You need ArcGIS 9.0 to view the data. If you do not have ArcGIS, download Arc Explorer for Windows to view the data. Additional information on Arc Explorer can be found at http://www.esri.com/software/arcexplorer/
Description of HIS_USA
The HIS_USA geodatabase is located at ftp://geo1.tacc.utexas.edu/HIS_USA.
HIS_USA contains three feature datasets, one raster catalog and one time series table consisting of hydrographic data, geologic data, and hydrologic observations data as shown below:
The ArcHydro feature dataset (shown below) contains five feaure classes obtained from government agencies (USGS and EPA).
HydroEdge (shown below) is a line feature class of the major rivers in the continental United States, and is an extended version of U.S. EPA Reach File 1 (RF1).
MonitoringPoints (shown below) are obtained from the National Streamflow Information Program (NSIP). This point point feature class contains a complete record of active (6,375), inactive (11,523), other agencies (908), and non-real time (10) stream flow gages (Total of 18,827 gages). It also contains a subset of the USGS operated stream flow gages (1,596 of the 6,375 active gages) from the Hydro-Climatic Data Network (HCDN) Stream flow Data Set, 1874-1988. HydroJunction featureclass is created by snapping MonitoringPoints onto HydroE.dge
Watersheds (shown below) is a polygo feature class of the drainage areas as defined by the 8-digit HUCs.
Waterbody (shown below) is a polygon feature class of the lakes and reservoirs in the continental US obtained from a National Weather Service version of RF1.
Aquifers (shown below) is a polygon feature class that covers the aquifers in the United States.
Faults (shown below) is a polyline feature class that covers the faults in the geologic structures for the United States.
Geology (shown below) is a polygon feature class showing geologic formations in the United States.
HydrologicObservatories (shown below) is a polygon feature class showing the geographic extent of HO areas.
States and Counties are polygon feature classes showing the states and counties boundaries for the United States
ACIS_ClimateStations (shown below) is a point feature class with ACIS (Applied Climate Information System) Climate Sites that have reported some subset of TMIN/TMAX/PRCP in the last year.
NCDC_RainStations (shown below) is a point feature class with rainfall stations from National Climatic Data Center.
NWIS_Groundwater and NWIS_Groundwater_2 (shown below) are point feature classes that give the locations of NWIS sites for groundwater measurements in the United States.
NWIS_GroundwaterWithWQ (shown below) is a point feature classes that gives the locations of NWIS sites for groundwater water quality measurements in the United States.
NWIS_SurfaceWater (shown below) is a point feature class that gives the locations of NWIS sites for flow and water quality measurements along streams in the United States.
NWIS_WaterQuality is a point feature class that gives the locations of NWIS sites for water quality measurements in the United States.
NWIS_Miscellaneous (shown below) is a supplementary dataset to all NWIS_site files. The SiteFiles dataset is still under development, and NWIS_Miscellaneous will eventually become a part of other site files.
The Rasters raster catalog contains one raster showing the Hydrologic Landscape Regions (HLRs) of the United States. This raster is obtained from USGS through the following link: http://water.usgs.gov/lookup/getspatial?hlrus.
A map with HLR is shown below:
The TimeSeries table in HIS_USA contains eight million records of stream flow and precipitation. The stream flow records are related to MonitoringPoint feature class, and the precipitation records are related to NCDC_RainStations. The time series records are related to spatial features through FeatureID. The FeatureID for each record corresponds to the HydroID of spatial features. The information about time series records is stored in TSType table.
Contact Information
These materials may be used for study, research, and education, but please
credit the authors and the CUAHSI HIS team.
Venkatesh Merwade
Postdoctoral Fellow
Center for Research in Water Resources
10100 Burnet Road, Bldg. 119
Austin, TX 78758
Phone: (512) 471-0570
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