Mapping Toolbox

U.S. Vector Data

One of the best sources of public vector data for the United States is the U.S. Census Bureau. This organization has developed a digital database and system for automated mapping in support of the United States decennial census. The Topographically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) system is used within the Bureau to carry out and analyze the census. TIGER contains hydrographic features, roads, railroads, and other transportation features scanned from 1:100,000 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps. The database also contains census tracts and political boundaries for states, counties, and indian reservations; it does not include topography. The Census Bureau periodically publishes extracts from the TIGER database for public use in the form of TIGER/Line and TIGER thinned boundary files. The Mapping Toolbox provides interfaces to both formats.

USGS On-Line Coastline Extractor

TIGER/Line