North American Atlas, 2010

This collection is a legacy product that is no longer supported. It may not meet current government standards.

The North American Atlas data are standardized geospatial data sets at 1:10,000,000 scale. A variety of basic data layers (e.g. roads, railroads, populated places, political boundaries, hydrography, bathymetry, sea ice and glaciers) have been integrated so that their relative positions are correct. This collection of data sets forms a base with which other North American thematic data may be integrated. The North American Atlas data are intended for geographic display and analysis at the national and continental level. Any data outside of Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America included in the North American Atlas data sets is strictly to complete the context of the data.

Simple

Date ( RI_366 )
2010-01-01
Date ( RI_367 )
2010-01-01
RI_414
  Government of Canada; Natural Resources Canada;Strategic Policy and Innovation Sector - ( )
voice; 1 (800) 661-2638 (Toll Free in Canada and USA.)
Purpose
The North American Atlas data are intended for geographic display and analysis at the national and continental level. These data should be displayed and analyzed at scales appropriate for 1:10,000,000-scale data. No responsibility is assumed by Natural Resources Canada, Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geografía e Informática, or the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data.
Credit
A joint venture involving the National Atlas programs in Canada (Natural Resources Canada), Mexico (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía), and the United States (U.S. Geological Survey), as well as the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, has led to the release (June 2004) of several new products: an updated paper map of North America, and its associated geospatial data sets and their metadata. These data sets are available online from each of the partner countries for download.
Status
historicalArchive; archiveHistorique RI_594
Maintenance and update frequency
notPlanned; nonPlanifié RI_542
Keywords ( RI_525 )
  • Countries
  • Canada
  • Mexico
  • United States of America
  • Mid-latitude
  • Western Hemisphere
  • Northern Hemisphere
  • North America
Keywords ( RI_528 )
  • Inland water resources
  • North American Free Trade Agreement
  • NAFTA
  • Reservoir
  • Society
  • Urban settlement
  • Human settlement
  • Cities
  • Villages
  • Towns
  • Agglomeration
  • Elevation
  • Derived Products
  • Isobath
  • Transportation networks
  • Railroads
  • Ice fields
  • Administrative
  • Political
  • International boundary
  • International date line
Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus Thésaurus des sujets de base du gouvernement du Canada ( RI_528 )
  • Hydrography
  • Rivers
  • Lakes
  • Demographic data
  • Ice
  • Seas
  • Oceans
  • Coasts
  • Coasts
  • Water
  • Transport
  • Road networks
  • Railway networks
  • Rail transport
  • Glaciers
  • Inland waters
  • Boundaries
  • Ice caps
  • Infrastructures
  • Ferries
  • Culture
  • Canals
  • Economics
  • Watercourses
  • Acquisitions (Businesses)
Use limitation
Open Government Licence - Canada (http://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada)
Access constraints
license; licence RI_606
Use constraints
license; licence RI_606
Spatial representation type
vector; vecteur RI_635
Denominator
10000000
Metadata language
eng; CAN
Character set
utf8; utf8 RI_458
Topic category
  • Economy
  • Inland waters
  • Oceans
  • Society
  • Elevation
  • Transportation
  • Boundaries
Begin date
2010
End date
2010
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S
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Supplemental Information

These data are distributed in both geographic coordinates (through National Atlas of Canada, INEGI, and National Atlas of the United States), and a Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area projection (CEC). The following parameters are used for the Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area projection:

>Longitude_of_Projection_Center: -100.00

>Latitude_of_Projection_Center: 45.00

>False_Easting (metres): 0.0

>False_Northing (metres): 0.0

>Semi-major_Axis: 6370997.0

>Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 1.0

>Ellipsoid_Name: Sphere

>Units: metres
Reference system identifier
https://www.spatialreference.org (GCS Sphere ARC INFO) / EPSG:37008 /
Distribution format
  • SHP ( N/A )

    File decompression technique
    ZIP

RI_412
  Government of Canada; Natural Resources Canada;Strategic Policy and Innovation Sector - ( )
voice; 1 (800) 661-2638 (Toll Free in Canada and USA.)
OnLine resource
Prepackaged Shape files and documentation sorted by feature class ( HTTPS )

Dataset;SHP;eng,fra

Hierarchy level
series; série RI_623
Description
Bathymetry: Bathymetry linework from the 2000 Atlas of Canada North America base map was reprojected and fitted to the coastline of the 1:10,000,000 North American Atlas – Hydrography. Cartographers at The Atlas of Canada did the integration of the data, maintaining a cartographic representation suitable for 1:10,000,000 scale. Much of the bathymetry in the Caribbean was updated using both vector and raster data from the GEBCO Digital Atlas. Polygon topology was created so the bathymetry could be shown as area fills and could be used for cartographic representation. Depth attributes were then added to the lines. Depth values of adjoining polygons were checked to ensure there were no discontinuities (e.g. that polygons with depth 0-200 did not border on polygons with depth 500-2500). Then a visual check of the data on a paper plot was done, and finally that plot was compared with bathymetry on the 1995 Atlas of Canada North American base map. Each country performed quality control of the final data representation.
Date / Time
2004-01-01T00:00:00
Description
Hydrography: For the U.S. portion of the map, linework from the 1:7,500,000 Hydrography file was generalized and fitted to the coastline by cartographers at National Atlas of the United States. For the Canadian portion of the map, linework from the 1:7,500,000 National Atlas Reference Map Series was fitted to the coastline by cartographers at the Atlas of Canada. Linework from the 1:4,000,000 Topographical Dataset for Mexico was selected, generalized and fitted to the coastline by cartographers at the Atlas of Canada. Drainage needed to extend features to the map extent was compiled from the 1:10,000,000 National Atlas of Canada Reference Map Series data set. Linework was fitted to the coastline. The attribute for the country was added to the data. (2003) Linework was cartographically adjusted along country boundaries to ensure correct connection of adjoining hydrographic features. Because the linework came from many different sources and scales, a final cartographic review was done to the full hydrographic file to ensure cartographic compatibility at 1:10,000,000 scale. A quality control of the linear hydrography data was done in order to ensure topological consistency within each country and across country boundaries. Polygon topology was created so the area hydrography features could be shown as polygons and an area fill could be used for cartographic representation. Each country then performed a final cartographic check to verify the selection and position of the linework. The attributes were also verified. Using the original 1:10,000,000 hydrography files (NA_Hydro04) the USA hydrography feature lines (lakes and rivers) were refined using the 1:2,000,000 hydrography data files (HY0301) as a guide. Some spatial features were added and others were corrected. Names were taken from the 1:2,000,000 data, then researched and tagged to the geometry based on 1:100,000-scale base maps. For Alaska, names were taken from the 1:250,000-scale sheets. Using the original 1:10,000,000 hydrography files (NA_Hydro04) the Mexican hydrography feature lines (lakes and rivers) were tagged with names taken from the Mexico source data. (2004) Using the original 1:10,000,000 hydrography files (NA_Hydro04) which had the names for the hydrography features in Mexico added, the data for the USA was replaced with the revised and named American data. Hydrography features in Canada were adjusted along the border to match the changes in the USA. The Canadian hydrography feature lines (lakes and rivers) were tagged with names taken from the 1:1,000,000 National Scale Frameworks Hydrology file (NSFH_2003), the 1:10,000,000 paper map, and the 1:7,500,000 reference map data. (2006) The hydrography was reshaped using the North American contours as a base. The original coast line was replaced with coasts_l_edit. (2008) In the process of creating the 2010 North American Watersheds data set, a number of discrepancies between the watershed boundaries and the existing North American Atlas base layers were identified. Also, several omissions and significant errors in the hydrography file, unrelated to the watersheds, needed to be corrected. The hydrography lines and polygons were edited a) to fit properly with the new Canadian watershed boundaries, or b) to correct significant errors in the hydrography base such as the omission of several major reservoirs. Because the latest version of the North American Atlas – Hydrography polygon data was only available as an unprojected data set, the file was converted to a Lambert Conformal Conic projection for editing. Sections of the Ottawa and Restigouche rivers are coincident with provincial boundaries (ON-QC and QC-NB respectively). The political boundaries in these areas had been modified to bring them into alignment with the more-accurate watersheds file, but the geometry for these rivers no longer fit the provincial boundaries. These rivers were corrected to be coincident with the new political boundary lines. Several major reservoirs missing from the file were added from the 2008 Atlas of Canada Hydrology data, and several other significant errors were corrected. The Canadian hydrography lines were deleted from the original hydrography file, and the edited Canadian hydrography lines were added. The hydrography polygons required an additional step. In this data set, in addition to waterbodies there are polygons to represent all areas that are not lake or ocean – all the continental land masses, including the islands within lakes. Effectively, lakes create holes in the continental landmass. During the editing process, more than 150 Canadian lakes were either added or edited, so reshaping the holes to match the modified lakes was not an efficient option. Instead, all the Canadian lakes in the original file were merged with the North American landmass polygon, filling in the Canadian holes. Then the ArcToolbox “Erase” tool was used to punch holes in the landmass using the new Canadian lakes as the “Erase Feature”and the new Canadian lakes were pasted into the data set.
Date / Time
2009-01-01T00:00:00
Description
Boundary: Linework from the 1:6,000,000 Atlas of Canada boundary file was fitted to the North American Atlas - Hydrography layer. Linework from the 1:5,000,000 United States General Reference Map was fitted to the North American Atlas - Hydrography layer. Linework from the 1:4,000,000 Topographical Dataset for Mexico was fitted to the North American Atlas - Hydrography layer. The attribute for the country was added to the data. Boundaries for regions outside Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America were compiled from the 1:10,000,000 North America, National Atlas of Canada Reference Map Series data set. Linework was fitted to the North American Atlas - Hydrography layer. The attribute for foreign country was added to the data. Linework was cartographically adjusted along country boundaries to ensure correct connection of adjacent boundaries and attributes were added. Because the linework came from four different sources and scales, a final cartographic review was done to the full boundary file to ensure cartographic compatibility at 1:10,000,000 scale. Each country then performed a final cartographic check to verify the selection and position of the linework. The attributes were also verified. (2004) Boundary lines that followed hydrography features (rivers and lakes) in the United States were adjusted to fit the new hydrography positions. (2006) In the process of creating the 2010 North American Atlas – Watersheds data set, a number of discrepancies between the watershed boundaries and the existing North American Atlas base layers were identified. Resulting adjustments made to the hydrography layer necessitated changes to the international boundary in the political boundaries layer. A visual comparison of the boundaries and watersheds revealed three places (East Neebish Channel, Mary's River by Little Lake, and Niagara River from Buffalo NY up to Lake Ontario) where a political boundary crossed the updated shoreline for the Great Lakes. The political boundaries were adjusted in these areas to the center of the watershed unit (the lake); the 24K DRGs were used as reference for placement of the adjusted boundary. In addition, the international boundary was adjusted between longitudes 70º 17'7" W and 71º 24' 12". The international boundary in this area is aligned with the watershed boundary; the boundary line was adjusted to match the updated watershed boundary. The boundary polygons were updated based on the boundary line edits. (2008) The political boundaries required additional editing because some provincial boundaries follow rivers or are defined as height-of-land, and many of these coincide with North American Watershed boundaries, but the existing political boundaries were of lower absolute locational accuracy than the new watersheds. The political boundaries were upgraded. The 1:1-million political boundaries coverage BNDLAM was copied from an internal Atlas of Canada repository. Segments of internal (provincial/territorial) boundaries that were coincident with streams or watershed boundaries were identified and generalized using the ArcGIS Smooth Line tool using the PAEK option with a tolerance of 6000 m, followed by some minor manual modification. (Smoothed sections were YK/NT, BC/AB, QC/NL, ON/QC along the Ottawa River, and QC/NB along the Restigouche River.) Because most of the remaining political boundaries were relatively simple straight-line segments, it was decided to replace the entire set of Canadian provincial/territorial boundaries. These boundary segments were generalized or densified to achieve a vertex density of about 3000-5000 metres. All of the Canadian political boundary lines were deleted from the North American Atlas – Political Boundaries file and replaced with the newly updated boundaries from the process above. (2009) The boundaries were checked against the updated hydrography for mismatches along coastlines. Errors were corrected so that the two files are in agreement. Corrections were made to several attribute values to fix errors identified in the quality-control process. (2010)
Date / Time
2010-01-01T00:00:00
Description
Glacier: Linework from the 1:7,500,000 Atlas of Canada Glaciers map was projected and fitted to the 1:10,000,000 North America Atlas, Hydrography. Cartographers at The Atlas of Canada did the integration and generalization of the data, maintaining a cartographic representation suitable for 1:10,000,000 scale. The attribute for the country was added to the data. Polygon topology was created so the glaciers could be shown as polygons and an area fill could be used for cartographic representation. Quality control of the cartographic representation was performed by each country. The attributes were also verified. (2004)
Date / Time
2004-01-01T00:00:00
Description
Places: Point data from the 1:10,000,000 Atlas of Canada populated places file was projected and fitted to the North American Atlas Hydrography, Roads and Railroads layers. (2003) Populated place data for Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America was taken from the most recent census of each country. Places were included if they were locally significant and if their names could be displayed legibly (without overlap of names on the cartographic product). Attributes were added to the data. Each country performed a final cartographic check to verify the selection and position of the points. The attributes were also verified. (2004)
Date / Time
2004-01-01T00:00:00
Description
Rail: Linework from the 1:6,000,000 Atlas of Canada railroad network was generalized and fitted to the North American Atlas hydrography, roads and populated places layers. The 1:1,000,000 National Scale Frameworks Rail Network, Canada was used as a supplement to check selection and position. Linework from the 1:5,000,000 United States General Reference Map was generalized and fitted to the North American Atlas hydrography, roads and populated places layers. Linework from the 1:4,000,000 Topographical Dataset for Mexico was generalized and fitted to the North American Atlas hydrography, roads and populated places layers. The attribute for the country was added to the data. The files from the three countries were combined and the railroad lines were cartographically adjusted along country boundaries to ensure correct connection of the railroad network. (2003) In the process of creating the 2010 North American Watersheds data set, corrections were made to the North American Atlas – Hydrography file, which then created conflicts with nearby railroads. These were corrected, and the old lines were deleted and replaced with the new. (2009)
Date / Time
2009-01-01T00:00:00
Description
Roads: Linework from the 1:6,000,000 Atlas of Canada was generalized and fitted to the North American Atlas hydrography and populated places layers. The 1:1,000,000 National Scale Frameworks Road Network, Canada was used as a supplement to check selection and position. Linework from the 1:5,000,000 United States General Reference Map was generalized and fitted to the North American Atlas hydrography and populated places layers. Linework from the 1:4,000,000 Topographical Dataset for Mexico was generalized and fitted to the North American Atlas hydrography and populated places layers. The attribute for the country was added to the data. (2003) Roads for regions outside Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America were compiled from the 1:10,000,000 North America National Atlas of Canada Reference Map Series data set. Linework was fitted to the North American Atlas hydrography and populated places layers. The files from the three countries were combined with the file for the regions outside Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America and the linework was cartographically adjusted along country boundaries to ensure correct connection of the road network. Because the linework came from several different sources and scales, a final cartographic review was done to the full road network to ensure cartographic compatibility at 1:10,000,000 scale. Each country then performed a final cartographic check to verify the selection and position of the linework. The attributes were also verified. (2004) Roads that either followed or were off-set from hydrography features (rivers and lakes) and boundary lines in the United States were adjusted to fit the new hydrography or boundary positions. (2006) In the process of creating the 2010 North American Watersheds data set, corrections were made to the North American Atlas – Hydrography file, which then created conflicts with about a dozen nearby roads. These were corrected, and the old lines were deleted and replaced with the new. (2009) Corrections were made to several attribute values to fix errors identified in the quality-control process. (2010)
Description
Sea ice: Linework from the 1:6,000,000 Atlas of Canada reference map was projected and fitted to the 1:10,000,000 North American Atlas – Hydrography. Cartographers at The Atlas of Canada did the integration and generalization of the data, maintaining a cartographic representation suitable for 1:10,000,000 scale. Polygon topology was created so the sea ice could be shown as polygons and an area fill could be used for cartographic representation. (2004)
Date / Time
2004-01-01T00:00:00
File identifier
491cea4e-f842-4ceb-a63d-3203ba8ec07f XML
Metadata language
eng; CAN
Character set
utf8; utf8 RI_458
Hierarchy level
dataset; jeuDonnées RI_622
Date stamp
2021-11-29T17:08:50
Metadata standard name
North American Profile of ISO 19115:2003 - Geographic information - Metadata
Metadata standard version
CAN/CGSB-171.100-2009
RI_414
  Government of Canada; Natural Resources Canada;Strategic Policy and Innovation Sector - ( )
voice; 1 (800) 661-2638 (Toll Free in Canada and USA.)
 
 

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