World Continents represents the boundaries for the continents of the world. It provides a basemap layer of the continents, delivering a straightforward method of selecting a small multicountry area for display or study.This layer is best viewed out beyond a scale of 1:3,000,000. The original source was extracted from the ArcWorld Supplement database in 2001 and updated as country boundaries coincident to regional boundaries change. To download the data for this layer as a layer package for use in ArcGIS desktop applications, refer to World Continents.

Please note this dataset is the most recent version of the Administrative Boundaries (AB). For previous versions of the AB please go to this url: https://data.gov.au/dataset/ds-dga-b4ad5702-ea2b-4f04-833c-d0229bfd689e/details?q=previous

Geoscape Administrative Boundaries is Australia’s most comprehensive national collection of boundaries, including government, statistical and electoral boundaries. It is built and maintained by Geoscape Australia using authoritative government data. Further information about contributors to Administrative Boundaries is available here.

This dataset comprises seven Geoscape products:

• Localities
• Local Government Areas (LGAs)
• Wards
• Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Boundaries
• Electoral Boundaries
• State Boundaries and
• Town Points

Updated versions of Administrative Boundaries are published on a quarterly basis.

Users have the option to download datasets with feature coordinates referencing either GDA94 or GDA2020 datums.

Notable changes in the May 2025 release

• Victorian Wards have seen almost half of the dataset change now reflecting the boundaries from the 2024 subdivision review. https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/electoral-boundaries/council-reviews/ subdivision-reviews.

  • There have been spatial changes (area) greater than 1 km2 to 66 wards in Victoria.

• One new locality ‘Kenwick Island’ has been added to the local Government area ‘Mackay Regional’ in Queensland.

  • There have been spatial changes(area) greater than 1 km2 to the local government areas 'Burke Shire' and 'Mount Isa City' in Queensland.

• There have been spatial changes(area) greater than 1 km2 to the localities ‘Nicholson’, ‘Lawn Hill’ and ‘Coral Sea’ in Queensland and ‘Calguna’, ‘Israelite Bay’ and ‘Balladonia’ in Western Australia.

• An update to the NT Commonwealth Electoral Boundaries has been applied to reflect the redistribution of the boundaries gazetted on 4 March 2025.

• Geoscape has become aware that the DATE_CREATED and DATE_RETIRED attributes in the commonwealth_electoral_polygon MapInfo TAB tables were incorrectly ordered and did not match the product data model. These attributes have been re-ordered to match the data model for the May 2025 release.

IMPORTANT NOTE: correction of issues with the 22 November 2022 release

• On 28 November 2022, the Administrative Boundaries dataset originally released on 22 November 2022 was amended and re-uploaded after Geoscape identified some issues with the original data for 'Electoral Boundaries'.
• As a result of the error, some shapefiles were published in 3D rather than 2D, which may affect some users when importing data into GIS applications.
• The error affected the Electoral Boundaries dataset, specifically the Commonwealth boundary data for Victoria and Western Australia, including 'All States'.
• Only the ESRI Shapefile formats were affected (both GDA94 and GDA2020). The MapInfo TAB format was not affected.
• Because the datasets are zipped into a single file, once the error was fixed by Geoscape all of Administrative Boundaries shapefiles had to be re-uploaded, rather than only the affected files.
• If you downloaded either of the two Administrative Boundary ESRI Shapefiles between 22 November and 28 November 2022 and plan to use the Electoral Boundary component, you are advised to download the revised version dated 28 November 2022. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Further information on Administrative Boundaries, including FAQs on the data, is available here or through Geoscape Australia’s network of partners. They provide a range of commercial products based on Administrative Boundaries, including software solutions, consultancy and support.

Note: On 1 October 2020, PSMA Australia Limited began trading as Geoscape Australia.

The Australian Government has negotiated the release of Administrative Boundaries to the whole economy under an open CCBY 4.0 licence.

Users must only use the data in ways that are consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles issued under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Users must also note the following attribution requirements:

Preferred attribution for the Licensed Material:

Administrative Boundaries © Geoscape Australia licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0).

Preferred attribution for Adapted Material:

Incorporates or developed using Administrative Boundaries © Geoscape Australia licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0).

What to Expect When You Download Administrative Boundaries

Administrative Boundaries is large dataset (around 1.5GB unpacked), made up of seven themes each containing multiple layers.

Users are advised to read the technical documentation including the product change notices and the individual product descriptions before downloading and using the product.

Please note this dataset is the most recent version of the Administrative Boundaries (AB). For previous versions of the AB please go to this url: https://data.gov.au/dataset/ds-dga-b4ad5702-ea2b-4f04-833c-d0229bfd689e/details?q=previous

License Information

World Countries provides a detailed basemap layer for the country boundaries of the world as they existed in January 2024. It has been designed to be used as a basemap and includes fields for local and official names and country codes, along with fields for capital, continent, and display. Particularly useful are the fields LAND_TYPE and LAND_RANK that separate polygons based on their size. These fields are helpful for rendering at different scales by providing the ability to turn off small islands that may clutter small-scale views.The data is sourced from Garmin International, Inc. and was published here in October 2024. This layer is updated every 12-18 months or as significant changes occur.

ArcGIS and QGIS map packages, with ESRI shapefiles for the DSM2 Model Grid. These are not finalized products. Locations in these shapefiles are approximate.

Monitoring Stations - shapefile with approximate locations of monitoring stations.

DSM2 Grid 2025-05-28 Historical

FC_2023.01

DSM2 v8.2.0, calibrated version:

• dsm2_8_2_grid_map_calibrated.mpkx - ArcGIS Pro map package containing all layers and symbology for the calibrated grid map.
• dsm2_8_2_grid_map_calibrated.mpk - ArcGIS Desktop map package containing all layers and symbology for the calibrated grid map.
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_grid_map_qgis.zip - QGIS map package containing all layers and symbology for the calibrated grid map.
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_gridmap_shapefiles.zip - A zip file containing all the shapefiles used in the above map packages:
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_channels_centerlines - channel centerlines, follwing the path of CSDP centerlines
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_network_channels - channels represented by straight line segments which are connected the upstream and downstream nodes
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_nodes - DSM2 nodes
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_dcd_only_nodes - Nodes that are only used by DCD
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_and_dcd_nodes - Nodes that are shared by DSM2 and DCD
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_and_smcd_nodes - Nodes that are shared by DSM2 and SMCD
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_gates_actual_loc - The approximate actual locations of each gate in DSM2
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_gates_grid_loc - The locations of each gate in the DSM2 model grid
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_reservoirs - The approximate locations of the reservoirs in DSM2
• dsm2_8_2_0_calibrated_reservoir_connections - Lines showing connections from reservoirs to nodes in DSM2

DSM2 v8.2.1, historical version:

• DSM2 v8.2.1, historical version grid map release notes (PDF), updated 7/12/2022
• DSM2 v8.2.1, historical version grid map, single zoom level (PDF)
• DSM2 v8.2.1, historical version grid map, multiple zoom levels (PDF) - PDF grid map designed to be printed on 3 foot wide plotter paper.
• DSM2 v8.2.1, historical version map package for ArcGIS Desktop: A map package for ArcGIS Desktop containing the grid map layers with symbology.
• DSM2 v8.2.1, historical version grid map shapefiles (zip): A zip file containing the shapefiles used in the grid map.

Change Log

7/12/2022: The document "DSM2 v8.2.1, historical version grid map release notes (PDF)" was corrected by removing section 4.4, which incorrectly stated that the grid included channels 710-714, representing the Toe Drain, and that the Yolo Flyway restoration area was included.

Download high-quality, up-to-date Belgium shapefile boundaries (SHP, projection system SRID 4326). Our Belgium Shapefile Database offers comprehensive boundary data for spatial analysis, including administrative areas and geographic boundaries. This dataset contains accurate and up-to-date information on all administrative divisions, zip codes, cities, and geographic boundaries, making it an invaluable resource for various applications such as geographic analysis, map and visualization, reporting and business intelligence (BI), master data management, logistics and supply chain management, and sales and marketing. Our location data packages are available in various formats, including Shapefile, GeoJSON, KML, ASC, DAT, CSV, and GML, optimized for seamless integration with popular systems like Esri ArcGIS, Snowflake, QGIS, and more. Companies choose our location databases for their enterprise-grade service, reduction in integration time and cost by 30%, and weekly updates to ensure the highest quality.

Download high-quality, up-to-date Ghana shapefile boundaries (SHP, projection system SRID 4326). Our Ghana Shapefile Database offers comprehensive boundary data for spatial analysis, including administrative areas and geographic boundaries. This dataset contains accurate and up-to-date information on all administrative divisions, zip codes, cities, and geographic boundaries, making it an invaluable resource for various applications such as geographic analysis, map and visualization, reporting and business intelligence (BI), master data management, logistics and supply chain management, and sales and marketing. Our location data packages are available in various formats, including Shapefile, GeoJSON, KML, ASC, DAT, CSV, and GML, optimized for seamless integration with popular systems like Esri ArcGIS, Snowflake, QGIS, and more. Companies choose our location databases for their enterprise-grade service, reduction in integration time and cost by 30%, and weekly updates to ensure the highest quality.

Updated June, 2020SwiftFoxOverallRange is an ESRI shapefile encompassing the observed range of a population of Swift Fox in Colorado. This layer was created to indicate the areas in Eastern Colorado with a high likelihood of having swift fox present. Data from occupancy surveys from 2012 and 2016 were used as well as the location of habitat and landscape features.

The rivers of the Near East dataset is derived from the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) HydroSHEDS drainage direction layer and a stream network layer. The source of the drainage direction layer was the 15-second Digital Elevation Model (DEM) from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM). The raster stream network was determined by using the HydroSHEDS flow accumulation grid, with a threshold of about 1000 km² upstream area.

The stream network dataset consists of the following information: the origin node of each arc in the network (FROM_NODE), the destination of each arc in the network (TO_NODE), the Strahler stream order of each arc in the network (STRAHLER), numerical code and name of the major basin that the arc falls within (MAJ_BAS and MAJ_NAME); - area of the major basin in square km that the arc falls within (MAJ_AREA); - numerical code and name of the sub-basin that the arc falls within (SUB_BAS and SUB_NAME); - area of the sub-basin in square km that the arc falls within (SUB_AREA); - numerical code of the sub-basin towards which the sub-basin flows that the arc falls within (TO_SUBBAS) (the codes -888 and -999 have been assigned respectively to internal sub-basins and to sub-basins draining into the sea). The attributes table now includes a field named "Regime" with tentative classification of perennial ("P") and intermittent ("I") streams.

Supplemental Information:

This dataset is developed as part of a GIS-based information system on water resources for the Near East. It has been published in the framework of the AQUASTAT - programme of the Land and Water Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Contact points:

Metadata contact: AQUASTAT FAO-UN Land and Water Division

Contact: Jippe Hoogeveen FAO-UN Land and Water Division

Contact: Livia Peiser FAO-UN Land and Water Division

Data lineage:

The linework of the map was obtained by converting the stream network to a feature dataset with the Hydrology toolset in ESRI ArcGIS.The Flow Direction and Stream Order grids were derived from hydrologically corrected elevation data with a resolution of 15 arc-seconds.The elevation dataset was part of a mapping product, HydroSHEDS, developed by the Conservation Science Program of World Wildlife Fund.Original input data had been obtained during NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM).

Online resources:

Download - Rivers of the Near East (ESRI shapefile)

For general information regarding the HydroSHEDS data product

For HydroSHEDS dataset download and technical information

Hydrological basins in the Near East

The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program"s Managed Areas are primarily a collection of fee simple properties and easements where natural resource conservation is one of the primary management goals. It does include a number of properties and easements that are not primarily managed for conservation, but that are of conservation interest. This conservation interest ranges from properties and easements which support rare species and intact, high-quality natural communities to those that are open spaces in places where open space is scarce. Lands that are Dedicated Nature Preserves or Registered Heritage Areas are found in this data set.These data are the current equivalent of the Conservation Tax Credit Properties and Land Trust Conservation Properties data set.Some of the Managed Areas represented in this data set are on private land and are not open to the public. Written permission should be obtained from all appropriate landowners before visiting any of these sites.NOTE: This is a large dataset and compiling the download using the map may take some time or fail. The data is also available as an Esri shapefile in a ZIP download from the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program"s Data Explorer data download page (https://ncnhde.natureserve.org/content/data-download).

Collection of various datasets in esri shapefile format for download; includes hydrography and geology data.

Shapefiles for each conttinent, subset of publicly available shapefile from ESRI.

This world cities layer presents the locations of many cities of the world, both major cities and many provincial capitals.Population estimates are provided for those cities listed in open source data from the United Nations and US Census.

Parks managed by the Chicago Park District. To view or use these files, compression software and special GIS software, such as ESRI ArcGIS, is required. To download, right-click the "Download" link above and choose "Save link as."

Download high-quality, up-to-date Israel shapefile boundaries (SHP, projection system SRID 4326). Our Israel Shapefile Database offers comprehensive boundary data for spatial analysis, including administrative areas and geographic boundaries. This dataset contains accurate and up-to-date information on all administrative divisions, zip codes, cities, and geographic boundaries, making it an invaluable resource for various applications such as geographic analysis, map and visualization, reporting and business intelligence (BI), master data management, logistics and supply chain management, and sales and marketing. Our location data packages are available in various formats, including Shapefile, GeoJSON, KML, ASC, DAT, CSV, and GML, optimized for seamless integration with popular systems like Esri ArcGIS, Snowflake, QGIS, and more. Companies choose our location databases for their enterprise-grade service, reduction in integration time and cost by 30%, and weekly updates to ensure the highest quality.

Updated December, 2024GunnPrairieDogOverallRange is an ESRI shapefile encompassing the observed range of a population of Gunnison's Prairie Dog in Colorado. This information was derived from Colorado Parks and Wildlife field personnel. Data was captured by digitizing through a SmartBoard Interactive Whiteboard using topographic maps and NAIP imagery at various scales (Cowardin, M., M. Flenner. March 2003. Maximizing Mapping Resources. GeoWorld 16(3):32-35). These data are updated on a four year rotation with one of the four Colorado Parks and Wildlife Regions updated each year. These data are not updated on a statewide level annually.

This map presents transportation data, including highways, roads, railroads, and airports for the world.

The map was developed by Esri using Esri highway data; Garmin basemap layers; HERE street data for North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South America and Central America, India, most of the Middle East and Asia, and select countries in Africa. Data for Pacific Island nations and the remaining countries of Africa was sourced from OpenStreetMap contributors. Specific country list and documentation of Esri's process for including OSM data is available to view.

Last updated December, 2014AbertsSquirrelOverallRange is an ESRI shapefile encompassing the observed range of a population of Abert's squirrel in Colorado. This information was derived from Colorado Parks and Wildlife field personnel. Data was captured by digitizing through a SmartBoard Interactive Whiteboard using topographic maps and NAIP imagery at various scales (Cowardin, M., M. Flenner. March 2003. Maximizing Mapping Resources. GeoWorld 16(3):32-35).These data are updated on a four year rotation with one of the four Colorado Parks and Wildlife Regions updated each year. These data are not updated on a statewide level annually.

This city boundary shapefile was extracted from Esri Data and Maps for ArcGIS 2014 - U.S. Populated Place Areas. This shapefile can be joined to 500 Cities city-level Data (GIS Friendly Format) in a geographic information system (GIS) to make city-level maps.

Abstract

This dataset and its metadata statement were supplied to the Bioregional Assessment Programme by a third party and are presented here as originally supplied.

This dataset was sourced from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines in 2012. Information provided by the Department describes the dataset as follows:

This data was originally provided on DVD and contains the converted shapefiles, layer files, raster images and project .mxd files used on the Queensland geology and structural framework map. The maps were done in ArcGIS 9.3.1 and the data stored in file geodatabases, topology created and validated. This provides greater data quality by performing topological validation on the feature's spatial relationships. For the purposes of the DVD, shapefiles were created from the file geodatabases and for MapInfo users MapInfo .tab and .wor files. The shapefiles on the DVD are a revision of the 1975 Queensland geology data, and are both are available for display, query and download on the department's online GIS application.

The Queensland geology map is a digital representation of the distribution or extent of geological units within Queensland. In the GIS, polygons have a range of attributes including unit name, type of unit, age, lithological description, dominant rock type, and an abbreviated symbol for use in labelling the polygons. The lines in this dataset are a digital representation of the position of the boundaries of geological units and other linear features such as faults and folds. The lines are attributed with a description of the type of line represented. Approximately 2000 rock units were grouped into the 250 map units in this data set. The digital data was generalised and simplified from the Department's detailed geological data and was captured at 1:500 000 scale for output at 1:2 000 000 scale.

In the ESRI version, a layer file is provided which presents the units in the colours and patterns used on the printed hard copy map. For Map Info users, a simplified colour palette is provided without patterns. However a georeferenced image of the hard copy map is included and can be displayed as a background in both Arc Map and Map Info.

The geological framework of Queensland is classified by structural or tectonic unit (provinces and basins) in which the rocks formed. These are referred to as basins (or in some cases troughs and depressions) where the original form and structure are still apparent. Provinces (and subprovinces) are generally older basins that have been strongly tectonised and/or metamorphosed so that the original basin extent and form are no longer preserved. Note that intrusive and some related volcanic rocks that overlap these provinces and basins have not been included in this classification. The map was compiled using boundaries modified and generalised from the 1:2 000 000 Queensland Geology map (2012). Outlines of subsurface basins are also shown and these are based on data and published interpretations from petroleum exploration and geophysical surveys (seismic, gravity and magnetics).

For the structural framework dataset, two versions are provided. In QLD_STRUCTURAL_FRAMEWORK, polygons are tagged with the name of the surface structural unit, and names of underlying units are imbedded in a text string in the HIERARCHY field. In QLD_STRUCTURAL_FRAMEWORK_MULTI_POLYS, the data is structured into a series of overlapping, multi-part polygons, one for each structural unit. Two layer files are provided with the ESRI data, one where units are symbolised by name. Because the dataset has been designed for units display in the order of superposition, this layer file assigns colours to the units that occur at the surface with concealed units being left uncoloured. Another layer file symbolises them by the orogen of which they are part. A similar set of palettes has been provided for Map Info.

Dataset History

Details on the source data can be found in the xml file associated with data layer.

Data in this release

*ESRI.shp and MapInfo .tab files of rock unit polygons and lines with associated layer attributes of Queensland geology

*ESRI.shp and MapInfo .tab files of structural unit polygons and lines with associated layer attributes of structural framework

*ArcMap .mxd and .lyr files and MapInfo .wor files containing symbology

*Georeferenced Queensland geology map, gravity and magnetic images

*Queensland geology map, structural framework and schematic diagram PDF files

*Data supplied in geographical coordinates (latitude/longitude) based on Geocentric Datum of Australia - GDA94

Accessing the data

Programs exist for the viewing and manipulation of the digital spatial data contained on this DVD. Accessing the digital datasets will require GIS software. The following GIS viewers can be downloaded from the internet. ESRI ArcExplorer can be found by a search of www.esriaustralia.com.au and MapInfo ProViewer by a search on www.pbinsight.com.au collectively ("the websites").

Metadata

Metadata is contained in .htm files placed in the root folder of each vector data folder. For ArcMap users metadata for viewing in ArcCatalog is held in an .xml file with each shapefile within the ESRI Shapefile folders.

Disclaimer

The State of Queensland is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of the websites and makes no statements, representations, or warranties about the content or accuracy or completeness of, any information or products contained on the websites.

Despite our best efforts, the State of Queensland makes no warranties that the information or products available on the websites are free from infection by computer viruses or other contamination.

The State of Queensland disclaims all responsibility and all liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages and costs you might incur as a result of accessing the websites or using the products available on the websites in any way, and for any reason.

The State of Queensland has included the websites in this document as an information source only. The State of Queensland does not promote or endorse the websites or the programs contained on them in any way.

WARNING: The Queensland Government and the Department of Natural Resources and Mines accept no liability for and give no undertakings, guarantees or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or fitness for the purposes of the information provided. The consumer must take all responsible steps to protect the data from unauthorised use, reproduction, distribution or publication by other parties.

Please view the 'readme.html' and 'licence.html' file for further, more complete information

Dataset Citation

Geological Survey of Queensland (2012) Queensland geology and structural framework - GIS data July 2012. Bioregional Assessment Source Dataset. Viewed 07 December 2018, http://data.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/dataset/69da6301-04c1-4993-93c1-4673f3e22762.

This shapefile provides a worldwide geographic division by merging the World Continents division proposed by Esri Data and Maps (2024) to the Global Oceans and Seas version 1 division proposed by the Flanders Marine Institute (2021). Though divisions of continents and oceans/seas are available, the combination of both in a single shapefile is scarce.

The Continents and Oceans/Seas shapefile was carefully processed to remove overlaps between the inputs, and to fill gaps (i.e., areas with no information) by spatially joining these gaps to neighbour polygons. In total, the original world continents input divides land areas into 8 categories (Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America), while the original oceans/seas input divides the oceans/seas into 10 categories (Arctic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Region, North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, South China and Easter Archipelagic Seas, South Pacific Ocean, and Southern Ocean). Therefore, the resulting world geographic division has 18 possible categories.

References

Esri Data and Maps (2024). World Continents. Available online at https://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/esri::world-continents/about. Accessed on 05 March 2024.

Flanders Marine Institute (2021). Global Oceans and Seas, version 1. Available online at https://www.marineregions.org/. https://doi.org/10.14284/542. Accessed on 04 March 2024.