The U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) has coordinated the development of the U.S. National Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) since 1994. Within the SDI, data are divided into two groups:
Framework data: critical to a wide range of users
Special-use thematic data: specialized data, mainly relevant to certain fields.
Most states in the United States implement a State Spatial Data Infrastructure to supply the National Spatial Data Infrastructure with local, regional and state datasets.
As of February 2022, the US National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) Portfolio is organized into 18 data themes, with themes Cadastre, Elevation, Geodetic Control, Government Units, Imagery, Transportation, Water-Inland and Water-Oceans & Coasts identified as framework themes.
MnTOPO A web application for viewing, printing and downloading high-resolution elevation data for Minnesota that was collected using LiDAR technology. It runs on a variety of devices, including desktops, tablets, and mobile phones. Raw LAS files, bare earth LiDAR points and building footprints are available for selected areas. Spot elevation and elevation profile tools are provided.
Geospatial Image Service for Minnesota. WMS services providing access to Minnesota aerial photos, hillshades and scanned topographic maps. Content list and instructions on using the service with GIS software are provided. To export the images as local copies, use MNDNR Export to Image Add-in (requires ArcGIS 10.x as of March 2025).
Department of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Information System. Provides information on Minnesota’s rare plants, animals, native plant communities, and other rare features. Data request form are available on the page.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Worldview, a tool that allows users to interactively browse, compare, animate and download over 1,200 Earth science data products. For more information, go to the Worldview web page.
Digital General Soil Map of the United States (STATSGO2), broad-based inventory of soils and non-soil areas that occur in a repeatable pattern on the landscape and that can be cartographically shown at the scale mapped of 1:250,000 for most of U.S and territories and 1:1M for Alaska.
Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), more detailed soil data. Contains information about soil as collected by the National Cooperative Soil Survey over the course of a century. The information was gathered by walking over the land and observing the soil. Many soil samples were analyzed in laboratories.
Gridded Soil Survey Geographic Database (gSSURGO), similar to SSURGO but in the Esri file geodatabase format.
United States Geological Survey (USGS) U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BOG) maintained geographic names and their coordinates , including:
Domestic Names: official names for geographic features (populated places, lakes, streams, summits, valleys, ridges, etc.) in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the dependent areas of the United States, and their geographic coordinates.