United States

Before searching specific agencies, try Data.gov. This is a GIS portal that serves as a public gateway for improving access to geospatial information and data under the Geospatial One-Stop e-government initiative. This is one of 24 e-government initiatives sponsored by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to enhance government efficiency and to improve citizen services. Data.gov makes it easier, faster, and less expensive for all levels of government and the public to access geospatial information.

• Gazetteers: Board of Geographic Names and other government sites for locating names in the U.S. and World, along with references to finding them on maps. List also includes official government gazetteers from a number of countries.

Agencies

• Agriculture, U.S. Department of (USDA).
  • Web Soil Survey. Locate U.S. soil surveys (using GIS), analyze, and view/download maps and data from the National Cooperative Soil Survey. Print Hydric Soil and Soil Chemical Properties maps. Outside of U.S., see: World Soils Maps.
  • Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA)
  • Soil survey of Erie County, New York / United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service ; in cooperation with the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station. [Washington, D.C.?] : The Service, 1986.
    These soil surveys are available in print in the following UB locations:
    • Abbott Library Architecture & Planning / Course Reserve: S599.N7 S55 1986.
    • Abbott Library Architecture & Planning / General Book Collection: S599.N7 S55 1986
    • Libraries Annex: US A 57.38: Er 4
    • Lockwood Library Science & Engineering Reference Collection / S591 .A22 N.Y. Erie
    • Lockwood Library General Collection / S591 .A22 N.Y. Erie
• Army Corps of Engineers
  • Buffalo District
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers GeoSpatial 

    GeoSpatial provides shared and trusted USACE geospatial data, services and applications for use by partner agencies and the public.

• Census Bureau. Provides access to census data and related materials. Also provides glossaries, descriptions of types of data, and other information. The following selection have map/GIS materials.
  • U.S. Census Interactive Maps. Interactive maps of Census data for entire nation. 
  • For additional Census map information, please see the Census Resources library guide. 
• Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook. Country descriptions, geographical, and vital statistics data from CIA. Also has reference maps and other materials.
• Country Studies/Area Handbooks (Library of Congress). Also has maps and geographical information.
• Education, U.S. Department of.
  • National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
    • Nation's Report Card. View maps NAEP participants and data.
  • ACS-ED Maps. The ACS-ED Maps tool identifies conditions of school-age children in school districts based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey Education Tabulation (ACS-ED)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • Enviromapper for Envirofacts. A single point of access to EPA data for environmental activities. Use the ArcGIS interface to find available EPA data for your location, and add additional layers to the map from outside sources. 
  • Air Markets Program Data. Allows users to perform customized data queries or download prepackaged data relating to industrial emissions. 
  • Cleanups in My Community. Locate hazardous waste cleanup and grant areas in the United States on map, and find additional details regarding each site. 
  • Surf Your Watershed. This watershed data tool has been decommissioned, but the EPA page includes alternative sources for the information previously provided.  Variety of information and data on watersheds.
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
  • The Lockwood Library Map Collection has a large collection of FEMA maps and flood studies for Erie and Niagara counties, and is actively adding old editions for New York state.
    • Flood Insurance Studies: See Vertical File Drawers for US FEM 1.209 and US HH 10.9​
    • Flood Insurance Rate Maps: See map drawers for US FEM 1.209
  • FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Online Access to National Flood Insurance Program Products. 
  • How to Read a FEMA Flood Insurance Rate (FIRM) Map
  • Flood Mapping Products. Locate and purchase flood maps. 
• Fish & Wildlife Service. Maps and GIS data.
  • National Wetlands Inventory
  • USFWS Geospatial Data Services. Access point for datasets relating to topics including Critical Habitat, Ecosystem Regions, Migratory Bird Conservation and National Wetland Inventory. 
• GeoFRED (Geographic Federal Reserve Economic Data, Economic Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). Online digital mapping tool allowing users to create custom maps with geographical information data from the FRED database. Data is available on a wide variety of economic topics.  
• Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress. Over 5 million maps, with 100,000 atlases and thousands of other items including journals, books and reference materials. 
  • Collections with Maps. Many of Library of Congress' maps have been digitized and made available in this online collection. 
• Land Management, Bureau of (BLM).
  • BLM Navigator. Keyword and geospatial searching of BLM maps and datasets. 
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA has many sub-agencies that produce maps, data, and remote-sensing imagery for a variety of topics, including Lunar and planetary missions.
  • NASA Earthdata. Allows users to find and visualize earth science data from NASA.
  • NASA Open Data Portal
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Maps and Geographic Materials page.
• National Land Cover Database (Multi-Resolution Land Characterization Consortium (MRLC)). This site is a multi-agency data collection. It provides national to local level GIS data and maps. "The primary objective of the MRLC NLCD is to provide the Nation with nationally complete, current, consistent, and public domain information on the Nation's land cover."
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
  • Earth System Research Laboratory. "The Earth System Research Laboratory's mission is to observe and understand the Earth system and to develop products through a commitment to research that will advance the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) environmental information and services on global-to-local scales."
  • Geospatial Data Gateway. GIS data.
  • National Geodetic Survey. Manages the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS), providing map data standards. Works also with GPS, aeronautical, and other mapping data.
  • National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Main source for current and archival climate data. Formerly the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).
    • Bathymetry, Topography, and Relief Data. A variety of data sets and maps. (Note: Bathymetry is depth below sea level; Topography is elevation above sea level; Relief is both.)
    • Great Lakes Bathymetry (US-Canadian consortia project). Data sets for each lake, plus other data, including ArcIMS Map Interface to Bathymetric Contours.
    • National Ocean Service Bathymetric & Fishing Maps. Scanned images in pdf. Also has interactive map viewer. 
  • National Coastal Assessment. Coastal geospatial data and maps, covering all US coasts (ocean and lake) and related land/shoreline.
  • National Weather Service (NWS). Current and historical weather and climate maps, GIS and other data. Also see additional government climate/weather sites for more detailed themes.
  • NOAA Tsunami Research Center. All aspects; includes Data page.
  • Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service. GIS real-time data of WNY stream flows.
  • Office of Coast Survey (OCS). Nautical chart products in all formats are located here.
    • Chart Downloader. Download rastercharts for print or Electronic Navigational Charts for use in electronic navigation equipment.
    • Historical Map and Chart Collection
• National Estuaries Program (EPA)
• National Coastal Condition Reports (EPA).
• National Park Service. Maps, histories, links to data for hundreds of locations, as well as for the entire NPS system.
• United States Geological Survey (USGS).
  • USGS Publications Warehouse. Search for USGS maps, many of which are fully reproduced online. Includes Maps, Aerial and Satellite Imagery, Real-Time Data and more. Examples include:
  • Hydrostructural Maps of the Death Valley Regional Flow System, Nevada and California.
  • Geo Data Portal. Orthoimagery and GIS data.
  • Maps, Products, and Publications. Purchase print USGS maps and geo-spatial data.
  • National Geologic Map Database. Search for published maps by location(s) using a criteria-driven system. 
  • Mapping, Remote Sensing, and Geospatial Data. For GIS and geospatial data, and imagery for digital applications, this is a good starting point.
  • National Map of the United States. Maps, GIS, and GIS data.
  • Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center. Includes: National Elevation Dataset, to provide elevation data for the United States, and the Seamless Data Distribution System for domestic and international datasets. 
  • Topographic Maps
    • See our research guide for Topographic Maps for web and print topographic map source information
  • National Geospatial Program Standards. Specifications and standards for mapping and GIS work.
  • Seafloor Mapping. High resolution bathymetry and mapping.
  • Water Resources of the United States. Documents, maps, stream-flow data for each rivers and streams.
    • Water Resources Data for New York State . Databases and data sets, plus news and current data on water (stream flow, precipitation, etc.) for each state.
    • Water-Data Reports. Most publications located at this and other USGS sites can be located by subject, author, date, USGS series or publication series number by using the reports and thematic maps electronic Publications Warehouse. 
    • For additional New York State stream flow data, see: Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (GIS real-time data of WNY stream flows).
  • Preliminary integrated geologic map databases for the United States: Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia (Open-File Report (2005-1325)). Geological maps, data, and metadata for 5 states. Useful for GIS applications.
  • To order USGS maps, visit the USGS Store with order information. Some products (e.g., Aerial Photography) are listed under specific type of material. 

Looking for ToxMap? This resource was retired by the United States government in December 2019.