GIS Web Resources
Some of these sources provide datasets directly and others provide links to sites that allow downloads
Government
- geodata.gov — geospatial "one stop" for Federal data
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) — wide variety of links and free data
- NASA's WorldWind — includes world and solar system data
- SLO DataFinder — local data sets from several sources
- California Spatial Information Library
Colleges and Universities
- Stanford University Library — wide variety of links
- University of Colorado at Boulder Library — wide variety of links
- Humboldt State University Library — wide variety of links
- UC Berkeley GISC (Geographic Information Science Center)
- Infomine — provides a search engine for GIS datasets by topic or area
Commercial
- ESRI's Data Portal
- Geography Network — worldwide data sets
- GeoCommunity's GIS Data Depot — free and fee US data
- Google Earth
- TerraServer-USA — "one of the world's largest online databases, providing free public access to a vast data store of maps and aerial photographs of the United States."
When searching with Google or another browser, use words such as GIS, download, data and words that refer to the general geographical location.
To find aerial photos that have been orthorectified for use in GIS software, use the terms, orthoimage or orthophoto.
Need more help?
GIS Student Assistants are available in the Reference Room to help locate specific data sets for GIS projects. For contact and availability information, see the instructions posted at the GIS Workstations.
