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Geoecology: County-Level Environmental Data for the United States, 1941-1981

Documentation Revision Date: 2017-08-17

Data Set Version: 1

Summary

The Geoecology database is a compilation of environmental data for the period 1941 to 1981. The Geoecology database contains selected data on terrain and soils, water resources, forestry, vegetation, agriculture, land use, wildlife, air quality, climate, natural areas, and endangered species. Data on selected human population characteristics are also included to complement the environmental files. Data represent the conterminous United States at the county level. These historical data are provided as a source of 1970s baseline environmental conditions for the United States.

The integrated database of diverse environmental resource information from extant sources was developed by the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Olson et al. 1980). Some data sets described in Olson et al. 1980 are no longer available. County data sets have Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) numeric state and county codes that allow merging of the separate files. Some files, such as species dictionaries or point data, do not have FIPS identifiers. Data are stored in metric-SI units. For more detailed descriptions of the Geoecology database contents, users may refer to the Geoecology Technical Memorandum, provided here as Geoecology_TM.pdf. It serves as both documentation and a user's guide to the Geoecology database, giving general information on the data set contents, sources of data, and specific variable descriptions.

The Geoecology database is comprised of 61 individual data files in tab-delimited text file format (*.txt), 46 of which are also provided as shapefiles (*.shp compressed in *.zip format). Shapefile data are also provided as companion files in KMZ format for visualization in Google Earth.

Figure 1. Data set C14: Monthly average precipitation by state climatic division 1941-1970

Citation

Olson, R.J., C.J. Emerson, and M.K. Nungesser. 2017. Geoecology: County-Level Environmental Data for the United States, 1941-1981. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/656

Table of Contents

  1. Data Set Overview
  2. Data Characteristics
  3. Application and Derivation
  4. Quality Assessment
  5. Data Acquisition, Materials, and Methods
  6. Data Access
  7. References
  8. Data Set Revisions

Data Set Overview

The Geoecology database is a compilation of environmental data for conterminous US for the period 1941 to 1981. The Geoecology database contains selected data on terrain and soils, water resources, forestry, vegetation, agriculture, land use, wildlife, air quality, climate, natural areas, and endangered species. Data on selected human population characteristics are also included to complement the environmental files. Data represent the conterminous United States at the county level. These historical data are provided as a source of 1970s baseline environmental conditions for the United States.

Revision Note: This data set has been updated to also provide shapefiles and corresponding *.kmz files created from the original (*.txt) county-level data tables. Note that no changes have been made to the data values.

The integrated database of diverse environmental resource information from extant sources was developed by the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Olson et al. 1980). Some data sets described in Olson et al. 1980 are no longer available. County data sets have Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) numeric state and county codes that allow merging of the separate files. Some files, such as species dictionaries or point data, do not have FIPS identifiers. Data are stored in metric-SI units. For more detailed descriptions of the Geoecology database contents, users may refer to the Geoecology Technical Memorandum, provided here as Geoecology_TM.pdf. It serves as both documentation and a user's guide to the Geoecology database, giving general information on the data set contents, sources of data, and specific variable descriptions.

Data Characteristics

Spatial Coverage: United States

Spatial Resolution: County-level; state-level

Temporal Coverage: 1941-1981

Temporal Resolution: Single observation; monthly; annual

Study Area: (all latitudes and longitudes given in decimal degrees)

Site Westernmost Longitude Easternmost Longitude Northernmost Latitude Southernmost Latitude
United States -124.762578 -66.949894 49.384366 24.498135

 

Data File Information

There are 107 data files and 52 companion files included in this data set. 

Of the 107 data files:

  • 61 are tables in tab-delimited text (*.txt) file format (original files)
  • 46 are shapefiles (*.shp files compressed into *.zip archives) created from the original data files

Of the 52 companion files:

  • 46 are compressed Keyhole Markup Language (*.kmz) format files made from the corresponding shapefiles, for viewing in Google Earth.
  • Five are additional tables containing coded variable definitions and other ancillary information in text file format (original files).
    • Specifically, G01.txt, provides a list of data set titles and characteristics in tabular format, and 
    • G02.txt, provides a list of data table variables and definitions.
  • The Geoecology Technical Memorandum, Geoecology_TM.pdf, provides general information about each of the data tables.

Please note that if a data table described in Olson et al. 1980 is listed in the documentation below, the data set is no longer available. Data sets with no Geoecology_TM.pdf page number in the tables below are not referenced in the technical memorandum and users should refer to companion files G01.txt and G02.txt for additional information. 

Data processing notes regarding converting the *.txt data tables to shapefiles:

State and county-level data sets with multiple records per unique FIPS state and county code were merged to a single row in the corresponding shapefiles. For example:

D06.txt

FIPS_ST FIPS_CO VEG_CODE
06 001 029
06 001 040
06 001 042

D06.shp

FIPS_ST FIPS_CO VEG_CODE1 VEG_CODE2 VEG_CODE3
06 001 029 040 042

Spatial Reference Information

GCS_WGS_1984
WKID: 4326 Authority: EPSG

Angular Unit: Degree (0.0174532925199433)
Prime Meridian: Greenwich (0.0)
Datum: D_WGS_1984
  Spheroid: WGS_1984
    Semimajor Axis: 6378137.0
    Semiminor Axis: 6356752.314245179
    Inverse Flattening: 298.257223563

Data Tables

Files are categorized and named by sector as identified in companion files Geoecology_TM.pdf and G01.txt

  • Sixteen of the original tables were not converted to shapefiles because they do not have a spatial component. These tables can be identified as those without a Geographic Unit in the sector tables below.
  • Five files (D11.txt, G01.txt, G02.txt, T07.txt, and T15.txt) are now distributed as companion files because they are description tables. 

Agriculture 

Agricultural data sets included in the Geoecology database are listed in the table below. These data sets provide both crop and livestock data for counties based on state and federal inventories.

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
A01 Crop areas and yields, agriculture land use 1978 County 16
A04 Crop planted/harvested areas and yields 1975 County 20
A05 Index of Crop Reporting Districts 1975 County 21

Data set A04.txt and the corresponding shapefile (A04.shp) provide statistics for U.S. counties for major crops in 1975 obtained from the Economics, Statistics, and Cooperative Services (ESCS), USDA. Variables, variable descriptions, and units for A04.txt are detailed in Table 1. Crop details for each county were merged to a single row for inclusion in A04.shp: ..., CORN_YEAR, CORN_PLN, CORN_HRV, CORN_PRD, CORN_YLD, PEANUTS_YEAR, etc.

Table 1. Variables, variable descriptions, and units for A04.txt

Variable Description Units
FIPS_ST FIPS state code  
FIPS_CO FIPS county code  
CROP Crop name  
YEAR Year of ESCS estimate  
CROP_PLN Planted area ha
CROP_HRV Harvested area ha
CROP_PRD Production kg
CROP_YLD Yield kg/ha

Base Data

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
B01 County codes, names, and centroids 1970 County 23
B02 State names and indices (EPA, BBS, NOAA) 1970 State 24
B06 Air (ACQR) and Water (WRC-SA) Indices 1975 County 25
B08 * General regional indices 1970-1975 County 27,28

Note: B08 data is described under "003" in the Climate section of the Geoecology technical memorandum.

Climate

Climatic data sets included in the Geoecology database for county-subcounty units and State Climatic Divisions (SCDs) are listed in the table below. The SCD shapefile template to which the tabular data files were merged was obtained from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center website.

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
C07 Monthly average temperatures by county 1941-1970 County 29
C08 Monthly average precipitation by county 1941-1970 County 30
C09 Monthly potential evaporation by county 1941-1970 County 31
C10 Monthly moisture index by county 1941-1970 County 32, 33
C11 Monthly average temperatures by division 1941-1970 SCD 34
C12 Monthly maximum temperatures by division 1941-1970 SCD 35
C13 Monthly minimum temperatures by division 1941-1970 SCD 36
C14 Monthly average precipitation by division 1941-1970 SCD 37
C15 Monthly maximum precipitation by division 1941-1970 SCD  
C16 Monthly minimum precipitation by division 1941-1970 SCD 38
C17 Climatic division index 1970 County 39
C18 Growing season length, first/last frost 1978 County 40
C19 State climatic division names/weights 1975 SCD 41
C20 Rainfall pH and H-ion loadings 1974 County 42
C21 Inversion day probabilities   County  

Vegetation

The vegetation data sets provide national and county-level statistics of natural vegetation coverage for ecoregions (Bailey 1976, Bailey 1978). County-level data sets with multiple records per unique FIPS state and county code (D06, D08, D10, D13) were merged to a single row in the corresponding shapefiles.

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
D03 Potential and land use-adjusted vegetation national statistics  1966-1967   44, 45
D04 Potential and land use-adjusted vegetation by county 1966-1967 County 46, 47
D05 Vegetation/land use change probabilities 1978   48
D06 Vegetation replacement by urban areas by county 1978 County 49
D07 Summary statistics (D08) for potential and land use-adjusted ecoregions 1976   50
D08 Potential and land use-adjusted areas for ecoregions by county 1976 County 51
D09 Potential and land use adjusted vegetation statistics for ecoregions 1978   52
D10 Potential and land use-adjusted vegetation statistics for ecoregions by county 1978 County 53
D13 Vegetation sensitivity to sulfur dioxide (SO2) 1979 County 54

The vegetation data includes one companion file (D11.txt) providing ecoregion code definitions.

Energy

The energy data set (E04) lists power generating facilities by county. 

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
E04 Generating utility reference file 1981    

Forestry

The forestry data set (F08) provides forest area, volume, and growth statistics for hardwood and softwood forests at the county-level from data sets F01-07 (not included; see Geoecology technical memorandum).

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
F08 Forest area, volume, and growth 1965-1980 County  

Data set F08.txt and the corresponding shapefile (F08.shp) are not described in the Geoecology technical memorandum or companion files G01.txt and G02.txt. Variables, variable descriptions, and units are listed in Table 2.

Table 2. Variables, variable descriptions, and units for F08.txt and F08.shp

Variable Description Units
YEAR CFI observation year  
FIPS_ST FIPS state code  
FIPS_CO FIPS county code  
FS_HWD_G Hardwood growing stock volume m3/ha
FS_HWD_V Hardwood volume in commercial forest m3/ha
FS_LND_A Land area ha
FS_SWD_G Softwood growing stock volume m3/ha
FS_SWD_V Softwood volume in commercial forest m3/ha
FS_TOT_A Total forested area ha
FS_TOT_G Total growing stock volume m3/ha
FS_TOT_V Total volume in commercial forest m3/ha

Air Quality

The air quality data set (K04) provides county-level air quality compliance with standards set forth by the Clean Air Act and other legislation.

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
K04 Air quality non-attainment areas (EPA) 1979 County 66

Land

Land data sets provide county-level land use statistics from the 1967 Conservation Needs Inventory (USDA 1971).

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
L01 Land use statistics (CNI detailed) 1967 County 68,69
L02 Land capability classes (CNI) 1967 County 70,71
L05 Land surface mining 1975 County 72
L06 Land resource region index 1967 County 73
L07 Land use (CNI aggregated) 1967 County 74
L08 Land areas (rural, urban, roads, water, fed) 1979 County 75,76

Minerals

Minerals data sets provide county-level summaries of coal production and reserves.

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
M03 Coal reserves characteristics 1977 County  
M04 Coal production with projections 1975 County  

Natural Areas

Natural areas data sets list areas administered and protected to maintain natural ecological conditions including parks, wilderness areas, national forests and rangeland, wildlife refuges, ecological preserves, etc. 

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
N01 Rare II tracts 1978 Points 78
N02 National Park Service areas 1979 County 79
N03 Wilderness areas 1978 County 80
N04 Rare II tracts by county 1978    
N05 Rare II tracts by ecoregion and vegetation 1978    
N06 Rare II tracts ORNL ranks 1979    
N07 Rare II tracts USFS data 1978    
N17 National forest areas 1980 County  
N18 National wildlife refuges 1980 County  

Population

Population data sets provide county-level population and housing statistics.

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
P01 Population by sex and 5-year age class 1970 County 81, 82
P03 Population and housing 1980 County  

Terrain

Terrain data sets provide soil characteristics such as moisture and organic matter content, temperature, and texture at the county level. 

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
T03 Soils at map unit level 1967 County 84
T08 Great soil groups characteristics 1967   92
T09 Great soil groups within map units 1967   93
T13 Soils at soil order level 1967 County 97
T14 Physical regions 1970 County  

Terrain data includes two companion files (T07.txt and T15.txt) providing soil map code and physical region code dictionaries.

Wildlife

Wildlife data sets list endangered species by county (W10) and for the U.S. (W09).

File Contents Year Geographic Unit Geoecology_TM.pdf page(s)
W09 Endangered species codes dictionary 1977   102
W10 Endangered species (BNL file) 1977 County 103

Companion File Information

Companion files are provided in tab-delimited text (*.txt) file format and contain coded variable definitions and other ancillary information. The information from these files have been merged with the data files where possible; e.g. ecoregion code definitions were added to data files D08, D09, and D10 based on the information in companion file D11.

File Contents
Geoecology_TM.pdf Geoecology Technical Memorandum - primary source of information regarding the Geoecology data set
D11.txt Ecoregion codes dictionary (Geoecology_TM.pdf p.54)
G01.txt Data set titles and characteristics 
G02.txt Data set variables and labels
T07.txt Soil order, suborder, map unit dictionary (Geoecology_TM.pdf p.91)
T15.txt Physical regions dictionary
<DATA_FILE>.kmz One KMZ per data file in shapefile format for viewing in Google Earth

Application and Derivation

The Geoecology database data have been used for environmental assessment and planning for energy development requiring rapid access to data at appropriate spatial and temporal scales (Kitchings et al. 1976; Klopatek et al. 1979a, 1979b; Olson et al. 1982, 1983). These historical data are provided as a source of 1970s baseline environmental conditions for the United States. 

Quality Assessment

Potential sources of error and other precautionary considerations are included in the comments section for each data set in the Geoecology technical memorandum. 

Data Acquisition, Materials, and Methods

Agriculture

The agriculture data sets included in the Geoecology database are from state and federal inventories based on annual surveys conducted for each county. Data set A01 contains major crop areas, yields for selected crops, and major farmland-use statistics obtained from the 1969 Census of Agriculture (Breen 1972). Data set A04 contains statistics for land planted and harvested with associated crop yields and production from the Economics, Statistics, and Cooperative Service, USDA, for the years 1972-1977 (Barr 1979). Data set A05 contains Crop Reporting District codes for US counties (Barr 1979). Crop Reporting Districts are groupings of contiguous counties within states based on homogeneous agricultural practices. 

Base Data

Data sets B01, B02, B06, and B08 provide the size and location of US counties and various index files for use with data from other Geoecology database categories. Data set B01 defines the 3701 county units used as the primary geographic units in the Geoecology database. Data set B02 provides various state codes and state-level regional indices from several agencies for regional aggregation of data sets from other Geoecology database categories. Data sets B06 and B08 contain indices for grouping counties by Air Quality Control Regions (Merrill 1977) and Water Resource Council sub-areas (Wilson 1978). 

Note: B08 data is described under "003" in the Climate section of the Geoecology technical memorandum.

Figure 2. Data set B02: 1969 Census of Agriculture Region Codes (C_AG_RGN) 

Climate

Climate data sets in the Geoecology database were calculated from weather station data for the 30-year period 1941-1970. The data include monthly temperature ranges and total rainfall as well as potential evapotranspiration, moisture index, growing season and frost data, rainfall pH, and several other indices at both the county level and within State Climatic Divisions (SCDs). 

State Climatic Divisions (SCDs) are areas within states with similar climate. There are 353 SCDs in the United States defined by the National Weather Service. Most follow county boundaries, but some SCDs subdivide counties in mountainous areas. SCD names are listed in C19 and counties within each SCD are listed in C17.

Data sets C07-C10 were derived from the 1941-1970 monthly climatic norms for weather stations. Using the SYMAP program, station values were interpolated to determine county values for temperature and rainfall for counties without weather stations. No correction was made for elevation so caution is recommended when using data in mountainous areas. The resolution is adequate for regional studies. The county values were then used with the Thornthwaite (1948) equations to estimate potential evapotranspiration and moisture indices. C11-16 contain monthly average temperature and rainfall norms for SCDs. The average, minimum, and maximum values were calculated for the period 1941-1970 from a file obtained from the National Climatic Center.

Vegetation

Vegetation data sets in the Geoecology database are based on two interrelated maps of ecoregions and potential natural vegetation. Ecoregions represent a hierarchical landscape classification scheme based on climate, soils, and vegetation. There are 54 ecoregions at the section level in the conterminous United States. The vegetation aspect of the classification scheme is based on potential natural vegetation (Küchler 1964, USDI 1970). Data sets D03 and D04 provide national and county-level summary statistics for potential and land use-adjusted natural vegetation. Data set D05 provides probabilities of conversion from natural vegetation to cropland, pastureland, or inundation for each Küchler vegetation type (Klopatek 1979b). Data set D06 defines vegetation types within western counties that have been urbanized. The data were obtained by overlaying a map of urban areas with Küchler's vegetation map. Data sets D07 and D08 provide national and county-level summary statistics for potential and land use-adjusted ecoregion areas. Data sets D09 and D10 provide national and county-level natural vegetation statistics for each ecoregion. Data set D13 provides sensitivities of potential natural vegetation (Küchler 1964) to sulfur dioxide (SO2), rated by Argonne National Laboratory (Ballou et al. 1979). Individual species' sensitivities were rated sensitive, intermediate, or resistent based on tolerances to SO2 reported in literature. Vegetation communities were classified according to the most sensitive dominant species in the association.

Companion table D11 provides ecoregion codes and names at the province and section levels based on Bailey's 1976 ecoregion map. This table has been combined with other relevant vegetation data sets in the Geoecology database (D08, D09, D10).

Energy

The energy data set (E04) lists power generating facilities by county.

Forestry

The forestry data set (F08) was produced from data collected by the U.S. Forest Service's Continuous Forest Inventory (CFI) program. The CFI program conducts timber surveys on permanently established plots at ten-year intervals. 

Air Quality

Air quality statistics were compiled by Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory as part of the Population At Risk to Air Pollution (PARAP) project (Merrill 1980). County-level statistics included in data set K04 were estimated from EPA monitoring data collected to determine compliance with the Clean Air Act and other legislation. County estimates were calculated for the population centroid of the counties located within 60 km of a monitoring station. Air emissions from projected industrial activity were calculated by the Strategic Environmental Assessment System (SEAS) model. 

Figure 3. Data set K04: EPA Air Quality Non-Compliance 1979

Land

County-level statistics for land use, land capability, and land use restrictions from the 1967 Conservation Needs Inventory (USDA 1971) are included with the Geoecology database. The CNI is both out-of-date and subject to relatively high statistical sampling errors for individual counties. The inventory is also restricted to non-federal land. Data sets L01, L02, L03, and L07 are based on the CNI. Land Resource Regions (L06) are defined in terms of the agricultural practices and capabilities of the region.

Natural Areas

Natural Areas data sets include parks, wilderness areas, national forests and rangelands, wildlife refuges, ecological preserves, and others. Data sets N01, N04, N05, N06, and N07 pertain to the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation II (RARE II) program in 1978 to inventory existing roadless areas within the National Forests and to determine their management strategies. Data sets N04-07 may be merged with N01 to give complete name and location data. 

Population

Data set P01 provides county-level summary population counts for 5-year age groups by sex. Data set P03 provides county-level population and household counts for 1970 and 1980.

Terrain

County-level maps of land form and soils from the National Atlas (USDI 1970) are included in the Terrain data sets of the Geoecology database. Data set T03 provides soil codes for U.S. counties. Data set T07 provides soils map unit codes, soils order codes, and soils suborder codes and their definitions. Data sets T08 and T09 provide summaries of soil classification data within Soil Map Units from USDI 1970. T09 may be used to merge the Great Soil Group Characteristics data set (T08) with the soils distribution data set (T03). Data set T13 contains soil map unit data (T03) aggregated to the soil order level for U.S. counties. Data set T14 provides physiographic region codes within U.S. counties and their definitions are provided in companio file T15. Definitions from companion file T15 are merged with the T14 data set in shapefile format.

Wildlife

Endangered species (animals and plants) codes for U.S. counties obtained from Brookhaven National Laboratory (Nagy and Calef, 1979) are provided in data set W10. Code definitions for all U.S. endangered species are provided in data set W09. Definitions from data set W09 are merged with data set W10 in shapefile format. These data reflect federally designated endangered and threatened species at the time of the data compilation in 1978 and are likely out-of-date. 

Data Access

These data are available through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

Geoecology: County-Level Environmental Data for the United States, 1941-1981

Contact for Data Center Access Information:

References

Bailey, R. G. 1976. Ecoregions of the United States. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, DC. (map) . Bailey, R. G. 1978. Descriptions of Ecoregions of the United States. U. S. Forest Service, Ogden, UT. 77 pp.

Barr, J. T. May, 1979. 1972-1977 County Crop Estimates magnetic tape. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Economics, Statistics, and Cooperatives Service, Washington, DC.

Ballou, S. W. 1979. Unpublished manuscript. Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL.

Breen, J. T. 1972. 1969 Census of Agriculture magnetic tape file. U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Agriculture Division, Washington, DC.

Kitchings, T., S. Anderson, and R. J. Olson. 1976. Biogeographic Information System for Animal Species in the Southeastern United States. ASB Bulletin 23(3):149-154.

Klopatek, J. M., J. T. Kitchings, R. J. Olson, K. D. Kumar, and L. K. Mann. 1979a. A hierarchical system for evaluating regional ecological resources. Biological Conservation 20(4):271-290.

Klopatek, J. M., R. J. Olson, C. J. Emerson, and J. L. Jones. 1979b. Land-use conflicts with natural vegetation in the United States. Environmental Conservation 6:191-199.

Küchler, A. W. 1964. Potential natural vegetation of the conterminous United States (map and manual). Special Pub. 36. American Geographical Society.

Merrill, D. 1977. EPA County Index Computer File. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.

Calef, C., and J. Nagy. 1979. Assessment of endangered species - energy development conflicts: Method s development. Unpublished Project Report. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY. 37 pp.

Olson, R. J., C. J. Emerson, and M. K. Nungesser. 1980. GEOECOLOGY: A County-Level Environmental Data Base for the Conterminous United States. ORNL/TM-7351. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Olson, R. J., K. D. Kumar, and R. L. Burgess. 1982. Analyses of Ecoregions Utilizing the Geoecology Data Base. pp. 149-156. In: In-Place Resource Inventories: Principles and Practices, Society of American Foresters.

Olson, R. J., J. M. Klopatek, and C. J. Emerson. 1983. Regional environmental analysis and assessment utilizing the Geoecology Data Base. pp. 102-118. In: E. Teicholz and B. J. L. Berry (eds.), Computer Graphics and Environmental Planning, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Thornthwaite, C. W. 1948. An approach toward a national classification of climate. Geogr. Rev. 38:55-94.

U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 1971. Basic statistics - National inventory of soil and water conservation needs, 1967. Statistical Bulletin No. 461. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. 211 pp.

U. S. Department of Interior (USDI). 1970. The national atlas of the United States of America. U. S. Department of Interior, Geological Survey, Washington, DC.

Wilson, D. L. 1978. AQCR and WRC-SA Computer File. Computer Sciences Division, UCCND, Oak Ridge, TN.

Data Set Revisions

Revision Summary:

  • This data set has been revised to include county-level data tables from the Geoecology database in shapefile format. No changes have been made to the data values.
  • Five files (D11.txt, G01.txt, G02.txt, T07.txt, T15.txt) from the original Geoecology database (cited below) are now distributed as companion files.
  • Coded variables were decoded in adjacent columns within the data files where possible. E.g. Ecoregion code definitions within vegetation data tables D08, D09, and D10 were given in adjacent columns using the information in companion file D11.

Revision History:

Original Citation

Olson, R. J., C. J. Emerson, and M. K. Nungesser. 2003. GEOECOLOGY: County-Level Environmental Data for the United States, 1964-1979. Data set. Available on-line [http://www.daac.ornl.gov] from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A. doi:10.3334/ORNLDAAC/656.