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Layer Names and Descriptions  

The TopoDepot maps contain many different layers.  Each layer corresponds to a TIGER feature type, Contour, or GNIS type.  Thus you can differentiate between primary roads, secondary roads, rivers, contours, lakes, etc.  This structure gives you a great deal of flexibility while viewing and manipulating the maps. For example, you could turn on only primary roads and turn off secondary roads.

The 100K and 24K DLG layers have been mapped into the TIGER layer names, with “100K” or “24K” appended to the layer name. For example, major roads in 24K DLG would have the layer name “A10_24K”.

Additionally, TopoDepot has layers for the various different types of contours, section lines, and raster data.

In TopoDepotOnDVD, it is possible to permanently assign your own layer names, colors, line widths etc, for DWG and DXF files.

 

CONTOUR24K
24K Contour Line layer.  These are 3D polylines with elevation in the Z direction, generated from 30Meter DEM data.

CONTOUR24KINDEX
24K Contour Line Index layer.  These are 3D polylines with elevation in the Z direction, every fifth contour line, generated from 30Meter DEM data.  Elevation labels are also on this layer.

CONTOUR24K_10M
24K Contour Line layer.  These are 3D polylines with elevation in the Z direction, generated from 10 Meter DEM data.

CONTOUR24K_10M_INDEX
24K Contour Line Index layer.  These are 3D polylines with elevation in the Z direction, every fifth contour line, generated from 10 Meter DEM data. Elevation labels are also on this layer.  

100KCONT
100K Contour Line layer.  These are 3D polylines with elevations in the Z direction.

24KDLGCONT
24K Contour Line layer.  These are 3D polylines with elevations in the Z direction.

24KDLGContourIndex 
24K Contour Line Index layer.  Every fifth contour line is on this layer, and is labeled with the contour elevation

NGSBenchmarks
Point layer containing the NGS Benchmarks and labels.

100KPLSS
Contains the 100K PLSS layer lines and labels.

24KPLSS
Contains the 24K PLSS layer lines and labels.

GCDB_RAW
The BLM GCDB data contains data for quarter-quarter sections.

GCDB_SECTION
The BLM GCDB data contains data for Sections.

DOQ
The USGS DOQ Aerial photo is on this layer.

DRG
The USGS DRG scanned paper map.

LEGEND
This layer provides latitude and longitude data along with tick marks, map name and number, and other pertinent information describing map data origin. The boundary is also on this layer.

 

Census Bureau TIGER Layers 

CFCC CLASSIFICATION A = ROAD FEATURES

A00      Road, Classification Unknown or Not Elsewhere Classified

A01      Road, undivided

A02      Road, undivided, in tunnel

A03      Road, undivided, underpassing

A04      Road, undivided, rail line in center

A05      Road, divided

A06      Road, divided, in tunnel

A07      Road, divided, underpassing

A08      Road, divided, rail line in center

A10      Primary road, interstate highway and limited access road

 

Primary Highway with Limited Access

A11      Primary road, interstate highway and limited access road, undivided

A12      Primary road, interstate highway and limited access road, undivided, in tunnel

A13      Primary road, interstate highway and limited access road, undivided, underpassing

A14      Primary road, interstate highway and limited access road, undivided, rail line in center

A15      Primary road, interstate highway and limited access road, divided

A16      Primary road, interstate highway and limited access road, divided, in tunnel

A17      Primary road, interstate highway and limited access road, divided, underpassing

A18      Primary road, interstate highway and limited access road, divided, rail line in center

 

Primary Road without Limited Access

A20      Secondary road, U.S. highway not classified A10, and state roads

A21      Secondary road, U.S. highway not classified A10, and state roads, undivided

A22      Secondary road, U.S. highway not classified A10, and state roads, undivided, in tunnel

A23      Secondary road, U.S. highway not classified A10, and state roads, undivided, underpassing

A24      Secondary road, U.S. highway not classified A10, and state roads, undivided, rail line in center

A25      Secondary road, U.S. highway not classified A10, and state roads, divided

A26      Secondary road, U.S. highway not classified A10, and state roads, divided, in tunnel

A27      Secondary road, U.S. highway not classified A10, and state roads, divided, underpassing

            center

Secondary and Connecting Road

A30      Connecting road, county roads, and roads not classified as A10 or A20

A31      Connecting road, county roads, and roads not classified as A10 or A20, undivided

A32      Connecting road, county roads, and roads not classified as A10 or A20, undivided, in tunnel

A33      Connecting road, county roads, and roads not classified as A10 or A20, undivided, underpassing

A34      Connecting road, county roads, and roads not classified as A10 or A20, undivided, rail line in center

A35      Connecting road, county roads, and roads not classified as A10 or A20, divided

A36      Connecting road, county roads, and roads not classified as A10 or A20, divided, in tunnel

A37      Connecting road, county roads, and roads not classified as A10 or A20, divided, underpassing

A38      Connecting road, county roads, and roads not classified as A10 or A20, divided, rail line in center

 

Local, Neighborhood, and Rural Road

A40      Neighborhood roads, city streets and unimproved roads

A41      Neighborhood roads, city streets and unimproved roads, undivided

A42      Neighborhood roads, city streets and unimproved roads, undivided, in tunnel

A43      Neighborhood roads, city streets and unimproved roads, undivided, underpassing

A44      Neighborhood roads, city streets and unimproved roads, undivided, rail line in center

A45      Neighborhood roads, city streets and unimproved roads, divided

A46      Neighborhood roads, city streets and unimproved roads, divided, in tunnel

A47      Neighborhood roads, city streets and unimproved roads, divided, underpassing

A48      Neighborhood roads, city streets and unimproved roads, divided, rail line in center

 

Vehicular Trail

A50      Jeep trail, passable only by four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle

A51      Jeep trail, passable only by four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle, undivided

A52      Jeep trail, passable only by four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle, undivided, in tunnel

A53      Jeep trail, passable only by four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle, undivided, underpassing

 

Road with Special Characteristics

A60      Special Road Feature, major category used when the minor category could not be determined

A61      Cul-de-sac

A62      Traffic circle

A63      Cloverleaf or interchange

A64      Service drive

A65      Ferry crossing

 

Roads as Other Thoroughfare

A70      Other Thoroughfare

A71      Walkway

A72      Stairway

A73      Alley

 

 

CFCC CLASSIFICATION B = RAIL FEATURES

B00      Railroad, Classification Unknown or Not Elsewhere Classified

B01      Railroad track

B02      Railroad track, in tunnel

B03      Railroad track, underpassing 

 

Railroad Main Line

B10      Railroad Main Track

B11      Railroad main track

B12      Railroad main track, in tunnel

B13      Railroad main track, underpassing 

 

Railroad Spur

B20      Railroad Spur Track

B21      Railroad spur track

B22      Railroad spur track, in tunnel

B23      Railroad spur track, underpassing 

 

Railroad Yard

B30      Railroad Yard

B31      Railroad yard

B32      Railroad yard, in tunnel

B33      Railroad yard, underpassing 

 

Railroad with Special Characteristics

B40      Railroad Ferry Crossing

 

Railroad as Other Thoroughfare

B50      Other Rail Feature

B51      Carline

B52      Cog railroad, incline railway, or logging tram 

 

 

CFCC CLASSIFICATION C = PIPELINES, POWER TRANSMISSION LINES, AND MISCELLANEOUS TRANSPORTATION FEATURES

C00      Special Transportation Feature, Classification Unknown or Not Elsewhere Classified

C10      Pipeline

C20      Power Transmission Line

C30      Other Special Ground Transportation Feature

C31      Aerial tramway, monorail, or ski lift

 

CFCC CLASSIFICATION D : LANDMARK

D00      Landmark; major and minor categories unknown

D10      Military installation or reservation; major category used alone

D20      Multihousehold or transient quarters

D30      Custodial facility

D40      Educational or religious institution; major category used alone

D50      Transportation terminal

D51      Airport or airfield

D52      Train station

D60      Employment Center

D61      Shopping Center

D64      Amusement Center

D65      Government Center

D70      Towers

D80      Open space

D81      Golf course

D83      National Park Service land

CFCC CLASSIFICATION E = OTHER PHYSICAL FEATURES

E00      Physical Feature, Classification Unknown or Not Elsewhere Classified

E10      Fence line

E20      Topographic feature

E21      Ridge line

E22      Mountain peak

 

CFCC CLASSIFICATION F = NONVISIBLE BOUNDARIES

F00       Nonvisible Boundary, Classification Unknown or Not Elsewhere Classified

F10       Nonvisible Political Boundary

F11       Offset Corporate Boundary

F12       Corporate Corridor

F13       Nonvisible interpolated boundary

F20       Feature Extension (Extensions not otherwise classified)

F21       Automated extensions

F22       Manually added block extensions

F23       Closure extension

F24       Nonvisible separation line

F25       Nonvisible corporate corridor line

F30       Point-to-Point line

F40       Property Line

F50       Zip Code Boundary

F60       Map edge

F70       Statistical Area Boundary

F71       1980 Statistical Boundary

F72       1990 Block Boundary

F73       Urbanized area land use boundary

F74       1990 Statistical Boundary, Tabulation Areas Only

F80       Nonvisible other tabulation boundary

 

CFCC CLASSIFICATION H = HYDROGRAPHIC FEATURES

H00      Water Feature, Classification Unknown or Not Elsewhere Classified

H01      Shoreline of perennial water feature

H02      Shoreline of intermittent water feature

 

Naturally flowing Water Features

H10      Stream

H11      Perennial stream

H12      Intermittent stream or wash

H13      Braided stream

 

Man-Made Channel to Transport Water

H20      Canal, Ditch, or Aqueduct

H21      Perennial canal, ditch, or aqueduct

H22      Intermittent canal, ditch, or aqueduct

 

Inland Body of Water

H30      Lake or pond

H31      Perennial lake or pond

H32      Intermittent lake or pond

 

Man-Made Body of Water

H40      Reservoir

H41      Perennial reservoir

H42      Intermittent reservoir

 

Seaward Body of Water

H50      Bay, Estuary, Gulf, Sound, Sea, or Ocean

H51      Bay, estuary, gulf, or sound

H53      Sea or ocean

 

Body of Water in a Man-made Excavation

H60      Gravel Pit or Quarry Filled With Water

 

Nonvisible Definition Between Water Bodies

H70      Nonvisible Water Area Definition Boundary

H71      USGS closure line

H72      Census computed centerline

H73      Census international water boundary, 10-mile limit, area measurement line

H74      Census water boundary, inland or coastal or Great Lakes

H75      3-mile limit water boundary

 

Special Water Features

H80      Special Water Feature

H81      Glacier

CFCC CLASSIFICATION X = FEATURES NOT YET CLASSIFIED

X00      Feature Not Yet Classified

 

GNIS Feature Names

The Geographical Names are broken down and placed into the layers specified by the feature class definitions in the following section.

   

                                              GNIS FEATURE CLASS DEFINITIONS

           

The feature class terms and abbreviations currently consist of nine or fewer letters and were chosen for computer search and retrieval pur­poses.   They do not necessarily represent terminology for the identifi­cation of all kinds of cultural and natural features.  Although, some of the terms may agree with dictionary definitions, they represent more generalized categories.  Some commonly used generics are listed in paren­theses at the end of each entry to assist in understanding the range of cultural and natural entities represented by the term.

Refer to the Reference Data Base to retrieve all generics thus far encountered in geographic names compilation.  In most instances a plural form is listed as if it were singular; for example, archipelago or islands would be categorized as island.  The terms and the definitions are as follows:

Airport:       manmade facility maintained for the use of aircraft (airfield, airstrip, landing field, landing strip).

Arch:          natural arch‑like opening in a rock mass (bridge, natural bridge, sea arch).

Area:          any one of several extensive natural features not included in other categories (badlands, barren, delta, fan, garden).

Arroyo:       watercourse or channel through which water may occasionally flow (coulee, draw, gully, wash).

Bar:            natural accumulation of sand, gravel, or alluvium forming an underwater or exposed embankment (ledge, reef, sandbar, shoal, spit).

Basin:         natural depression or relatively low area enclosed by higher land (amphitheater, cirque, pit, sink).

Bay:           indentation of a coastline or shoreline enclosing a part of a body of water; a body of water partly surrounded by land (arm, bight, cove, estuary, gulf, inlet, sound).

Beach:        the sloping shore along a body of water that is washed by waves or tides and is usually covered by sand or gravel (coast, shore, strand).

Bench:        area of relatively level land on the flank of an elevation such as a hill, ridge, or mountain where the slope of the land rises on one side and descends on the opposite side (level).

Bend:          curve in the course of a stream and (or) the land within the curve.  A curve in a linear body of water (bottom, loop, or meander).

Bridge:        manmade structure carrying a trail, road, or other trans­portation system across a body of water or depression (causeway, overpass, trestle).

Building:      a manmade structure with walls and a roof for protection of people and (or) materials, but not including church, hospi­tal, or school.

Canal:         manmade waterway used by watercraft or for drainage, irriga­tion, mining, or water power (ditch, lateral).

Cape:          projection of land extending into a body of water (lea, neck, peninsula, point).

Cave:          natural underground passageway or chamber, or a hollowed out cavity in the side of a cliff (cavern, grotto).

Cemetery:   a place or area for burying the dead (burial, burying ground, grave, memorial garden).

Channel:     linear deep part of a body of water through which the main volume of water flows and is frequently used as a route for water craft (passage, reach, strait, thoroughfare).

Church:       building used for religious worship (chapel, mosque, syna­gogue, tabernacle, temple).

Civil:           a political division formed for administrative purposes (borough, county, municipal, parish, town, township).

Cliff:           very steep or vertical slope (bluff, crag, head, headland, nose, palisades, precipice, promontory, rim, rim rock).

Crater:        circular‑shaped depression at the summit of a volcanic cone or one on the surface of the land caused by the impact of a meteorite; a manmade depression caused by an explosion (caldera, lua).

Crossing:     a place where two or more routes of transportation form a junction or intersection (overpass, underpass).

Dam:          water barrier or embankment built across the course of a stream or into a body of water to control and (or) impound the flow of water (breakwater, dike, jetty).

Falls:           perpendicular or very steep fall of water in the course of a stream (cascade, cataract, waterfall).

Flat:            relative level area within a region of greater relief (clearing, glade, playa).

Forest:        bounded area of woods, forest, or grassland under the ad­ministration of a political agency (see woods) (national forest, national grasslands, State forest).

Gap:           low point or opening between hills or mountains or in a ridge or mountain range (col, notch, pass, saddle, water gap, wind gap).

Geyser:       eruptive spring from which hot water and (or) steam, and in some cases, mud are periodically thrown.

Glacier:       body or stream of ice moving outward and down slope from an area of accumulation; an area of relatively permanent snow or ice on the top or side of a mountain or mountainous area (ice field, ice patch, snow patch).

Gut:            relatively small coastal waterway connecting larger bodies of water or other waterways (creek, inlet, slough).

Harbor:       sheltered area of water where ships or other watercraft can anchor or dock (hono, port, roads, roadstead).

Hospital:     building where the sick or injured may receive medical or surgical attention (infirmary).

Island:         area of dry or relatively dry land surrounded by water or low wetland (archipelago, atoll, cay, hammock, hummock, isla, isle, key, moku, rock).

Isthmus:      narrow section of land in a body of water connecting two larger land areas.

Lake:          natural body of inland water (backwater, lac, lagoon, laguna, pond, pool, resaca, waterhole).

Lava:          formations resulting from the consolidation of molten rock on the surface of the Earth (kepula, lava flow).

Levee:        natural or manmade embankment flanking a stream (bank, berm).

Locale:       place at which there is or was human activity; it does not include populated places, mines, and dams (battlefield, crossroad, camp, farm, ghost town, landing, railroad siding, ranch, ruins, site, station, windmill).

Mine:          place or area from which commercial minerals are or were removed from the Earth; not including oil field (pit, quarry, shaft).

Oil field:      area where petroleum is or was removed from the Earth.

Other:         category for miscellaneous named manmade entities that cannot readily be placed in the other feature classes listed here.

Park:          Place or area set aside for recreation or preservation of a cultural or natural resource and under some form of government administration; not including National or State forests or Reserves (National Historical Landmark, National Park, State Park, Wilderness Area).

Pillar:          vertical, standing, often spire‑shaped, natural rock formation (chimney, monument, pinnacle, pohaku, rock tower).

Plain:          a region of general uniform slope, comparatively level and of considerable extent (grassland, highland, kula, plateau, upland).

Ppl:             (populated place) place or area with clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population (city, settlement, town, village).

Range:        chain of hills of mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra).

Rapids:       fast‑flowing section of a stream, often shallow and with exposed rock or boulders (riffle, ripple).

Reserve:     a tract of land set aside for a specific use (does not include forests, civil divisions, parks).  Reservoir ‑ artificially impounded body of water (lake, tank).

Ridge:         elevation with a narrow, elongated crest which can be part of            a hill or mountain (crest, cuesta, escarpment, hogback, lae, rim, spur).

School:        building or group of buildings used as an institution for study, teaching, and learning (academy, college, high school, university).

Sea:            large body of salt water (gulf, ocean).

Slope:         a gently inclined part of the Earth's surface (grade, pitch).

Spring:        place where underground water flows naturally to the surface of the Earth (seep).

Stream:       linear body of water flowing on the Earth's surface (anabranch, awawa, bayou, branch, brook, creek, distributary, fork, kill, pup, rio, river, run, slough).

Summit:      prominent elevation rising above the surrounding level of the Earth's surface; does not include pillars, ridges, or ranges (ahu, berg, bald, butte, cerro, colina, cone, cumbre, dome, head, hill, horn, knob, knoll, mauna, mesa, mesita, mound, mount, mountain, peak, puu, rock, sugarloaf, table, volcano).

Swamp:      poorly drained wetland, fresh or saltwater, wooded or grassy, possibly covered with open water (bog, cienega, marais, marsh, pocosin).

Trail:           route for passage from one point to another; does not include roads or highways (jeep trail, path, ski trail).

Tower:        a manmade structure, higher than its diameter, generally used for observation, storage, or electronic transmission.

Tunnel:       linear underground passageway open at both ends.

Valley:        linear depression in the Earth's surface that generally slopes from one end to the other (barranca, canyon, chasm, cove, draw, glen, gorge, gulch, gulf, hollow, ravine).

Well:           manmade shaft or hole in the Earth's surface used to obtain fluid or gaseous materials.

Woods:       small area covered with a dense growth of trees; does not include an area of trees under the administration of a political agency (see forest).