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CITIESX020 - U.S. National Atlas Cities and Towns of the United States

Metadata also available as: OUTLINE | TEXT

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?
    Title:
    CITIESX020 - U.S. National Atlas Cities and Towns of the United States
    Abstract:
    This data set includes cities in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These cities were collected from the 1970 National Atlas of the United States. Where applicable, U.S. Census Bureau codes for named populated places were associated with each name to allow additional information to be attached. The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) was also used as a source for additional information. This is a revised version of the December, 2003, data set.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    U.S. Geological Survey, 200402, CITIESX020 - U.S. National Atlas Cities and Towns of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -174.202942
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: 178.874603
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 71.290138
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 17.711706

  3. What does it look like?

    citiesx020 (GIF)
    Overview image of the northeast United States showing distribution of data set.

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

    Beginning_Date: 1972
    Ending_Date: 2004
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition

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

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

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

      Indirect_Spatial_Reference:
      U.S. Department of Commerce, 1987, Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying areas of the United States, and Associated Areas (FIPS 5-2): Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology.

      U.S. Department of Commerce, 1990, Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas (FIPS 6-4):Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology.

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Entity point (35432)

    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 0.000001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    citiesx020
    Populated places in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    ValueDefinition
    Point0-dimensional element

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:35432

    Coordinates defining the features.

    CITIESX020
    Internal feature number. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:35432

    FEATURE
    The type of city or town. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

    ValueDefinition
    County SeatA populated place that serves as the seat of the county government.
    National CapitalA populated place that serves as the seat of the national government of the United States of America.
    Populated PlaceA populated place that is neither a county seat, a State capital, nor the capital of the United States of America.
    State CapitalA populated place that serves as the seat of the State government.
    State Capital County SeatA populated place that serves as the seat of the State government and the county government.

    NAME
    The name of the city or town. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
    Codeset Source:U.S. Board on Geographic Names

    POP_RANGE
    The population range of the city or town based on 2000 U.S. Census Bureau data. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

    ValueDefinition
    0 - 9,999The population is less than 10,000.
    10,000 - 49,999The population is between 10,000 and 49,999.
    50,000 - 99,999The population is between 50,000 and 99,999.
    100,000 - 249,999The population is between 100,000 and 249,999.
    250,000 - 499,999The population is between 250,000 and 499,999.
    500,000 - 999,999The population is between 500,000 and 999,999.
    1,000,000 - 9,999,999The population is between 1,000,000 and 9,999,999.
    UndeterminedThe population is not known.

    POP_2000
    The 2000 population of the city or town. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

    ValueDefinition
    -99999The population is not known.

    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:8008278

    FIPS55
    The 5-digit FIPS code of the named populated place, primary county division, or other locational entity of the United States. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:Codes for Named Populated Places, Primary County Divisions, and Other Locational Entities of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Outlying Areas, FIPS 55-DC3.
    Codeset Source:U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology

    COUNTY
    The name of the county or county equivalent. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas, FIPS 6-4, 1990.
    Codeset Source:U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology

    FIPS
    The 5-digit FIPS code of the county or county equivalent. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

    Formal codeset
    Codeset Name:Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas, FIPS 6-4, 1990.
    Codeset Source:U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology

    STATE
    The 2-character FIPS code of the State or State equivalent. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

    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, FIPS 5-2.
    Codeset Source:U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology

    STATE_FIPS
    The 2-digit FIPS code of the State or State equivalent. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

    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, FIPS 5-2.
    Codeset Source:U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology

    DISPLAY
    A value used to specify whether a place name text label will be shown at the most detailed display scale in the National Atlas Map Maker. It is determined by a ratio based on population size and distance to nearest town and was set by the following steps: 1. Distance to the nearest neighbor was calculated for each populated place; 2. Population density was calculated by adding the 1990 population values for each county and then dividing the total by the area of the county. The 1990 population values of -99999 were set to 1; 3. A display ratio was calculated using the formula 1990 Population x Distance / Population Density; 4. Display was set to 1 for all points with a minimum result of 15000, and set to 0 for the remainder of points. This attribute was not updated in the February, 2004, version of this data set. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

    ValueDefinition
    0The place name will not be shown.
    1The place name will be shown.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Woodley Chu
    U.S. Geological Survey
    561 National Center
    Reston, VA 20192
    USA

    703-648-6375 (voice)
    atlasmail@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?
These data are intended for geographic display and analysis at the national level, and for large regional areas. The data should be displayed and analyzed at scales appropriate for 1:2,000,000-scale data. No responsibility is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data.

How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    2MILMM (source 1 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 1995, 1:2,000,000-Scale Digital Line Graph Data - Manmade Features: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 2000000
    Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information

    GNIS98 (source 2 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 1998, Geographic Names Information System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Contribution: Attribute information

    FIPS55-3_98 (source 3 of 17)
    National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1998, FIPS 55-DC3 Index - Guideline: Codes for Named Populated Places, Primary County Divisions, and Other Locational Entities of the United States, Puerto Rico, and Outlying Areas: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Contribution: Attribute information

    ATLAS-CITIES98 (source 4 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 1998, Cities and Towns of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 2000000
    Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information

    ATLAS-CITIES00 (source 5 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 200002, Cities and Towns of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 2000000
    Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information

    GAZETTEER (source 6 of 17)
    U.S. Census Bureau, 1990, U.S. Gazetteer Place File: U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information

    FIPS55-3_99 (source 7 of 17)
    National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1999, FIPS 55-DC3 Index - Guideline: Codes for Named Populated Places, Primary County Divisions, and Other Locational Entities of the United States, Puerto Rico, and Outlying Areas: National Institute of Science and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Contribution: Attribute information

    POP_PL (source 8 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 2000, Geographic Names Information System - Populated Places (Pop_places_deci.zip): U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Contribution: Attribute information

    GNIS00 (source 9 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 2000, Geographic Names Information System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Contribution: Attribute information

    POP_ESTIMATE (source 10 of 17)
    U.S. Census Bureau, 1998, Population Estimates for Places: July 1, 1998, and Population Change: April 1, 1990 to July 1, 1998: U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Contribution: Attribute information

    ATLAS-HY (source 11 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 1999, Hydrography Features of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 2000000
    Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information

    ATLAS-CNTY (source 12 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 1999, County Boundaries of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 2000000
    Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information

    ATLAS-CITIES00A (source 13 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 20001106, Cities and Towns of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 2000000
    Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information

    ATLAS-CITIES2002 (source 14 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 20021010, Cities and Towns of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 2000000
    Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information

    NACO (source 15 of 17)
    National Association of Counties, 2003, United States Counties - Find a County: National Association of Counties, Washington, DC.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Contribution: Attribute information

    ATLAS-CITIES2003 (source 16 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 200312, Cities and Towns of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 2000000
    Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information

    GNIS04 (source 17 of 17)
    U.S. Geological Survey, 2004, Geographic Names Information System: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Contribution: Attribute information

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

    Date: 1998 (process 1 of 7)
    Digitized place names from the 1970 National Atlas of the United States were compared with U.S. Census Bureau place names from FIPS55-3_98. Where there were discrepancies, names from the GNIS were used. A small number of places could not be assigned FIPS55 codes and were removed from the data set. Minor positional corrections were also made.

    Data sources used in this process:

    • 2MILMM
    • GNIS98
    • FIPS55-3_98

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • ATLAS-CITIES98

    Date: Feb-2000 (process 2 of 7)
    No spatial data was changed in ATLAS-CITIES98. The following edits were made to the attribute data base file. In the Feature field, inconsistencies were removed and the population ranges were corrected as necessary to match the 1990 population information in the Pop field. Unnecessary fields were deleted (Idnum, Capcode, Stid). Fields were added for State, State_Fips, and County. Lakewood Center, Washington was changed to Lakewood, Washington with a population of 58412. Incorrect population information for Lakewood, Snohomish County was deleted. Boise City, Idaho was changed to Boise, Idaho.

    Data sources used in this process:

    • ATLAS-CITIES98

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • ATLAS-CITIES00

    Date: Nov-2000 (process 3 of 7)
    Points generated from the GAZETTEER text file were added; points with duplicate FIPS55 codes were removed. County, State, and FIPS data were compared and corrected, if necessary, with data from FIPS55-3_99, and with POP_PL. Remaining incorporated and Census Designated Places (CDP's) from GNIS00 were added; all unincorporated and non-CDP places were then removed. A few populated places in high density areas were filtered out. Population data from the POP_ESTIMATE and GAZETTEER files were added, and a population value of -99999 was used where population data was not available. Some places were updated with new FIPS55 codes. Minor positional corrections were made using ATLAS-HY and ATLAS-CNTY as references. A display attribute, based on population size and distance to nearest town, was added to determine which place names will be shown at the most detailed scale on the National Atlas interactive map browser.

    Data sources used in this process:

    • ATLAS-CITIES00
    • GAZETTEER
    • FIPS55-3_99
    • POP_PL
    • GNIS00
    • POP_ESTIMATE
    • ATLAS-HY
    • ATLAS-CNTY

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • ATLAS-CITIES00A

    Date: 10-Oct-2002 (process 4 of 7)
    1990 and 1998 population figures for Newtown, Connecticut were updated.

    Data sources used in this process:

    • ATLAS-CITIES00A

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • ATLAS-CITIES2002

    Date: 15-Dec-2003 (process 5 of 7)
    County and county FIPS fields for the town of Bloomfield, CO were updated and it was listed as the county seat for Bloomfield county. County seats were added for counties where they were missing. These include: 

       Plumas County, CA-Quincy
   Towns County, GA-Hiawassee
   Kauai County, HI-Lihue
   Hardin County, IL-Elizabethtown
   Saginaw County, MI-Saginaw
   Koochiching County, MN-International Falls
   Holt County, NE-O'Neill
   Cass County, ND-Fargo
   Price County, WI-Phillips
    Please note that Shannon County, SD; Todd County, SD; Kings, NY; Bronx, NY; Queens, NY; and Richmond, NY do not have official county seats.

    Data sources used in this process:

    • ATLAS-CITIES2002
    • NACO

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • ATLAS-CITIES03

    Date: Feb-2004 (process 6 of 7)
    Incorporated place names in ATLAS-CITIES03 were compared with those from the GNIS database. GNIS names were used where there were discrepancies. New incorporated places were added; duplicate points and places no longer incorporated were removed. Positions of all incorporated places were adjusted to match GNIS coordinates. Minor positional corrections of incorporated places were made using ATLAS-HY and ATLAS-CNTY as references. The population range values were adjusted to reflect 2000 population figures and the POP_2000 attribute was added; earlier population figures were dropped.

    Data sources used in this process:

    • ATLAS-CITIES03
    • ATLAS-CNTY
    • ATLAS-HY
    • GNIS04

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • citiesx020.dbf
    • citiesx020.shp
    • citiesx020.shx

    Date: 22-Mar-2004 (process 7 of 7)
    Downloaded the ArcView Shapefile of the data, citiesx020.tar.gz, from <http://www.nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html> and extracted it. Removed unneeded attributes. Created ArcView legend file (.avl). Created projection file (.prj).

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Valerie Paskevich
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Information Specialist, GIS Coordinator
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2281 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    vpaskevich@usgs.gov

    Data sources used in this process:
    • citiesx020.tar.gz

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • citiesx020.dbf
    • citiesx020.shp
    • citiesx020.shx
    • citiesx020.avl
    • citiesx020.prj

  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?

    The geospatial part of this data set was originally extracted from the USGS 1:2,000,000-scale Digital Line Graphs (DLG) - Manmade Features. The horizontal positional accuracy is about 2 kilometers.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

    This data set includes built-up areas and populated places for all 50 of the United States, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Capitals and county seats are identified as well as population ranges where known. This is the complete dataset as downloaded from the USGS National Atlas (<http://www.nationalatlas.gov>).

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

    The data set was checked for topological consistency using the Arc/INFO command BUILD. No other checks for logical consistency were performed on this data set.

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:
Public domain data from the U.S. government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Acknowledgment of the National Atlas of the United States of America and (or) the U.S. Geological Survey would be appreciated in products derived from these data.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 2)

    Earth Science Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey
    507 National Center
    Reston, VA 20192

    1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747) (voice)

    Contact_Instructions:
    In addition to the address above, there are other ESIC offices throughout the country. A full list of these offices is at <http://mapping.usgs.gov/esic/esic_index.html>
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Downloadable Data: citiesx020.tar.gz

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    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 U.S. Geological Survey regarding the utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. No responsibility is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

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

    The data are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) shapefile format. The user must have ArcGIS® or ArcView® 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView or ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing data. A free data viewer, arcexplorer, is available from ESRI at www.esri.com.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 2 of 2)

    U.S. Geological Survey
    c/o Valerie Paskevich
    Information Specialist, GIS Coordinator
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2281 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    vpaskevich@usgs.gov

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

    Downloadable Data: citiies020x.zip

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although this data set has been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data or related materials.

    Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

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

    The data are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) shapefile format. The user must have ArcGIS® or ArcView® 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView or ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing data. A free data viewer, arcexplorer, is available from ESRI at www.esri.com.

Who wrote the metadata?
Dates:
Last modified: 22-Mar-2004

Metadata author:
Valerie Paskevich
U.S. Geological Survey
Information Specialist, GIS Coordinator
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
USA

(508) 548-8700 x2281 (voice)
(508) 457-2310 (FAX)
vpaskevich@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Generated by mp version 2.7.33 on Mon Mar 22 14:24:34 2004