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Connecticut Town Index

Frequently-asked questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
Connecticut Town Index

Abstract:
Connecticut Town Index is a 1:125,000-scale polygon feature-based layer that includes a polygon feature for every Connecticut town (municipality). There are 169 town polygon features in this layer. The corresponding town number and town name attributes uniquely identify town polygon features. Town number values are based on the Town Codes issued by the State of Connecticut, Office of the State Controller, which range from 1 to 169. As a historic note, the Connecticut Town Index layer was originally digitized in 1986 by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection using Esri ArcInfo 3 software installed on a mini computer. It was the first statewide GIS layer created by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. The data was in ArcInfo coverage format, Connecticut State Plane Coordinate System, North American Datum 1927, and map units feet.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (data editor and publisher), U.S Geological Survey, National Mapping Program (data compiler), 19860101, Connecticut Town Index: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

    Online links:
    Other citation details:
    The USGS is the collector of the mapped town boundary data (compiler). The State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection is the creator and maintainer of the data layer (editor) and producer (publisher) of this information for use. The 2005 Edition includes the same set of geographic features published in 1986 with the addition of metadata. This layer includes information that is static and does not change over time. Data is not updated. Data compiled at 1:125,000 scale.

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    Bounding coordinates:
    West: -73.742172
    East: -71.781365
    North: 42.052612
    South: 40.988796

  3. What does it look like?

    http://www.cteco.uconn.edu/metadata/dep/browsegraphic/townindex.gif (GIF)
    Full view of Connecticut Town Index layer

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

    Calendar date: 2005
    Currentness reference:
    Edition 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 names and numbers

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • G-polygon (169)

    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 Town Index
    Includes one polygon feature for each Connecticut town (municipality). (Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Enviromental Protection)

    OBJECTID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)
                      

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    SHAPE
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)
                      

    Coordinates defining the features.

    TOWN_NO
    Town Number - ID number for the Connecticut Town (municipality), based on the Town Codes issued by the State of Connecticut, Office of the State Controller, which range from 1 to 169. (Source: State of Connecticut, Office of the State Controller)
                      

    Numeric value ranging from 1 to 169.

    TOWN
    Town Name - Text values that correspond to numeric TOWN_NO attribute values. TOWN is the English language equivalent of (decodes) the TOWN_NO field. (Source: State of Connecticut, Office of the State Controller)
                      

    Text value (town name).

    SHAPE.area
    SHAPE.len
    Entity and attribute overview:
    Includes one polygon feature for each Connecticut town (municipality), uniquely identified with Town number and Town name attribute values. Label polygon features with the TOWN attribute to display town names on a map.

    Entity and attribute detail citation:
    Connecticut Town numbers, based on the Town Codes issued by the State of Connecticut, range from 1 to 169 in the following order:
    
    Andover (1), Ansonia (2), Ashford (3), Avon (4), Barkhamsted (5), Beacon Falls (6), Berlin (7), Bethany (8), Bethel (9), Bethlehem (10), Bloomfield (11), Bolton (12), Bozrah (13), Branford (14), Bridgeport (15), Bridgewater (16), Bristol (17), Brookfield (18), Brooklyn (19), Burlington (20), Canaan (21), Canterbury (22), Canton (23), Chaplin (24), Cheshire (25), Chester (26), Clinton (27), Colchester (28), Colebrook (29), Columbia (30), Cornwall (31), Coventry (32), Cromwell (33), Danbury (34), Darien (35), Deep River (36), Derby (37), Durham (38), Eastford (39), East Granby (40), East Haddam (41), East Hampton (42), East Hartford (43), East Haven (44), East Lyme (45), Easton (46), East Windsor (47), Ellington (48), Enfield (49), Essex (50), Fairfield (51), Farmington (52), Franklin (53), Glastonbury (54), Goshen (55), Granby (56), Greenwich (57), Griswold (58), Groton (59), Guilford (60), Haddam (61), Hamden (62), Hampton (63), Hartford (64), Hartland (65), Harwinton (66), Hebron (67), Kent (68), Killingly (69), Killingworth (70), Lebanon (71), Ledyard (72), Lisbon (73), Litchfield (74), Lyme (75), Madison (76), Manchester (77), Mansfield (78), Marlborough (79), Meriden (80), Middlebury (81), Middlefield (82), Middletown (83), Milford (84), Monroe (85), Montville (86), Morris (87), Naugatuck (88), New Britain (89), New Canaan (90), New Fairfield (91), New Hartford (92), New Haven (93), Newington (94), New London (95), New Milford (96), Newtown (97), Norfolk (98), North Branford (99), North Canaan (100), North Haven (101), North Stonington (102), Norwalk (103), Norwich (104), Old Lyme (105), Old Saybrook (106), Orange (107), Oxford (108), Plainfield (109), Plainville (110), Plymouth (111), Pomfret (112), Portland (113), Preston (114), Prospect (115), Putnam (116), Redding (117), Ridgefield (118), Rocky Hill (119), Roxbury (120), Salem (121), Salisbury (122), Scotland (123), Seymour (124), Sharon (125), Shelton (126), Sherman (127), Simsbury (128), Somers (129), Southbury (130), Southington (131), South Windsor (132), Sprague (133), Stafford (134), Stamford (135), Sterling (136), Stonington (137), Stratford (138), Suffield (139), Thomaston (140), Thompson (141), Tolland (142), Torrington (143), Trumbull (144), Union (145), Vernon (146), Voluntown (147), Wallingford (148), Warren (149), Washington (150), Waterbury (151), Waterford (152), Watertown (153), Westbrook (154), West Hartford (155), West Haven (156), Weston (157), Westport (158), Wethersfield (159), Willington (160), Wilton (161), Winchester (162), Windham (163), Windsor (164), Windsor Locks (165), Wolcott (166), Woodbridge (167), Woodbury (168), and Woodstock (169).
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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?

Connecticut Town Index is a general purpose index map of Connecticut towns that was compiled at 1:125,000 scale (1 inch equals approximately 2 miles). The layer is designed to be used to depict Connecticut towns at small scales or on small maps printed on regular size (8.5 x 11 inch) paper, for example. The Town Index layer does not accurately represent Connecticut town boundaries because it was digitized at 1:125,000 scale. Do not display, map or analyze the Town Index layer with information collected at larger scales. To depict more accurate 1:24,000-scale Connecticut town boundaries on a map, use the layer named Town, which is also published by the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

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How was the data set created?

  1. Where did the data come from?

    Source 1 - State of Connecticut map (source 1 of 3)

    U.S Geological Survey, National Mapping Program (data compiler and publisher), Unknown, State of Connecticut map: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia USA.

    Other citation details:
    A planimetric base map with highways. Planimetry revised in 1974.

    Type of source media: paper map
    Source scale denominator: 125000
    Source contribution:
    Digitzed Connecticut town boundaries printed on map.

    Source 2 - Town_Index.shp (source 2 of 3)

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (data editor and publisher), U.S Geological Survey, National Mapping Program (data compiler), 19860101, Connecticut Town Index: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

    Online links:
    Type of source media: disc
    Source scale denominator: 125000
    Source contribution:
    Town_Index.shp was originally in ArcInfo Coverage format and digitized in 1986 using the Connecticuct State Plane Coordinate System, North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27). In 1999, the data was converted to ESRI Shapefile format and to the Connecticut State Plane Coordinate System, North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). The 2005 edition includes complete metadata. Town_Index.shp is in Shapefile format. Prior to 2005, this shapefile was named Town.shp.

    Source 3 - Town_Index (source 3 of 3)

    State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (data editor and publisher), U.S Geological Survey, National Mapping Program (data compiler), 19860101, Connecticut Town Index: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

    Online links:
    Type of source media: disc
    Source scale denominator: 125000
    Source contribution:
    Town_Index is in GeoDatabase Feature Class format.

  2. What changes have been made?

    Date: 1986-2005 (change 1 of 2)
    Create Towns Index layer - Using ESRI ArcInfo software, features were digitized by registering the 1:125,000-scale State of Connecticut map to the digitizing tablet and using the crosshairs of the digitizer's mouse to manually capture the geometry (shape) of town boundaries on the published map. It is not known which features on the map were used as registration points to register the map to the digitizing table nor is the quality of the registration known or documented. For example, the RMS error was undocumented and not known at the time this metatdata was written. In general, line work on the published map corresponding to the boundaries of the Connecticut towns and the Connecticut coastline were manually digitized off the source map so as to not overshoot or undershoot any intersecting town boundaries. Where necessary, additional minor corrections (edits) to feature geometry were manually digitized on the screen (heads-up digitizing) at larger (zoomed in) display scales. Line features enclosed the geographic areas for all 169 towns. Outlined by these linear features, town polygon features were subsequently created and manually encoded with the corresponding Town number and Town name attribute values. These values were visually inspected for accuracy. In 1999, the data was converted from ESRI ArcInfo Coverage format to ESRI Shapefile format and transformed from the Connecticut State Plane Coordinate System, North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27) to the Connecticut State Plane Coordinate System, North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). The AREA, PERIMETER, TOWN#, and TOWN-ID attributes from ArcInfo coverage format were not included in the Shapefile because their values are only maintained by ArcInfo software with spatial data that is ArcInfo coverage format. Using ArcView 3.3 software and an Avenue script named Table.ExportSorted (Peter Girard, author) available from the ArcScripts download page at www.esri.com, the polygon feature attribute table was permanently sorted in ascending order by Town number. As a historic note, the Connecticut Town Index layer was originally digitized in 1986 by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection using Esri ArcInfo 3 software installed on a mini computer. It was the first statewide GIS layer created by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. The data was in ArcInfo coverage format, Connecticut State Plane Coordinate System, North American Datum 1927, and map units feet.

    Person responsible for change:
    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 - State of Connecticut map

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Source 2 - Town_Index.shp

    Date: 2006 (change 2 of 2)
    Convert to GeoDatabase Feature Class format - Defined new Feature Class named Town_Index; and imported the attribute definitions, loaded features and imported metadata from Town_Index.shp shapefile. 
    
    Spatial Reference Properties for Feature Class:
    
    Coordinate System: NAD_1983_StatePlane_Connecticut_FIPS_0600_Feet
    XY Domain MinX: 100000; MaxX: 2247483.645
    XY Domain MinY: 200000; MaxY: 2347483.645
    Precision: 1000

    Person responsible for change:
    Howie Sternberg
    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 2 - Town_Index.shp

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Source 3 - Town_Index

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    All attributes have valid values. Values are within defined domains. The Town number and Town name polygon attributes were manually entered based information depicted on a map of the state of Connecticut.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    The horizontal positional accuracy of this data is unknown. Avoid displaying or printing this information at map scales greater than 1:125,000 (1 inch equals approximately 2 miles).

  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 source, which a 1:125,000-scale planemetric map of Connecticut published by the U.S Geological Survey. This data is not updated.

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

    Polygon features conform to the following topological rules. Polygons are single part. There are no duplicate polygons. Polygons do not self overlap. Polygons do not overlap other polygons. Establishment of logical consistency was orginally performed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection using ESRI ArcInfo software to manually create and control feature topology. The original minimum distance between vertices (ArcInfo Coverage fuzzy tolerance) and a minimum allowed overshoot length (ArcInfo Coverage dangle length) were not documented and unknown at the time this metadata was created in 2005. However, the original data was known to be topologically clean. After subsequently converting the data from ESRI ArcInfo Coverage to ESRI Shapefile format, no automated procedures or tests were performed to enforce the topology rules 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. The data is in the public domain and may be redistributed.
Use constraints:
No restrictions or legal prerequisites for using the data. The data is suitable for use at appropriate scale, and is not intended for maps printed at scales greater or more detailed than 1:125,000 scale (1 inch equals approximately 2 miles). 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 and the U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Program as the source for this information. For example, include the following data source description when printing this layer on a map: Towns - From the Town Index layer, compiled and published by CT DEP and USGS. Source map scale is 1:125,000.

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 Town Index

  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: 20111209

Metadata author:
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

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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