Apr 02 2008

2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles Now Available

Published by admin at 06:15 under News & Information

The US Census Bureau has released 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The 2007 edition of the TIGER/Line data represents a milestone for the Bureau, as it is the first time the data is being distributed as Shapefiles.

The 2007 edition of the TIGER/Line data are part of the MAF/TIGER Accurace Improvement Project.

The TIGER/Line Shapefiles are extracts containing selected geographic and cartographic information from the Census Bureau’s MAF/TIGER® (Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) database. The MAF/TIGER database was developed at the Census Bureau to support a variety of geographic programs and operations including functions such as mapping, geocoding, and geographic reference files that are used in decennial and economic censuses and sample survey programs. Spatial data for geographic features such as roads, railroads, rivers, and lakes, as well as legal and statistical geographic areas are included in the product. Other information about these features, such as the name, the type of feature, address ranges, and the geographic relationship to other features, also are inlcuded. The TIGER/Line Shapefiles are made available to the public and are typically used to provide the digital map base for a Geographic Information System or for mapping software.

New Terminology:

The modernization of the MAF/TIGER system has resulted in some changes in terminology.

  • Edge—Supersedes complete chain; refers to both visible and non-visible linear features.
  • Face—Supersedes GT-polygon; refers to areal (polygon) features.
  • MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code (MTFCC)—Supersedes the Census Feature Class Code (CFCC). The MTFCC is a 5-digit code intended to classify and describe geographic objects or features. The Census Bureau has prepared a “crosswalk” between the CFCC and the MTFCC that is now available in [Excel] and [TEXT] format. Updated October 9, 2007



    • More information is available online: http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/index.html


    Oryginal: Louisiana Sea Grant

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