Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) Collection 1 Land Cover Conterminous United States

This page last updated: 08/28/2024
Metadata created using FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata


Go to Section:
1. Overview
2. Data Quality
3. Data Organization
4. Coordinate System
5. Attributes
6. Distribution - Get Data
7. Metadata Reference

Section 1 Overview
Originator U.S. Geological Survey
Title Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) Collection 1 Land Cover Conterminous United States
Abstract The USGS Land Cover program has combined the tried-and-true methodologies from premier land cover projects, National Land Cover Database (NLCD) and Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection (LCMAP), together with modern innovations in geospatial deep learning technologies to create the next generation of land cover and land change information. The product suite is called, “Annual NLCD” and includes six annual products that represent land cover and surface change characteristics of the U.S.:

1) Land Cover,
2) Land Cover Change,
3) Land Cover Confidence,
4) Fractional Impervious Surface,
5) Impervious Descriptor, and
6) Spectral Change Day of Year.

These land cover science product algorithms harness the remotely sensed Landsat data record to provide state-of-the-art land surface change information needed by scientists, resource managers, and decision-makers. Annual NLCD uses a modernized, integrated approach to map, monitor, synthesize, and understand the complexities of land use, cover, and condition change. With this first release, Annual NLCD, Collection 1.0, the six products are available for the Conterminous U.S. for 1985 – 2023.

Questions about the Annual NLCD product suite can be directed to the Annual NLCD mapping team at USGS EROS, Sioux Falls, SD (605) 594-6151 or custserv@usgs.gov. See included spatial metadata for more details.
Purpose The goal of this project is to provide the Nation with complete, current, and consistent public domain information on its land use and land cover.
Time Period of Content Date
Currentness Reference ground condition
Progress Complete
Maintenance and Update Frequency Annually
Spatial Extent of Data
Bounding Coordinates -129.27731989810934
-63.118429521429235
52.921719733858104
21.805095225544456
Place Keywords United States
Theme Keywords imageryBaseMapsEarthCover
Theme Keyword Thesaurus ISO 19115 Topic Category
Access Constraints None. Please see 'Distribution Info' for details.
Use Constraints None. Users are advised to read the dataset's metadata thoroughly to understand appropriate use and data limitations.
Contact Person Information , Customer Service Representative

47914 252nd Street
Sioux Falls, SD  57198-0001
Phone: 605-594-6151
Fax: 605-594-6589
Email: custserv@usgs.gov
Browse Graphic None available
Associated Data Sets Lessons learned implementing an operational continuous United States national land change monitoring capability: The Land Change Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection (LCMAP) approach

Section 2 Data Quality
Attribute Accuracy A formal accuracy assessment is in progress for the Annual NLCD product suite.
Logical Consistency An internal review process was conducted to check for erroneous data artifacts, duplications, and omissions to ensure the integrity of the geospatial data products.
Completeness Dataset is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details.
Horizontal Positional Accuracy No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted.
Vertical Positional Accuracy No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted.
Lineage Reference Document

Please reference the Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) Collection 1 Science Product User Guide for more detailed methodology and information. The user guide can be found at https://www.mrlc.gov/documentation.

Section 3 Spatial Data Organization (not used in this metadata)

Section 4 Coordinate System
Horizontal Coordinate Scheme
Horizontal Datum WGS_1984
Horizontal Units meters
Cell Width 30.0
Cell Height 30.0

Section 5 Attributes
Overview Land Cover Class RGB Color Value Table. The specific RGB values for the Land Cover classes that were used for Annual NLCD Collection 1.
Detailed Citation Attributes defined by USGS
Value Red, Green, Blue
250 0, 0, 0
11 70, 107, 159
12 209, 222, 248
21 222, 197, 197
22 217, 146, 130
23 235, 0, 0
24 171, 0, 0
31 179, 172, 159
41 104, 171, 95
42 28, 95, 44
43 181, 197, 143
52 204, 184, 121
71 223, 223, 194
81 220, 217, 57
82 171, 108, 40
90 184, 217, 235
95 108, 159, 184
Table Detail:
Annual NLCD C1V0 - Land Cover class counts and descriptions for the Annual NLCD Land Cover Database (U.S. Geological Survey)
Field NameValid ValuesDefinitionDefinition Source
OID
-
Internal feature number.Annual NLCD
Count
-
A nominal integer value that designates the number of pixels that have each value in the file; histogram column in raster attributes table.Annual NLCD
ValueenumeratedLand Cover Class Code ValueAnnual NLCD
250NoDataAnnual NLCD
11Open Water - All areas of open water, generally with less than 25% cover or vegetation or soil.Annual NLCD
12Perennial Ice/Snow - All areas characterized by a perennial cover of ice and/or snow, generally greater than 25% of total cover.Annual NLCD
21Developed, Open Space - Includes areas with a mixture of some constructed materials, but mostly vegetation in the form of lawn grasses. Impervious surfaces account for less than 20 percent of total cover. These areas most commonly include large-lot single-family housing units, parks, golf courses, and vegetation planted in developed settings for recreation, erosion control, or aesthetic purposes.Annual NLCD
22Developed, Low Intensity -Includes areas with a mixture of constructed materials and vegetation. Impervious surfaces account for 20-49 percent of total cover. These areas most commonly include single-family housing units.Annual NLCD
23Developed, Medium Intensity - Includes areas with a mixture of constructed materials and vegetation. Impervious surfaces account for 50-79 percent of the total cover. These areas most commonly include single-family housing units.Annual NLCD
24Developed, High Intensity - Includes highly developed areas where people reside or work in high numbers. Examples include apartment complexes, row houses and commercial/industrial. Impervious surfaces account for 80 to 100 percent of the total cover.Annual NLCD
31Barren Land (Rock/Sand/Clay) - Barren areas of bedrock, desert pavement, scarps, talus, slides, volcanic material, glacial debris, sand dunes, strip mines, gravel pits and other accumulations of earthen material. Generally, vegetation accounts for less than 15% of total cover.Annual NLCD
41Deciduous Forest - Areas dominated by trees generally greater than 5 meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. More than 75 percent of the tree species shed foliage simultaneously in response to seasonal change.Annual NLCD
42Evergreen Forest - Areas dominated by trees generally greater than 5 meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. More than 75 percent of the tree species maintain their leaves all year. Canopy is never without green foliage.Annual NLCD
43Mixed Forest - Areas dominated by trees generally greater than 5 meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. Neither deciduous nor evergreen species are greater than 75 percent of total tree cover.Annual NLCD
52Shrub/Scrub - Areas dominated by shrubs; less than 5 meters tall with shrub canopy typically greater than 20% of total vegetation. This class includes true shrubs, young trees in an early successional stage or trees stunted from environmental conditions.Annual NLCD
71Grassland/Herbaceous - Areas dominated by grammanoid or herbaceous vegetation, generally greater than 80% of total vegetation. These areas are not subject to intensive management such as tilling but can be utilized for grazing.Annual NLCD
81Pasture/Hay - Areas of grasses, legumes, or grass-legume mixtures planted for livestock grazing or the production of seed or hay crops, typically on a perennial cycle. Pasture/hay vegetation accounts for greater than 20 percent of total vegetation.Annual NLCD
82Cultivated Crops - Areas used to produce annual crops, such as corn, soybeans, vegetables, tobacco, and cotton, and also perennial woody crops such as orchards and vineyards. Crop vegetation accounts for greater than 20 percent of total vegetation. This class also includes all land being actively tilled.Annual NLCD
90Woody Wetlands - Areas where forest or shrub land vegetation accounts for greater than 20 percent of vegetative cover and the soil or substrate is periodically saturated with or covered with water.Annual NLCD
95Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands - Areas where perennial herbaceous vegetation accounts for greater than 80 percent of vegetative cover and the soil or substrate is periodically saturated with or covered with water.Annual NLCD


Section 6 Distribution
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publication Date 10/16/2024
Contact Person Information ,

47914 252nd Street
Sioux Falls, SD  57198-0001
Phone: 800-252-4547
Email: custserv@usgs.gov
Distributor's Data Set Identifier
Distribution Liability Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
Ordering Instructions
Online Linkage I AGREE to the notice in "Distribution Liability" above. Clicking to agree will either begin the download process, link to a service, or provide more instructions. See "Ordering Instructions" above for details.

Section 7 Metadata Reference
Metadata Date 08/28/2024
Contact Person Information , Customer Service Representative

47914 252nd Street
Sioux Falls, SD  57198-0001
Phone: 605-594-6151
Fax: 605-594-6589
Email: custserv@usgs.gov
Metadata Standard Name FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata Standard Version FGDC-STD-001-1998
Metadata Standard Online Linkage


This page last updated: 08/28/2024
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