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Connecticut Geographic Places

Frequently-asked questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
Connecticut Geographic Places

Abstract:
Connecticut Geographic Place is a point feature-based layer that includes cultural features such as airports, bridges, government buildings, hospitals, railroad stations and schools. The layer is based on information from lists from various sources available during 2008. The layer represents conditions at a particular point in time. The layer includes public and private airports, major bridges, the State Capitol, acute care hospitals and medical centers, railroad stations serving three major railroad companies and most public and some private educational institutions in the categories of elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities. It does not include other types of schools such as kindergartens or business schools, a complete set of bridges or government buildings other than the State Capitol. Features are point locations that represent the approximate center location of the feature as seen on the Connecticut 2004 Orthophotographs. The layer was created for the purpose of labeling geographic places on maps and is not intended to be a complete list of any of the categories included in the layer. Attribute information is comprised of NAME to uniquely identify individual features, TOWN to provide general location and  CLASS and CATEGORY to encode type information and cartographically represent (symbolize) point features on a map. This data is not updated.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (data compiler, editor and publisher), 20090401, Connecticut Geographic Places: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

    Online links:
    Other citation details:
    The State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection is the collector of the data (compiler), the creator and maintainer of the data layer (editor), and producer (publisher) of this information for use.

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    Bounding coordinates:
    West: -73.676443
    East: -71.817113
    North: 42.045491
    South: 41.001660

  3. What does it look like?

    http://www.cteco.uconn.edu/metadata/dep/browsegraphic/geographicplacefull.gif (GIF)
    Full view of Geographic Places

    http://www.cteco.uconn.edu/metadata/dep/browsegraphic/geographicplace1.gif (GIF)
    Small-scale view of Geographic Place showing just Airport, Hospital and State Capitol features.

    http://www.cteco.uconn.edu/metadata/dep/browsegraphic/geographicplace2.gif (GIF)
    Medium-scale view of Geographic Place showing just Airport, Hospital, University, State Capitol, and Train Station features.

    http://www.cteco.uconn.edu/metadata/dep/browsegraphic/geographicplace3.gif (GIF)
    Large-scale view of Geographic Place showing all Airport, Hospital, State Capitol, School, University, and Train Station features.

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Calendar date: 20090401
    Currentness reference:
    publication date

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial data presentation form: vector digital data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      Indirect spatial reference:
      Connecticut Town name indicates a general location within the state.

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Entity point (1231)

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      The map projection used is Lambert Conformal Conic.

      Projection parameters:
      Lambert Conformal Conic
      Standard parallel: 41.200000
      Standard parallel: 41.866667
      Longitude of central meridian: -72.750000
      Latitude of projection origin: 40.833333
      False easting: 999999.999996
      False northing: 499999.999998

      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair.
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000250.
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000250.
      Planar coordinates are specified in survey feet.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

      Vertical coordinate system definition:
      Altitude system definition:
      Altitude resolution: 1.000000
      Altitude encoding method: Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    Connecticut Geographic Places
    Geographic Places represented as point features. (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection)

    OBJECTID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)
                      

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    NAME
    Name of the geographic place (Source: CT DEP)
                      

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    CATEGORY
    More detailed groups that geographic places with similar characteristics can be assigned to. Has more detail than the Class attribute. (Source: CT DEP)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    Airport
    Public or private airport or airfield listed with the FAA
    Bridge
    Major bridge
    Elementary School
    Educational institution
    High School
    Secondary educational institution
    Higher Education
    College, university or similar level educational institution
    Hospital
    Acute care medical facility
    Medical Center
    Acute care medical facility
    Middle School
    Educational institution
    RR Station
    Public railroad station
    State Government
    State government building

    TOWN
    Name of the town where the geographic place is located. (Source: CT DEP)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    Unique town names
    Any of the 169 towns in Connecticut where a geographic place is located.

    CLASS
    Broad groups that geographic places with similar characteristics can be assigned to. (Source: CT DEP)
                      

    ValueDefinition
    airport
    Public or private airport or airfield listed with the FAA
    bridge
    Major bridge
    government
    State government building
    hospital
    Hospital or medical center acute care facility.
    rr station
    Public railroad station
    school
    Educational institutions from elementary schools to universities

    SHAPE
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)
                      

    Coordinates defining the features.

    Entity and attribute overview:
    Includes Geographic Place features such as airports, bridges, government buildings, hospitals, railroad stations and schools. Information encoded about these features includes NAME and TOWN where located and classification schemes for using standard cartographic symbology. Use the NAME to uniquely identify features. Use the CATEGORY attribute to symbolize features by type on a map. Use the CLASS attribute to more generally symbolize the features by type. Use the NAME to label features on a map.
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Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)


  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Howie Sternberg
    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106-5127
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)
    860-424-4058 (FAX)
    dep.gisdata@ct.gov
    Hours of Service: Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:30 Eastern Standard Time
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Why was the data set created?

Geographic Places depicts the location of cultural features. It is not intended to be a complete list of these places. Use this layer to show where the features are located on a base map or thematic map and to label these features. Use this layer in addition to the Connecticut Geographic Names layer which includes places, rivers, streams, brooks, lakes, ponds, hills, and other landform names.

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How was the data set created?

  1. Where did the data come from?

    Source 1 - Railroad Station Lists (source 1 of 9)

    Metro North Railroad, Amtrak and Shore Line East companies serving Connecticut, Unknown, Railroad Station Name Lists.

    Type of source media: online
    Source contribution:
    Lists of railroad station names for use in enumerating railroad stations in Connecticut.

    Source 2 - Hospital Lists (source 2 of 9)

    Connecticut Hospital Association, American Hospital Association, The Agape Center - Connecticut Hospitals, Unknown, Hospital Name Lists.

    Type of source media: online
    Source contribution:
    Lists of hospital and medical center names for use in enumerating acute-care health care facilities in Connecticut.

    Source 3 - School Lists (source 3 of 9)

    State of Connecticut, Unknown, School Name Lists: State of Connecticut, .

    Online links:
    Type of source media: online
    Source contribution:
    Lists of school names and educational level for use in enumerating the schools in Connecticut.

    Source 4 - Aerial Photography (source 4 of 9)

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (editor and publisher); State of Connecticut, Department of Public Safety; State of Connecticut, Department of Transportation, 20070514, Connecticut 2004 Orthophoto: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

    Online links:
    Type of source media: disc
    Source contribution:
    A digital, georeferenced, visual record of the features in the landscape suitable for onscreen digitizing. The aerial photography is in SDE Raster digital format.

    Source 5 - Airport List (source 5 of 9)

    Federal Aviation Administration, National Flight Data Center, Unknown, Airport Name List.

    Online links:
    Type of source media: online
    Source contribution:
    List of airports and airfields for use in enumerating these facilities in Connecticut. Includes latitude and longitude coordinates for locating the facility.

    Source 6 - Spreadsheets (source 6 of 9)

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Unpublished Material, Spreadsheets for Creating and Georeferencing Point Data.

    Type of source media: disc
    Source contribution:
    Name, address and other attribute information organized for use in geocoding all geographic places.

    Source 7 - Google Maps (source 7 of 9)

    Unknown, Google Maps Website.

    Online links:
    Type of source media: online
    Source contribution:
    Provided an address for a facility name.

    Source 8 - Geodatabase of Points (source 8 of 9)

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, 2008, Geographic Place Personal Geodatabase.

    Type of source media: disc
    Source contribution:
    The final set of point features for the geographic place data.

    Source 9 - Maps Live (source 9 of 9)

    Unknown, Maps Live Website.

    Online links:
    Type of source media: online
    Source contribution:
    Oblique photographs for additional identification of facilities.

  2. What changes have been made?

    Date: 2008 (change 1 of 5)
    Create spreadsheets of geographic places by category - Using lists of geographic places acquired from Internet websites, assemble spreadsheet of facility name, category and website if available.The Airport list included latitude and longitude coordinate values. The process is repeated for Airports, Hospitals/Medical Centers, Railroad Stations, Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges/Universities. 

    Person responsible for change:
    Diana Danenberg
    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)

    Data sources used in this process:
    • Source 1 - Railroad Station Lists
    • Source 2 - Hospital Lists
    • Source 3 - School Lists
    • Source 5 - Airport List

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Source 6 - Spreadsheets

    Date: 2008 (change 2 of 5)
    Get addresses for listed schools, hospitals and railroad stations and fix errors - Using Google maps as the means of locating a facility by name and state, acquire a geocodable street address and copy and paste into the spreadsheet. If the facility does not show on the map or the information is ambiguous, tried using other web-based means to rectify. For example the schools often have websites. The websites may have photos of the school, directions to the school and address for the school.  Resolve errors in the name or other attributes during this step. Resolve other errors such a duplicate entries. If an address could not be found for a listing or a listing was not identifiable by online sources it was removed from the spreadsheet.

    Person responsible for change:
    Diana Danenberg
    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)

    Data sources used in this process:
    • Source 7 - Google Maps
    • Source 6 - Spreadsheets

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Source 6 - Spreadsheets

    Date: 2008 (change 3 of 5)
    Generate initial point feature locations from addresses or latitude and longitude coordinates - Using ESRI ArcGIS software, address entries in the spreadsheets for schools, railroad stations and hospitals were geocoded to create point locations in a personal database feature class. Using ESRI ArcGIS software, latitude and longitude coordinate entries in the spreadsheet for airports were used to create  point locations in a personal database feature class. Any addresses that could not be geocoded were corrected using online sources to identify the feature and provide a better address for geocoding. Google Maps was used to help in identification. Maps Live oblique (bird's eye) photos were used to help in identification. If any address could not be geocoded after further effort, the listing was removed. The coordinate system for the feature classes in the geodatabase is Connecticut State Plane Coordinate System NAD 83 in US Feet.

    Person responsible for change:
    Diana Danenberg
    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)

    Data sources used in this process:
    • Source 6 - Spreadsheets
    • Source 9 - Maps Live
    • Source 7 - Google Maps

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Source 8 - Geodatabase of Points

    Date: 2008 (change 4 of 5)
    Improve location of the geographic point features - Using ESRI ArcGIS software and Connecticut 2004 Orthophotographs, inspect the geocoded locations of the geopraphic place points and edit their locations as necessary. The editing goal was to place each point upon the feature it represents as seen in the orthophotograph. Maps Live oblique (bird's eye) photos were used to help in identification. This process was done for airports, schools, railroad stations and hospitals.

    Person responsible for change:
    Diana Danenberg
    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)

    Data sources used in this process:
    • Source 4 - Aerial Photography
    • Source 8 - Geodatabase of Points
    • Source 9 - Maps Live

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Source 8 - Geodatabase of Points

    Date: 2008 (change 5 of 5)
    Additional point features by screen digitizing - Using ESRI ArcGIS software and  Connecticut 2004 Orthophotographs, the State Capitol and the major bridges were located visually and digitized into a feature class in the personal geodatabase of geographic places.

    Person responsible for change:
    Diana Danenberg
    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)

    Data sources used in this process:
    • Source 8 - Geodatabase of Points
    • Source 4 - Aerial Photography

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Source 8 - Geodatabase of Points

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How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    The Geographic Place layer retains the NAME information identified by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection and obtained from the State of Connecticut lists of schools, lists of railroad stations from Amtrak, Metro_North and Shoreline East, and lists of hospitals and medical centers from the Connecticut Hospital Association, American Hospital Association and The Agape Center. All attributes have valid values. TOWN, CLASS and CATEGORY values are within defined domains. The accuracy test for the NAME attribute values was conducted by comparing the name information presented in the source data with  nteractive displays of the data on a computer graphic system. The computer displays depicted and labeled the Geographic Place features in different colors based on CATEGORY values for comparison with the original data source. CATEGORY and CLASS are broad classifications of Geographic Place features. CATEGORY and CLASS were manually entered. TOWN was not manually entered.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    The horizontal positional accuracy of this data is better the United States National Map Accuracy Standards for 1:24,000 scale maps. According to this standard, not more than 10 percent of the locations tested are to be in error by more than 1/50 inch (40 feet) measured on the publication scale of a USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle map. Feature locations for schools, railroad stations and hospitals were first created by geocoding, then compared to features visible on the Connecticut 2004 Orthophotographs and manually moved over the feature. Bridges were identified on the Connecticut 2004 Orthophotographs and manually digitized. Point features are approximate (alternate) representations for large area objects or observations having well-defined, visible, recoverable, or permanent boundaries or demarcations such as building footprints. Point features are accurately positioned for these locations because objects were easily identifiable on the aerial photos.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

    The completeness of the data reflects the feature content of the data sources, which include the State of Connecticut lists of schools, lists of railroad stations from Amtrak, Metro_North and Shoreline East, and lists of hospitals and medical centers from the Connecticut Hospital Association, American Hospital Association and The Agape Center. The Geographic Place layer is complete in the sense that it accurately reflects the contents of the source information available at the time the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection created the layer. However, compared to more recent information available today, the Geographic Place layer is incomplete. This data is not updated.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    Point features conform to the following topological rules. Points are single part. There are no duplicate points. Points do not overlap. Establishment of logical consistency was performed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection using ESRI ArcGIS software to manually create and control feature topology in geodatabase format. No automated procedures or tests were performed to guarantee desired topology other than visual inspection.

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How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access constraints: None. No restrictions or legal prerequisites for accessing the data. The data is in the public domain and may be redistributed.
Use constraints:
None. No restrictions or legal prerequisites for using the data after access is granted. The data is suitable for use at appropriate scale. Although this data set  has been used by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection as to the accuracy of the data and or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection in the use of these data or related materials. The user assumes the entire risk related to the use of these data. Once the data is distributed to the user, modifications made to the data by the user should be noted in the metadata. When printing this data on a map or using it in a software application, analysis, or report, please acknowledge the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection as the source for this information. For example, include the following data source description when printing this layer on a map: Geographic Places - From the Geographic Place layer, compiled and published by CT DEP . 

Distributor 1 of 1

  1. Who distributes the data set?

    State of Connecticut, Department of Enviromental Protection
    79 Elm Street
    Hartford, Connecticut 06106-5127
    USA

    860-424-3540 (voice)
    860-424-4058 (FAX)
    dep.gisdata@ct.gov
    Hours of Service: Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:30 Eastern Standard Time

  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Connecticut Geographic Places

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although this data set  has been used by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection as to the accuracy of the data and or related materials.  The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection in the use of these data or related materials. The user assumes the entire risk related to the use of these data. Once the data is distributed to the user, modifications made to the data by the user should be noted in the metadata.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

    • Availability in digital form:


    • Data format:
      in format Shapefile, Feature Class (version ArcGIS)
      Network links:http://www.ct.gov/deep

    • Cost to order the data: An online copy of the data may be accessed without charge.


  5. Is there some other way to get the data?

    The data distributor does not provide custom GIS analysis or mapping services. Data is available in a standard format and may be converted to other formats, projections, coordinate systems, or selected for specific geographic regions by the party receiving the data.

  6. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

    Geographic information sytem (GIS), computer-aided drawing or other mapping software is necessary to display, view and access the information.

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Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 20111208

Metadata author:
Diana Danenberg
State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection
79 Elm Street
Hartford, Connecticut 06106-5127
USA

860-424-3540 (voice)
860-424-4058 (FAX)
dep.gisdata@ct.gov
Hours of Service: Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:30 Eastern Standard Time

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata(FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Metadata extensions used:
  • http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html

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