Intersect the resulting fixed file with the Caribbean Blueprint subregion.
Process all multipart polygons to single parts (referred to in Arc software as an “explode”). This helps the indicator capture, as much as possible, the discrete units of a protected area that serve urban residents.
Clip the Census urban area to the Caribbean Blueprint subregion.
Select all polygons that intersect the Census urban extent within 1.2 miles (1,931 m). The 1.2 mi threshold is consistent with the average walking trip on a summer day (U.S. DOT 2002) used to define the walking distance threshold used in the greenways and trails indicator. Note: this is further than the 0.5 mi distance used in the continental version of the indicator. We extended it to capture East Bay and Point Udall based on feedback from the local conservation community about the importance of the park for outdoor recreation.
Dissolve all the park polygons that were selected in the previous step.
Process all multipart polygons to single parts (“explode”) again.
Add a unique ID to the selected parks. This value will be used to join the parks to their buffers.
Create a 1.2 mi (1,931 m) buffer ring around each park using the multiring buffer plugin in QGIS. Ensure that “dissolve buffers” is disabled so that a single 1.2 mi buffer is created for each park.
Assess the amount of overlap between the buffered park and the Census urban area using overlap analysis. This step is necessary to identify parks that do not intersect the urban area, but which lie within an urban matrix. This step creates a table that is joined back to the park polygons using the UniqueID.
Remove parks that had ≤2% overlap with the urban areas when buffered. This excludes mostly non-urban parks that do not meet the intent of this indicator to capture parks that provide nearby access for urban residents. Note: In the continental version of this indicator, we used a threshold of 10%. In the Caribbean version, we lowered this to 2% in order to capture small parks that dropped out of the indicator when we extended the buffer distance to 1.2 miles.
Calculate the GIS acres of each remaining park unit using the Add Geometry Attributes function.
Join the buffer attribute table to the previously selected parks, retaining only the parks that exceeded the 2% urban area overlap threshold while buffered. 
Buffer the selected parks by 15 m. Buffering prevents very small parks and narrow beaches from being left out of the indicator when the polygons are converted to raster.
Reclassify the polygons into 7 classes, seen in the final indicator values below. These thresholds were informed by park classification guidelines from the National Recreation and Park Association, which classify neighborhood parks as 5-10 acres, community parks as 30-50 acres, and large urban parks as optimally 75+ acres (Mertes and Hall 1995).
Export the final vector file to a shapefile and import to ArcGIS Pro.
Convert the resulting polygons to raster using the ArcPy Polygon to Raster function. Assign values to the pixels in the resulting raster based on the polygon class sizes of the contiguous park areas.
Clip to the Caribbean Blueprint 2023 subregion.
As a final step, clip to the spatial extent of Southeast Blueprint 2023. 

Note: For more details on the mapping steps, code used to create this layer is available in the Southeast Blueprint Data Download under > 6_Code. Final indicator values Indicator values are assigned as follows: 6 = 75+ acre urban park 5 = >50 to <75 acre urban park 4 = 30 to <50 acre urban park 3 = 10 to <30 acre urban park 2 = 5 to <10 acre urban park 1 = <5 acre urban park 0 = Not identified as an urban park Known Issues

This indicator does not include park amenities that influence how well the park serves people and should not be the only tool used for parks and recreation planning. Park standards should be determined at a local level to account for various community issues, values, needs, and available resources. 
This indicator includes some protected areas that are not open to the public and not typically thought of as “parks”, like mitigation lands, private easements, and private golf courses. While we experimented with excluding them using the public access attribute in PAD, due to numerous inaccuracies, this inadvertently removed protected lands that are known to be publicly accessible. As a result, we erred on the side of including the non-publicly accessible lands.
This indicator includes parks and beaches from OpenStreetMap, which is a crowdsourced dataset. While members of the OpenStreetMap community often verify map features to check for accuracy and completeness, there is the potential for spatial errors (e.g., misrepresenting the boundary of a park) or incorrect tags (e.g., labelling an area as a park that is not actually a park). However, using a crowdsourced dataset gives on-the-ground experts, Blueprint users, and community members the power to fix errors and add new parks to improve the accuracy and coverage of this indicator in the future.

Other Things to Keep in Mind

This indicator calculates the area of each park using the park polygons from the source data. However, simply converting those park polygons to raster results in some small parks and narrow beaches being left out of the indicator. To capture those areas, we buffered parks and beaches by 15 m and applied the original area calculation to the larger buffered polygon, so as not to inflate the area by including the buffer. As a result, when the buffered polygons are rasterized, the final indicator has some areas of adjacent pixels that receive different scores. While these pixels may appear to be part of one contiguous park or suite of parks, they are scored differently because the park polygons themselves are not actually contiguous. 
The Caribbean version of this indicator uses a slightly different methodology than the continental Southeast version. It includes parks within a 1.2 mi distance from the Census urban area, compared to 0.5 mi in the continental Southeast. We extended it to capture East Bay and Point Udall based on feedback from the local conservation community about the importance of the park for outdoor recreation. Similarly, this indicator uses a 2% threshold of overlap between buffered parks and the Census urban areas, compared to a 10% threshold in the continental Southeast. This helped capture small parks that dropped out of the indicator when we extended the buffer distance to 1.2 miles. Finally, the Caribbean version does not use the impervious surface cutoff applied in the continental Southeast

Named Landforms of the World (NLW) contains four sub-layers representing geomorphological landforms, provinces, divisions, and their respective cartographic boundaries. The latter is to support map making, while the first three represent basic units such landforms comprise provinces, and provinces comprise divisions. NLW is a substantial update to World Named Landforms in both compilation method and the attributes that describe each landform.For more details, please refer to our paper, Named Landforms of the World: A Geomorphological and Physiographic Compilation, in Annals of the American Assocation of Geographers.Landforms are commonly defined as natural features on the surface of the Earth. The National Geographic Society specifies terrain as the basis for landforms and lists four major types: mountains, hills, plateaus, and plains. Here, however, we define landforms in a richer way that includes properties relating to underlying geologic structure, erosional and depositional character, and tectonic setting and processes. These characteristics were asserted by Dr. Richard E. Murphy in 1968 in his map, titled Landforms of the World. We blended Murphy's definition for landforms with the work E.M. Bridges, who in his 1990 book, World Geomorphology, provided a globally consistent description of geomorphological divisions, provinces, and sections to give names to the landform regions of the world. AttributeDescription Bridges Full NameFull name from E.M. Bridges' 1990 "World Geomorphology" Division and if present province and section - intended for labeling print maps of small extents. Bridges DivisionGeomorphological Division as described in E.M. Bridges' 1990 "World Geomorphology" - All Landforms have a division assigned, i.e., no nulls. Bridges ProvinceGeomorphological Province as described in E.M. Bridges' 1990 "World Geomorphology" - Not all divisions are subdivided into provinces. Bridges SectionGeomorphological Section as described in E.M. Bridges' 1990 "World Geomorphology" - Not all provinces are subdivided into sections. StructureLandform Structure as described in Richard E. Murphy's 1968 "Landforms of the World" map. Coded Value Domain. Values include: - Alpine Systems: Area of mountains formed by orogenic (collisions of tectonic plates) processes in the past 350 to 500 million years. - Caledonian/Hercynian Shield Remnants: Area of mountains formed by orogenic (collisions of tectonic plates) processes 350 to 500 million years ago. - Gondwana or Laurasian Shields: Area underlaid by mostly crystalline rock formations fromed one billion or more years ago and unbroken by tectonic processes. - Rifted Shield Areas: fractures or spreading along or adjacent to tectonic plate edges. - Isolated Volcanic Areas: volcanic activity occurring outside of Alpine Systems and Rifted Shields. - Sedimentary: Areas of deposition occurring within the past 2.5 million years Moist or DryLandform Erosional/Depositional variable as described in Richard E. Murphy's 1968 "Landforms of the World" map. Coded Value Domain. Values include: - Moist: where annual aridity index is 1.0 or higher, which implies precipitation is absorbed or lost via runoff. - Dry: where annual aridity index is less than 1.0, which implies more precipitation evaporates before it can be absorbed or lost via runoff. TopographicLandform Topographic type variable as described in Richard E. Murphy's 1968 "Landforms of the World" map. Karagulle et. al. 2017 - based on rich morphometric characteristics. Coded Value Domain. Values include: - Plains: Areas with less than 90-meters of relief and slopes under 20%. - Hills: Areas with 90- to 300-meters of local relief. - Mountains: Areas with over 300-meters of relief - High Tablelands: Areas with over 300-meters of relief and 50% of highest elevation areas are of gentle slope. - Depressions or Basins: Areas of land surrounded land of higher elevation. Glaciation TypeLandform Erosional/Depositional variable as described in Richard E. Murphy's 1968 "Landforms of the World" map. Values include: - Wisconsin/Wurm Glacial Extent: Areas of most recent glaciation which formed 115,000 years ago and ended 11,000 years ago. - Pre-Wisconsin/Wurm Glacial Extent: Areas subjected only to glaciation prior to 140,000 years ago. ContinentAssigned by Author during data compilation. Bridges Short NameThe name of the smallest of Division, Province, or Section containing this landform feature. Murphy Landform CodeCombination of Richard E. Murphy's 1968 "Landforms of the World" variables expressed as a 3- or 4- letter notation. Used to label medium scale maps. Area_GeoGeodesic area in km2. Primary PlateName of tectonic plate that either completely underlays this landform feature or underlays the largest portion of the landform's area. Secondary PlateWhen a landform is underlaid by two or more tectonic plates, this is the plate that underlays the second largest area. 3rd PlateWhen a landform is underlaid by three or more tectonic plates, this is the plate that underlays the third largest area. 4th PlateWhen a landform is underlaid by four or more tectonic plates, this is the plate that underlays the fourth largest area. 5th PlateWhen a landform is underlaid by five tectonic plates, this is the plate that underlays the fifth largest area. NotesContains standard text to convey additional tectonic process characteristics. Tectonic ProcessAssigns values of orogenic, rift zone, or above subducting plate.

These data are also available as an ArcGIS Pro Map Package: Named_Landforms_of_the_World_v2.0.mpkx.These data supersede the earlier v1.0: World Named Landforms.Change Log:

DateDescription of Change July 20, 2022Corrected spelling of Guiana from incorrect representation, "Guyana", used by Bridges. July 27, 2022Corrected Structure coded value domain value, changing "Caledonian/Hercynian Shield" to "Caledonian , Hercynian, or Appalachian Remnants".

Cite as:Frye, C., Sayre R., Pippi, M., Karagulle, Murphy, A., D. Soller, D.R., Gilbert, M., and Richards, J., 2022. Named Landforms of the World. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33178.93129. Accessed on: