Featured Collection: Illinois Geospatial Data Clearinghouse
What’s in this collection?
The Illinois Geospatial Data Clearinghouse, or Illinois Clearinghouse, is the go-to website for spatial natural resource data in the state of Illinois. As a “node” of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure Clearinghouse Network, the Illinois Clearinghouse distributes geospatial data to facilitate its use by governments and the public.
What BTAA Library submitted the collection?
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Interesting tidbits:
This is the best place to start when looking for spatial natural resource data in Illinois
The collection contains mostly of raster datasets, such as digital elevation images and aerial images, but it also includes vector data, such as wetland boundaries and watersheds
One interesting data set is a shapefile of Woodfordian moraines, which are sediments deposited by glacial activity between 12,500 and 22,000 years before present day. The pattern of the moraines, which are individually named in the data set, indicate a “pulsing retreat of the ice.”
Another interesting data set in the collection is Historical Aerial Photography: Illinois, 1937-1947 which offers a peek into the historical landscape of Illinois.