This data set includes cities in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These cities were collected from the 1970 National Atlas of the United States. Where applicable, U.S. Census Bureau codes for named populated places were associated with each name to allow additional information to be attached. The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) was also used as a source for additional information. This is a revised version of the December, 2003, data set.
These data are intended for geographic display and analysis at the national level, and for large regional areas. The data should be displayed and analyzed at scales appropriate for 1:2,000,000-scale data. No responsibility is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data.
publication date
None. Acknowledgment of the National Atlas of the United States of America would be appreciated in products derived from these data.
561 National Center
Updated NTAD dates, RITA/BTS address, and process steps: RITA/BTS quality checks were to cross reference the place dataset with the state dataset, to determine that the spatial data and attribute data were accurate.
The data set was checked for topological consistency using the Arc/INFO command BUILD. No other checks for logical consistency were performed on this data set.
This data set includes built-up areas and populated places for all 50 of the United States, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Capitals and county seats are identified as well as population ranges where known.
Spatial and attribute information
Attribute information
Attribute information
Spatial and attribute information
Spatial and attribute information
Spatial and attribute information
Attribute information
Attribute information
Attribute information
Attribute information
Spatial and attribute information
Spatial and attribute information
Spatial and attribute information
Spatial and attribute information
Attribute information
Spatial and attribute information
Attribute information
Digitized place names from the 1970 National Atlas of the United States were compared with U.S. Census Bureau place names from FIPS55-3_98. Where there were discrepancies, names from the GNIS were used. A small number of places could not be assigned FIPS55 codes and were removed from the data set. Minor positional corrections were also made.
No spatial data was changed in ATLAS-CITIES98. The following edits were made to the attribute data base file. In the Feature field, inconsistencies were removed and the population ranges were corrected as necessary to match the 1990 population information in the Pop field. Unnecessary fields were deleted (Idnum, Capcode, Stid). Fields were added for State, State_Fips, and County. Lakewood Center, Washington was changed to Lakewood, Washington with a population of 58412. Incorrect population information for Lakewood, Snohomish County was deleted. Boise City, Idaho was changed to Boise, Idaho.
Points generated from the GAZETTEER text file were added; points with duplicate FIPS55 codes were removed. County, State, and FIPS data were compared and corrected, if necessary, with data from FIPS55-3_99, and with POP_PL. Remaining incorporated and Census Designated Places (CDP's) from GNIS00 were added; all unincorporated and non-CDP places were then removed. A few populated places in high density areas were filtered out. Population data from the POP_ESTIMATE and GAZETTEER files were added, and a population value of -99999 was used where population data was not available. Some places were updated with new FIPS55 codes. Minor positional corrections were made using ATLAS-HY and ATLAS-CNTY as references. A display attribute, based on population size and distance to nearest town, was added to determine which place names will be shown at the most detailed scale on the National Atlas interactive map browser.
1990 and 1998 population figures for Newtown, Connecticut were updated.
County and county FIPS fields for the town of Bloomfield, CO were updated and it was listed as the county seat for Bloomfield county. County seats were added for counties where they were missing. These include: > Plumas County, CA-Quincy > Towns County, GA-Hiawassee > Kauai County, HI-Lihue > Hardin County, IL-Elizabethtown > Saginaw County, MI-Saginaw > Koochiching County, MN-International Falls > Holt County, NE-O'Neill > Cass County, ND-Fargo > Price County, WI-Phillips Please note that Shannon County, SD; Todd County, SD; Kings, NY; Bronx, NY; Queens, NY; and Richmond, NY do not have official county seats.
Incorporated place names in ATLAS-CITIES03 were compared with those from the GNIS database. GNIS names were used where there were discrepancies. New incorporated places were added; duplicate points and places no longer incorporated were removed. Positions of all incorporated places were adjusted to match GNIS coordinates. Minor positional corrections of incorporated places were made using ATLAS-HY and ATLAS-CNTY as references. The population range values were adjusted to reflect 2000 population figures and the POP_2000 attribute was added; earlier population figures were dropped.
Metadata imported.
Metadata imported.
REVISION is a 2-digit number that will be incremented individually for each record whenever a change is made to one of its fields.
RITA/BTS
Feature geometry.
ESRI
Unqiue ID
RITA/BTS
The type of city or town.
U.S. Geological Survey
A populated place that serves as the seat of the county government.
U.S. Geological Survey
A populated place that serves as the seat of the national government of the United States of America.
U.S. Geological Survey
A populated place that is neither a county seat, a State capital, nor the capital of the United States of America.
U.S. Geological Survey
A populated place that serves as the seat of the State government.
U.S. Geological Survey
A populated place that serves as the seat of the State government and the county government.
U.S. Geological Survey
The name of the city or town.
U.S. Geological Survey
The population range of the city or town based on 2000 U.S. Census
U.S. Census Bureau
The population is less than 10,000.
U.S. Geological Survey
The population is between 10,000 and 49,999.
U.S. Geological Survey
The population is between 50,000 and 99,999.
U.S. Geological Survey
The population is between 100,000 and 249,999.
U.S. Geological Survey
The population is between 250,000 and 499,999.
U.S. Geological Survey
The population is between 500,000 and 999,999.
U.S. Geological Survey
The population is between 1,000,000 and 9,999,999.
U.S. Geological Survey
The population is not known.
U.S. Geological Survey
The 2000 population of the city or town.
U.S. Geological Survey
The population is not known.
U.S. Geological Survey
The 5-digit FIPS code of the named populated place, primary county
U.S. Geological Survey
The name of the county or county equivalent.
U.S. Geological Survey
The 2-character FIPS code of the State or State equivalent.
U.S. Geological Survey
The 2-digit FIPS code of the State or State equivalent.
U.S. Geological Survey
The 2-character FIPS code of the State or State equivalent
RITA/BTS
A value used to specify whether a place name text label will be shown at the most detailed display scale in the National Atlas Map Maker. It is determined by a ratio based on population size and distance to nearest town and was set by the following steps: 1. Distance to the nearest neighbor was calculated for each populated place. Population density was calculated by adding the 1990 population values for each county and then dividing the total by the area of the county. The 1990 population values of -99999 were set to 1. 3. A display ratio was calculated using the formula 1990 Population x Distance / Population Density. 4. Display was set to 1 for all points with a minimum result of 15000, and set to 0 for the remainder of points. This attribute was not updated in the February, 2004, version of this data set.
U.S. Geological Survey
The place name will not be shown.
U.S. Geological Survey
The place name will be shown.
U.S. Geological Survey
Internal feature number.
ESRI
The VERSION is a 2-digit number that will be incremented for all records in the database whenever a new release is distributed.
RITA/BTS
Feature geometry.
ESRI
400 7th Street, SW Room 4117
In addition to the address above, there are other ESIC offices throughout the country. A full list of these offices is at <http://mapping.usgs.gov/esic/esic_index.html>
Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the U.S. Geological Survey regarding the utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. No responsibility is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data.
Call (202-366-DATA), fax (202-366-3640), or e-mail (answers@bts.gov) RITA/BTS to request the National Transportation Atlas Databases 2006 CD-ROM. This and other RITA/BTS products may be ordered at http://www.bts.gov/programs/geographic_information_services/.
400 7th Street, SW Room 4117