COMPLETION OF THE 1990S NATIONAL LAND COVER DATA SET FOR THE CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES FROM LANDSAT THEMATIC MAPPER DATA AND ANCILLARY DATA SOURCES

Abstract

In late 2000, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) EROS Data Center completed the circa 1992 National Land Cover Data set (NLCD). The NLCD, derived from early 1990s Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery and other sources of digital data, represents an intermediate-scale national land cover data set. The resolution of this data set lends itself to many regional to national scale investigations, including analyses of water quality, ecosystem health, wildlife habitat, land cover assessment, land use planning, urban studies, urban sprawl, and other land management issues. The article provides information about the materials and methods used to collect and process the data, the accuracy of the data, and uses for the NLCD.