United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
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Percent of Non-Federal Area in Developed Land, 1992

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Description

This map shows the spatial distribution of the nation's developed land (urban areas and rural transportation land) in 1992 as a percentage of the total non-Federal land area for each 8-digit hydrologic unit. Nationwide 5.6% of non-Federal area is developed. Areas with 95% or more federal area are shaded gray. This map replace map #2318.

Cautions for this Product:
Use this map only to identify broad spatial trends. Data are not collected on Federal land. Data are not available for Alaska or the Pacific Basin. Data for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands is shown by 6-digit hydrologic unit.



Sources

Source: National Resources Inventory, 1997
Distributor: USDA-NRCS-RIAD
Reliability:
NRI sample data are generally reliable at the 95% confidence interval for state and certain broad substate area analyses. Generally, analyses that aggregate data points by smaller geographic areas and/or more specific criteria result in fewer data points for each aggregation and therefore less reliable estimates. NRI maps reflect national patterns rather than site- specific information.


Layers

Aggregate Layer: 8 Digit Hydrologic Unit Areas with Federal Land
Other Layers Displayed: States, Rivers


Definitions

Developed land:
A combination of land cover/use categories, Urban and built-up areas, and Rural Transportation Land.

Hydrologic units:
A hierarchical system developed by the U.S. Geological Survey that divides the United States and the Caribbean into 21 major regions, 222 subregions, 352 accounting units, and further subdivided into 2,150 cataloging units that delineate river basins having drainage areas usually greater than 700 square miles. [USGS]

Land cover/use:
A term that includes categories of land cover and categories of land use. Land cover is the vegetation or other kind of material that covers the land surface. Land use is the purpose of human activity on the land; it is usually but not always related to the land cover. The NRI uses the term (land cover/use) to identify the categories that account for all the surface area in the United States [BS-1982; NRI-97]

Non-Federal land:
Includes all land and water areas where the ownership is by private, municipal, county or parish, state, Indian tribal, individual trust, the Tennessee Valley Authority, or areas under temporary control of a Federal, state, county or municipal agency or government for foreclosure or nonpayment of taxes.

Rural transportation land:
A Land Cover/Use category which consists of all highways, roads, railroads and associated rights- of-way outside urban and built-up areas; including private roads to farmsteads or ranch headquarters, logging roads, and other private roads, except field lanes. [NRI-97]

Urban and built-up areas:
A Land Cover/Use category consisting of residential, industrial, commercial, and institutional land; construction sites; public administrative sites; railroad yards; cemeteries; airports; golf courses; sanitary landfills; sewage treatment plants; water control structures and spillways; other land used for such purposes; small parks (less than 10 acres) within urban and built-up areas; and highways, railroads, and other transportation facilities if they are surrounded by urban areas. Also included are tracts of less than 10 acres that do not meet the above definition but are completely surrounded by Urban and Built-up land. Two size categories are recognized in the NRI: (i) areas 0.25 to 10 acres, and (ii) areas greater than 10 acres. [NRI-97]


Product Information

Product ID: 5005
Production Date: 12/7/00
Product Type: Map


For additional information contact the Resources Inventory and Assessment Division. Please include the Product ID you are inquiring about. nri@wdc.usda.gov or 1400 Independence Avenue SW - P.O. Box 2890 - Washington D.C. 20013. If you use our analysis products, please be aware of our disclaimer.