ArcGIS  Tags: arcgis gis maps mapping data  

• More links to GIS data from our Data Services Department
• The National Atlas (USGS)
• Geodata.gov (US Federal agency data)
• Data.gov geodata catalog (another interface for federal data)
• Data by Country (DIVA-GIS)
• UNEP Global Resource Information Database
• NC OneMap
• Durham GIS Features (Duke Only)
• Data to Use with ArcGIS
• Download GIS Data
• GIS Information on the Web

Important Note: These all use unprojected latitude/longitude coordinates (geographic coordinate system or GCS), decimal degrees, 1983 North American Datum  (NAD83).  You may need to use the ArcGIS Define Projection tool with the layer in order to do certain procedures with it or overlay other layers with it.

ESRI's Geography Network Online

• GIS layers for the U.S. covering a single county at a time.
• Also available are census variables from the short form (100% count) as statewide files, which you will need to join to the GIS layer.
• Data derives from Census 2000.

Census Bureau

• GIS layers for the U.S. covering a single state at a time.
• US Census Bureau statistical data can be obtained from their American Factfinder interface (not included with the GIS layers).
• Data from Census 2000 and Census 1990.

ESRI Data & Maps

• GIS layers covering entire United States (i.e., each layer covers the entire nation).
• Generally higher resolution than the above sources, but if you just want to work with a small area you need to select or clip it from the gigantic USA files.
• The attribute tables of some layers already contain many demographic and socio-economic data.
• Data derives from Census 2000.

These layers of geographic data (census boundaries, roads, rivers, etc.) are available for download to members of the Duke community (NetID required).

The Major Roads layer (2004, under United States, Transportation) can be especially useful layer for context (compared to the overly busy Census TIGER streets layer). 

Neighborhood Change Database

• Tract-level data only, within various geographies of your choice (county, state, metro area, etc.), from 1970-2000.
• Census tracts have been normalized to 2000 boundaries, for ease of comparisons across time.
• Internet Explorer only!
• Includes many demographic and socio-economic variables that can be included as attributes of GIS layers.
• Variables sometimes are identical to the source variables from the Census Bureau, and sometimes are derived to obtain sums or proportions.  Carefully study the documentation in the Data Dictionary to determine variable provenance.

Geolytics CD-ROMs

• Please ask our GIS/Data Services staff for help. There are a variety of CD products covering 1970-2000 Censuses, at varying geographies.