Boundary FAQ Metadata

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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?

   Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Unpublished material, gewa_veg_map_boundary_18_83.

   Online Links:

   • <http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/ftp/vegmapping/gewa/gewabdy.zip>

   This is part of the following larger work.

   National Park Service, Water Resources Division, 20010503, National Park System Boundary Dataset.

   Other_Citation_Details:

   This dataset contains 342 National Park System unit boundaries. Under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service (NPS), these park units are located throughout the United States (U.S.) and its territories. The dataset was compiled (and edited) from a variety sources: park-based GIS databases; U.S. Geological Survey 7.5' 1:24,000 quadrangles; NPS Park Land Status Maps; legal descriptions; etc.). The boundaries are in Latitude-Longitude (Clarke 1866-NAD27) decimal degrees. The ID_ field contains the unique 4 character park code identifying each park. The NAME1_ field contains the full park name. The NAME2_ field contains information about the source, scale, and date of the boundary. The boundaries are generally the designated boundary. Inholdings may or may not be shown depending on the park. To obtain the most accurate, current boundary, users should contact the specific park.

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -76.934894

   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -76.905235

   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.202284

   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.181862

   Description_of_Geographic_Extent: George Washington Birthplace National Monument and environs

3. What does it look like?

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

   Calendar_Date: 03-May-2001

   Currentness_Reference: publication date of source data

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?

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

      • G-polygon (2)

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

      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator

      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:

      UTM_Zone_Number: 18

      Transverse_Mercator:

      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600

      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -75.000000

      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.000000

      False_Easting: 500000.000000

      False_Northing: 0.000000

      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000001
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000001
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters

      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?

   gewa_veg_map_boundary_18_83

   Shapefile attribute table (Source: ESRI)

   FID

   Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

   Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

   Shape

   Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

   Coordinates defining the features.

   LABEL

   Park name from source dataset (Source: National Park Service, Water Resources Division)

   Value	Definition
   George Washington Birthplace National Park	Park name from source dataset

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage

2. Who also contributed to the data set?

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

Why was the data set created?

These data should not be used for any legal boundary disputes. They are derived from a data set intended solely for use in identifying the general locations of national park units throughout the U.S. This shapefile was created to provide a general representation of the GEWA boundary for the vegetation classification and mapping completed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage in July 2008.

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   National Park Boundary Dataset (source 1 of 1)

   National Park Service, Water Resources Division, 20010503, National Park System Boundary Dataset: National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO.

   Type_of_Source_Media: digital

   Source_Scale_Denominator: 24000

   Source_Contribution:

   The boundary file for GEWA was extrated from the National Park Boundary Dataset.

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

   Date: 2001 (process 1 of 1)

   Polygons representing GEWA were selected from the National Park Boundary Dataset and saved as a new shapefile. The new shapefile was then reprojected.

   Data sources used in this process:

   • National Park Boundary Dataset

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?

   None

2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

   None. The data appear to align spatially with other available digital geospatial data.

3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

   None

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

   None

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:

This dataset should not be used for any legal boundary disputes. To obtain the most accurate, current boundary, users should contact the park. The National Park Service shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. These data are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such.

The information contained in these data is dynamic and may change over time. The data are no better than the original sources from which they were derived. It is the responsibility of the data user to use the data appropriately and consistent within the limitations of geospatial data in general and these data in particular.

The National Park Service gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data. It is strongly recommended that these data are directly acquired from an NPS server and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the National Park Service, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the utility of the data on another system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data.

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and Synthesis
   c/o USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Coordinator
   Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Room 8000, MS 302
   Denver, Colorado 80225
   

   (303) 202-4220 (voice)
   303-202-4219 (FAX)
   gs-b-npsveg@usgs.gov
   

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

   Downloadable Data

3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

   The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. These data and related graphics (if available) are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such.

   The information contained in these data is dynamic and may change over time. The data are not better than the original sources from which they were derived. It is the responsibility of the data user to use the data appropriately and consistent within the limitations of geospatial data in general and these data in particular. Any related graphics (if available) are intended to aid the data user in acquiring relevant data; it is not approriate to use the related graphics as data.

   The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data. It is strongly recommended that these data are directly acquired from an U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service servers and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the utility of the data on another system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data. It is also strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this metadata report does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U. S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey and National Park Service.

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

     Data format:	HTML
     Network links:	<http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/gewa/index.html>

   • Cost to order the data: None

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 12-Sep-2008
Last Reviewed: 26-May-2010

Metadata author:

USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and Synthesis
c/o USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Coordinator
Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Room 8000, MS 302
Denver, Colorado 80225

(303) 202-4220 (voice)
303-202-4219 (FAX)
gs-b-npsveg@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:

FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001.1-1999)

Metadata extensions used:

• <http://www.nbii.gov/portal/server.pt/community/fgdc_metadata/255>