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USGS:Biology arrow icon Biological Informatics Program arrow icon Vegetation Characterization Program arrow icon Glacier National Park arrow icon Boundary FAQ Metadata

Boundary FAQ Metadata

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?
    Title:
    1999 Project Boundary - Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping Project
    Abstract:
    The geographic information system (GIS) format project boundary for the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park was created to support an international mapping effort. This data set is designed to identify (1) the approximate geographic boundary of Glacier National Park, (2) the approximate geographic boundary of Waterton National Park, (3) the boundary of the Blood Indian Timber Limit inclusion, and (4) a buffer area around the exterior of the parks. The boundary data are distributed as a geographic information system (GIS) shapefile data set, using Universal Transverse Mercator zone 12 mapping coordinates, North American Datum 1983.
    Supplemental_Information:
    The project boundary and map extent includes all lands within the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (WGIPP) along with some adjacent lands. For the Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) mapping effort, park lands cover approximately 49,942 (123,408 acres), although WLNP commonly reports 50,500 ha (124,788 acres). Additional lands associated with the Blood Indian Timber Limit adds another 1,931 ha (4,771 acres) to the Canadian portion of the data set. For the Glacier National Park (GNP) mapping effort, park lands cover 408,056 ha (1,008,328 acres) in area, with an approximate 1.6 km (1.0 mile) buffer around the entire park. The size of this buffer is reduced on the northern boundary of the park, along the Canada boarder. On the eastern side of Glacier (east of the continental divide), the buffer region extends a consistent 1.6 km (1.0 mile). The buffer in this area includes lands associated with the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, which extends from the Canada-United States International Border to just south of East Glacier. The Lewis and Clark National Forest and some private ownership areas make up the rest of the eastern buffer area, from just south of East Glacier to the continental divide at Marias Pass. On the western side of the continental divide, the buffer is of variable size. The boundary of this buffer was determined by Glacier national Park staff. In some areas it may be as narrow as 60 m (197 feet) or as wide as nearly 4.0 km (2.5 miles). The buffer area on this side of the park includes lands belonging to the Flathead National Forest, private ownership, and British Columbia, Canada. A 100 m (328 ft) buffer extends into British Columbia, Canada, to the north of the park. In total, 494,845 ha (1,222,789 acres) are included in this data set.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences , 2007, 1999 Project Boundary - Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping Project: USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping Project, U.S. Geological Survey, Center for Biological Informatics, Denver, Colorado.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    A detailed report on how this data set was created is available to download from the Vegetation Mapping Program's Web site. The report discusses methods and results, and includes plant community descriptions and dichotomous keys, map classification and descriptions, and AA contingency tables.

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -114.514955
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -113.212423
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 49.221020
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 48.202507
    Description_of_Geographic_Extent:
    Glacier National Park & Waterton Lakes National Park and environs

  3. What does it look like?

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

    Calendar_Date: 1997
    Currentness_Reference: publication date

  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 (4)

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

      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 12
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -111.000000
      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?

    WGIPP_PrjBdy
    Water-Glacier Project Boundary (Source: UMESC USGS NPS)

    FID
    Internal feature number. These numbers are automatically generated by the software program ArcInfo Workstation, and are used by the software to track individual polygon features stored in shapefiles. Most software program will not display these numbers when the data set's attribute table is displayed. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    Coordinates defining the features.

    ID
    These numbers are also automatically generated by the software program ArcInfo Workstation, and are used by the software to track individual polygon features stored as coverages (files used with ArcInfo Workstation). (Source: ArcInfo Workstation)

    Unique numbers defining the features.

    AREA
    Area of an individual polygon, represented in square meters. (Source: ArcInfo Workstation)

    Numberic value defining area of the features.

    PERIMETER
    Length of the line used to define the outer boundary of an individual polygon. Perimeter measurements are expressed in meters. (Source: ArcInfo Workstation)

    Numberic value defining perimeter of the features.

    ACRES
    Number of acres located in each polygon. These numbers were calculated using information stored in the Area field. (Source: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping Project)

    Numberic value defining acres of the features.

    HECTARES
    Number of hectares located in each polygon. These numbers were calculated using information stored in the Area field. (Source: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping Project)

    Numberic value defining hectares of the features.

    BOUNDARY
    The name of the park or buffer area. (Source: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping Project)

    ValueDefinition
    Blood Indian Timber LimitBlood Indian Timber Limit Boundary
    Glacier National ParkGlacier National Park Boundary
    Project BufferBuffer added by UMESC of mapping extent
    Waterton Lakes National ParkWaterton Lakes National Park Boundary

    PROJECT
    The name of the mapping project these boundaries are used to support. (Source: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Vegetation Mapping Project)

    ValueDefinition
    Waterton-Glacier IPP Vegetation MappingFull Extent of WGIPP Vegetation Mapping Area

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, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, 2630 Fanta Reed Road, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

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

    USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Coordinator
    U.S. Geological Survey, Center for Biological Informatics, MS 302, Room 8000, Building 810, Denver Federal Center
    Denver, Colorado 80225
    United States of America

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

Why was the data set created?
The USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program (VMP) is a cooperative effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Park Service (NPS) to classify, describe, and map existing vegetation of national park units for the Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring Program. The goals of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (WGIPP) vegetation mapping project were to (1) adequately describe and map plant communities of WGIPP and (2) provide the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Program, resource managers, and biological researchers with useful baseline vegetation information.

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

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

    Date: Unknown (process 1 of 1)
    Dataset copied.

  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?

    All mapping areas of WGIPP were included to achieve a standard boundary

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

    Data were visually examined to ensure boundary matches that of the park.

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

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

    USGS Center for Biological Informatics
    USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Coordinator
    United States Geological Survey, Center for Biological Informatics
    Denver, Colorado 80225
    USA

    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?

Who wrote the metadata?
Dates:
Last modified: 18-Jul-2007
Last Reviewed: 30-Jan-2008

Metadata author:
USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Coordinator
U.S. Geological Survey, Center for Biological Informatics, MS 302,
Room 8000, Building 810, Denver Federal Center
Denver, Colorado 80225
USA

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

Metadata standard:
FGDC-STD-001.1-1999 Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata, 1998 Part 1: Biological Data Profile, 1999 (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Metadata extensions used:

Generated by mp version 2.7.24 on Wed Jan 30 13:37:58 2008


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