This data archive is a collection of GIS files and FGDC metadata prepared in 1995 for the Northampton County Planning Office by the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER project at the University of Virginia with support from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Original data sources include: 1:100,000-scale USGS digital line graph (DLG) hydrography and transportation data; 1:6,000-scale boundary, road, and railroad data for the town of Cape Charles from VDOT; 1:190,000-scale county-wide general soil map data and 1:15,540-scale detailed soil data for the Cape Charles area digitized from printed USDA soil survey maps; a land use and vegetation cover dataset (30 m. resolution) created by the VCRLTER derived from a 1993 Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite image; 1:20,000-scale plant association maps for 10 seaside barrier and marsh islands between Hog and Smith Islands, inclusive, prepared by Cheryl McCaffrey for TNC in 1975 and published in the Virginia Journal of Science in 1990; and 1993 colonial bird nesting site data collected by The Center for Conservation Biology (with partners The Nature Conservancy, College of William and Mary, University of Virginia, USFWS, VA-DCR, and VA-DGIF). Contents: HYDROGRAPHY Based on USGS 1:100,000 Digital Line Graph (DLG) data. Files: h100k_arc_u84 (streams, shorelines, etc.) and h100k_poly_u84 (marshes, mudflats, etc.). Note that the hydrographic data has been superseded by the more recent and more detailed USGS National Hydrography Dataset, available for the entire state of Virginia at "ftp://nhdftp.usgs.gov/DataSets/Staged/States/FileGDB/HighResolution/NHDH_VA_931v210.zip" (see http://nhd.usgs.gov/data.html for more information). A static 2013 version of the NHD data that includes shapefiles extracted from the original ESRI geodatabase format data and covering just the watersheds of the Eastern Shore of VA can also be found in the VCRLTER Data Catalog (dataset VCR14223). TRANSPORTATION Based on USGS 1:100,000 Digital Line Graph (DLG) data for the full county, and 1:6,000 VDOT data for the Cape Charles township. Files: 1:100k Transportation (lines) from USGS DLG data: rtf100k_arc_u84 (roads), rrf100k_arc_u84 (railroads), and mtf100k_arc_u84 (airports and utility transmission lines). Files: 1:6000 street, boundary, and rail line data for the town of Cape Charles, 1984, prepared by Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation Information Services (Division 1221 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219). Streets correct through December 31,1983. Georeferencing corrected in 2014 for shapefiles only, using same methodology described for VCR14218 dataset. File : town_u84_adj (town_arc_u84old is the older unadjusted data). Note that the transportation data has been superseded by more recent and more detailed data contained in dataset VCR14222 of the VCRLTER Data Catalog. The VCR14222 data contains 2013 U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line road and airfield data supplemented by railroad and transmission lines digitized from high resolution VGIN-VBMP 2013 aerial imagery and additionally has boat launch locations not available here. SOILS General soil map for Northampton county (1:190k), and detailed soil map for Cape Charles and Cheriton areas (1:15,540) from published the USDA Soil Conservation Service's 1989 "Soil Survey of Northampton County, Virginia" digitized at UVA by Ray Dukes Smith: soilorig_poly_u84 (uses original shorelines from source maps), soil_poly_u84 (substitutes shorelines from 1993 landcover classification data), and cc_soil_poly_u84 (Cape Charles & Cheriton detailed data, map sheets 13 and 14). Note that the soil data has been superseded by more recent and more detailed SSURGO soil data from the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which has seamless soil data from the 1:15,540 map series in tabular and GIS formats for the full county, as well as for all counties in VA and other states. A static 2013 version of the SSURGO data that contains merged data for Accomack and Northampton Counties can be found in the VCRLTER Data Catalog (dataset VCR14220). LANDUSE/LANDCOVER VCR Landuse and Vegetation Cover, 1993, created by Guofan Shao (VCRLTER) based on 30m resolution Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite imagery taken on July 28, 1993. Cropped to include just Northampton County. Landcover is divided into 5 classifications: (1) Forest or shrub, (2) Bare Land or Sand, (3) Planted Cropland, Grassland, or Upland Marsh, (4) Open Water, and (5) Low Salt Marsh. File = nhtm93s3_poly_u84. No spatial adjustments necessary. An outline of the county showing the shorelines based on the above 1993 TM classification is included as the shapefile:outline_poly_u84; however, no spatial adjustment has been applied. Note that a similar landuse/landcover classification based on the same 1993 Landsat

This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The information was prepared by digitizing maps, by compiling information onto a planimetric correct base and digitizing, or by revising digitized maps using remotely sensed and other information.

This data set consists of georeferenced digital map data and computerized attribute data. The map data are in a soil survey area extent format and include a detailed, field verified inventory of soils and nonsoil areas that normally occur in a repeatable pattern on the landscape and that can be cartographically shown at the scale mapped. A special soil features layer (point and line features) is optional. This layer displays the location of features too small to delineate at the mapping scale, but they are large enough and contrasting enough to significantly influence use and management. The soil map units are linked to attributes in the National Soil Information System relational database, which gives the proportionate extent of the component soils and their properties.

This data is hosted at, and may be downloaded or accessed from PASDA, the Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access Geospatial Data Clearinghouse http://www.pasda.psu.edu/uci/DataSummary.aspx?dataset=1124

This datasets contain GIS shapefiles related to the transportation infrastructure of Accomack and Northampton Counties on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Included here are roads and highways, railroads, airfields and airstrips, boat ramps, and electrical transmission lines. Data was compiled from multiple sources. The primary purpose of this dataset is to provide VCRLTER researchers and students with a convenient up-to-date set of GIS data layers in one location that can be used as base layers for various map products and for planning research activities. A secondary purpose of this dataset is to extend transportation data coverage in the VCRLTER data catalog to include Accomack County and to supersede older USGS DLG data contained in the Northampton County GIS data package (VCRLTER dataset VCR14219).

This dataset contains detailed USDA SSURGO soil information and mapped soil extents for the soils of Accomack and Northampton Counties on Virginia's Eastern Shore, including those areas of focused study by the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER project. This USDA soil data is collected and combined here to make it more accessible to VCRLTER researchers and students, in a more GIS-friendly format, and to supersede previous digitized versions of more generalized soil maps created by the VCRLTER and included as part of the 1995 VCRLTER-Northampton County GIS data archive (dataset VCR14219). Data was downloaded in Jan. 2014 and tabular data for both counties was imported into a MS Access database using the provided standard SSURGO US 2003 template. Spatial data for the two counties was merged together into a single ArcGIS shapefile and selected fields from the MAPUNIT and MUAGGATT tables were joined to the final shapefile's attribute table. Each polygon represents all or part of a SSURGO "mapunit", which may contain multiple component soils; usually very similar soils that grade together or else so heterogeneously mixed together at fine spatial scales to make mapping the component soils individually impractical. Also, each soil typically has multiple vertical soil horizons, each with its own distinct composition (mineral, textural, etc.) and other characteristics. Detailed information about component soils (including typical soil moisture, dry albedo, erodibility indices, taxonomic nomenclature, flooding and ponding characteristics, engineering, crop, forest, and habitat suitability indices and yield tables, and geomorphic descriptions) and component horizons (including horizon depths, grain size distributions, sand/silt/clay fractions, mineral and organic content, and pore space characteristics) is included in the MS Access database but NOT in the combined ArcGIS shapefile. Users interested in exploring or displaying component or horizon information may use the report and query forms within the MS Access database, or they may join selected database tables to the shapefile using the appropriate mukey, cokey, and chkey indices in a one-to-many join within a chosen GIS software.

From the site: "This data set is a digital soil survey and generally is the most detailed level of soil geographic data developed by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. The information was prepared by digitizing maps, by compiling information onto a planimetric correct base and digitizing, or by revising digitized maps using remotely sensed and other information. This data set consists of georeferenced digital map data and computerized attribute data. The map data are in a soil survey area extent format and include a detailed, field verified inventory of soils and miscellaneous areas that normally occur in a repeatable pattern on the landscape and that can be cartographically shown at the scale mapped. A special soil features layer (point and line features) is optional. This layer displays the location of features too small to delineate at the mapping scale, but they are large enough and contrasting enough to significantly influence use and management. The soil map units are linked to attributes in the National Soil Information System relational database, which gives the proportionate extent of the component soils and their properties."

This datasets contain GIS files related to the hydrology and watersheds of Accomack and Northampton Counties on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Data include named and unnamed water bodies, rivers and streams (both center flowlines and area polygons showing bank-full width for larger features), wetlands and marshes, and shorelines. A static (2013-09-06) copy of the full USGS "National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) - High Resolution - Virginia" state-extracted dataset in original ESRI file-geodatabase format, downloaded on 2014-02-21 from nhd.usgs.gov, is included. For users who may not be able to read or make use of data in ESRI proprietary geodatabase formats, shapefiles of geographic feature classes contained within the HUC8 subbasins spanning Accomack and Northampton Counties (partly or wholly) are also provided. Note that the stream network nodal topology, which can be used to evaluate and analyze flow paths as part of a fully-functional hydrological network with GIS tools such as Arc Hydro and Network Analyst, are only available within the ESRI file-geodatabase file. The primary purpose of this dataset is to provide VCRLTER researchers and students with a convenient up-to-date set of GIS data layers in one location that can be used as base layers for various map products and for conducting research activities. A secondary purpose of this dataset is to extend hydrologic data coverage in the VCRLTER data catalog to include Accomack County and to supersede older USGS DLG data contained in the Northampton County GIS data package (VCRLTER dataset VCR14219).