USGS Home
Contact USGS
Search USGS

Additional USGS Geoscience data can be found by geographic location or by publication series.

Land status in the Colorado Plateau coal assessment study area - Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona

Frequently-anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How should this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
• How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?
  1. How well have the observations been checked?
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How should this data set be cited?

   U.S. Geological Survey, Central Energy Resources Team, 2000, Land status in the Colorado Plateau coal assessment study area - Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.

   Online Links:

   • <http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/coal/nca/cpgis.htm>

   Other_Citation_Details:

   in subdir: 2m (defines appropriate maximum scale for data use)

   This is part of the following larger work.

   Kirschbaum, M.A., Roberts, L.N.R., and Biewick, L.R.H., 2000, Geologic Assessment of Coal in the Colorado Plateau: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-B, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -114.0525

   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -105.5297

   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.0035

   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 33.2009

3. What does it look like?

4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Beginning_Date: 1972

   Ending_Date: 2000

   Currentness_Reference: Publication Date

5. What is the general form of this data set?

   Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: map

6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
   1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):

      • GT-polygon composed of chains (2186)

   2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.000278. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000278. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal Degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum 1927.
      The ellipsoid used is Clarke 1866.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378206.4.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/294.98.
      

7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   CP_LOWN.PAT

   Attribute table of FEDLANP020 polygons. (Source: ARC/INFO)

   AREA

   Area of poly/region in square coverage units (Source: software computed)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	positive real number
   Maximum:	positive real number

   PERIMETER

   Perimeter of poly/region in coverage units (Source: software computed)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	positive real number
   Maximum:	positive real number

   CP_LOWN#

   Polygon internal identification number (Source: software computed)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1
   Maximum:	positive integer

   CP_LOWN-ID

   Polygon user identification number (Source: software computed)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	positive integer

   FEATURE1

   Primary Federal agency/bureau (Source: US GeoData Data Users Guide 3)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Boundary layer attribute codes
   Codeset Source:	US GeoData Data Users Guide 3

   FEATURE2

   Secondary Federal agency/bureau (Source: US GeoData Data Users Guide 3)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Boundary layer attribute codes
   Codeset Source:	US GeoData Data Users Guide 3

   AGBUR

   Agency code (Source: none)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Agency/Bureau codes
   Codeset Source:	none (See Process_Description)

   URL

   URL to agency web sites (Source: none)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	none
   Codeset Source:	none

   NAME1

   Primary name of the federal land feature (Source: US GeoData Data Users Guide 3)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Boundary layer attribute codes
   Codeset Source:	US GeoData Data Users Guide 3

   NAME2

   Secondary name of the federal land feature (Source: US GeoData Data Users Guide 3)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Boundary layer attribute codes
   Codeset Source:	US GeoData Data Users Guide 3

   STATE

   Name of state (Source: FIPS PUB 5-2)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Codes for the identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the outlying areas of the United States, and associated areas.
   Codeset Source:	FIPS PUB 5-2

   STATE_FIPS

   2-digit state FIPS code (Source: FIPS PUB 5-2)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Codes for the identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the outlying areas of the United States, and associated areas.
   Codeset Source:	FIPS PUB 5-2

   Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:

   The polygon attribute table:

   COLUMN, ITEM NAME, WIDTH, OUTPUT, TYPE, N.DEC
     1  AREA 4 12 F 3
     5  PERIMETER 4 12 F 3
     9  4ST_LOWN# 4 5 B -
    13  4ST_LOWN-ID 4 5 B -
    17  FEATURE1 80 80 C -
    97  FEATURE2 80 80 C -
   177  FEATURE3 80 80 C -
   257  AGBUR 7 7 C -
   264  URL 150 150 C - -
   414  NAME1 80 80 C - -
   494  NAME2 80 80 C - -
   574  NAME3 80 80 C - -
   654  STATE 14 14 C - -
   668  STATE_FIPS 14 14 C - -
   

   Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: none

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • U.S. Geological Survey, Central Energy Resources Team

2. Who also contributed to the data set?

3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Steve Kambly
   U.S. Geological Survey
   561 National Center
   Reston, VA 20192
   

   703-648-5094 (voice)
   skambly@usgs.gov
   

Why was the data set created?

The Nation's coal resources are being reassessed by the USGS. A fundamental component of this assessment work is to compile digital geologic and geographic data into a Geographic Information System (GIS). Use of this GIS allowed for the spatial integration of data layers. This resulted in the ability to display, analyze, and query data to answer complex geo-spatial questions concerning coal resource occurrence.
These data were originally created to serve as a layer for the National Atlas of the United States of America.

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   nn2milbd.do where nn = state abbreviation (source 1 of 1)

   U.S. Geological Survey, 1995, 1:2,000,000-scale Digital Line Graph Data: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM

   Source_Scale_Denominator: 2000000

   Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information

2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

   Date: 1998 (process 1 of 1)

   This file was originally digitized by the USGS National Mapping Division based on the sectional maps contained in 'The National Atlas of the United States of America' published by the USGS in 1970. The sectional maps were updated during 1978-1981 and digitized in the early 1980's. The data were updated in 1995 using 1:1,000,000-scale and 1:2,000,000-scale BLM state base maps. These data were published on CD-ROM in 1995. Using ARC/INFO software, the DLG optional format files were converted to ARC/INFO coverages using the DLGARC command. Only federal land polygons and attribute information were extracted for inclusion. The sections were then paneled together using the ARC/INFO command APPEND. "Slivers" created during the append process were identified and deleted using the ELIMINATE command. The attribute AGBUR was added for plotting purposed. The codes used are: BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs), BOR (Bureau of Reclamation), BLM (Bureau of Land Management), DOD (Dept. of Defense), FS (Forest Service), FWS (Fish and Wildlife Service), NPS (National Park Service), TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority), and OTHER. In 1998, topological errors introduced when the state files were paneled were corrected. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was added. Coding of Lake Tahoe was corrected, and Fort Frederica, GA was deleted because it was smaller than the minimum area of 640 acres. The data were converted to shapefile format for use in National Atlas applications and for distribution to the public. We clipped the national coverage for the Colorado Plateau coal assessment study (portions of CO, UT, NM or AZ).

   Data sources used in this process:

   • nn2milbd.do where nn = state abbreviation

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

   U.S. Geological Survey, 1997, Federal Land Features of the U.S. (polygon): U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

1. How well have the observations been checked?

   Accuracy at the DLG level was tested by one or more of the following methods: - manual comparison of the source with hard copy plots. - symbolized display of the digital line graph on an interactive computer graphic system. - Selected attributes that could not be visually verified on plots or on screen were interactively queried and verified on screen. As the DLG files were directly converted to ARC/INFO coverages, attributes have not been checked in the ARC/INFO format.

2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

   In DLG format, files underwent comparison to a graphic source or image source that was used as control to assess digital positional accuracy. During conversion to ARC/INFO coverage format and during the append process to panel the states together, node snapping and fuzzy tolerances may have caused minimal positional shifts.

3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

   Data completeness generally reflects the content of the original DLG file.

5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

   Using ESRI's ARC/INFO GIS software, the data set was checked for label errors, dangling nodes, and intersections. Polygon topology was built for the data set using the "BUILD" command.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None

Use_Constraints:

None. Acknowledgment of the National Atlas of the United States of America would be appreciated in products derived from these data. Appropriate maximum scale for data use is 2m.

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   U.S. Geological Survey, Central Energy Resources Team
   P.O. Box 25046, MS 939
   Denver, CO 80225
   USA
   

   (303)236-7773 (voice)
   lbiewick@usgs.gov
   

2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

   shapefile and ARC/INFO coverage

3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

   Any use of trade, product, or company names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the USGS regarding the utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.

4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	ARC/INFO coverage, export file and shapefile (version ARC/INFO 7.0.4, ArcView 2.1)
     Network links:	<http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/coal/nca/cpgis.htm>
     Media you can order:	CD-ROM (format ISO 9660)

   • Cost to order the data: none

5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

   need ARC/INFO 7.0.4 or greater and/or ArcView 2.1 or greater and/or ArcExplorer (which can be downloaded free from <URL:http://www.esri.com>) and/or other software that can read ARC/INFO coverages, ARC/INFO export files, and/or shapefiles
   

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 20-May-1998

Metadata author:

Bruce Wright
U.S. Geological Survey
521 National Center
Reston, VA 20192

703-648-4528 (voice)
bwright@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)