Michael E. Wieczorek Andrew E. LaMotte 2010 tabular digital data Digital Data Series DS-490-03 Reston, Virginia U.S. Geological Survey http://water.usgs.gov/lookup/getspatial?nhd_bchar This data set represents basin characteristics, compiled for every catchment in NHDPlus for the conterminous United States. These characteristics are basin shape index, stream density, sinuosity, mean elevation, mean slope, and number of road-stream crossings. The source data sets are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's NHDPlus and the U.S. Census Bureau's TIGER/Line Files. The NHDPlus Version 1.1 is an integrated suite of application-ready geospatial datasets that incorporates many of the best features of the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and the National Elevation Dataset (NED). The NHDPlus includes a stream network (based on the 1:100,00-scale NHD), improved networking, naming, and value-added attributes (VAAs). NHDPlus also includes elevation-derived catchments (drainage areas) produced using a drainage enforcement technique first widely used in New England, and thus referred to as "the New England Method." This technique involves "burning in" the 1:100,000-scale NHD and when available building "walls" using the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD). The resulting modified digital elevation model (HydroDEM) is used to produce hydrologic derivatives that agree with the NHD and WBD. Over the past two years, an interdisciplinary team from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and contractors, found that this method produces the best quality NHD catchments using an automated process (USEPA, 2007). The NHDPlus dataset is organized by 18 Production Units that cover the conterminous United States. The NHDPlus version 1.1 data are grouped by the U.S. Geologic Survey's Major River Basins (MRBs, Crawford and others, 2006). MRB1, covering the New England and Mid-Atlantic River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 1 and 2. MRB2, covering the South Atlantic-Gulf and Tennessee River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 3 and 6. MRB3, covering the Great Lakes, Ohio, Upper Mississippi, and Souris-Red-Rainy River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 4, 5, 7 and 9. MRB4, covering the Missouri River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 10-lower and 10-upper. MRB5, covering the Lower Mississippi, Arkansas-White-Red, and Texas-Gulf River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 8, 11 and 12. MRB6, covering the Rio Grande, Colorado and Great Basin River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Units 13, 14, 15 and 16. MRB7, covering the Pacific Northwest River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Unit 17. MRB8, covering California River basins, contains NHDPlus Production Unit 18. This spatial data set was created and used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) specifically to estimate basin characteristics per watershed segment in the application of the national SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) model. The SPARROW model relates in-stream water-quality measurements to spatially referenced characteristics of watersheds, including contaminant sources and factors influencing terrestrial and stream transport. The model empirically estimates the origin and fate of contaminants in streams, and quantifies uncertainties in these estimates based on model coefficient error and unexplained variability in the observed data. For more information on the USGS SPARROW model please refer to: http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/sparrow/intro/intro.html. 2002 publication date Complete None planned -127.910792 -65.327751 51.657387 23.243486 None Basin characteristics Inlandwaters NHDPlus Catchment NAWQA SPARROW Base Shape Index slope stream density mean elevation mean slope None Conterminous United States MRB Major River Basin MRB1 NEMA New England and Mid-Atlantic MRB2 SAGT South Atlantic-Gulf and Tennessee MRB3 GLMR Great Lakes, Ohio, Upper Mississippi, and Souris-Red-Rainy MRB4 MORI Missouri MRB5 LMTG Lower Mississippi, Arkansas-White-Red, and Texas-Gulf MRB6 COGB Rio Grande, Colorado, and Great Basin MRB7 PANW Pacific Northwest MRB8 CALI California None None Michael E. Wieczorek US Geological Survey, Maryland Water Science Center Geographer mailing address

5522 Research Park Drive

Baltimore MD 21228 USA 443-498-5550 mewieczo@usgs.gov 8:00am-4:30pm MST Please contact thru email http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/browse/nhd_bchar_mrbs.jpg Elevation overlain with Major River Basins. JPG Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.3000 Charles G. Crawford Pixie A. Hamilton Anne B. Hoos October 5, 2006 Reston, Virginia U.S. Geological Survey Prepared by Charlie Crawford, Pixie Hamilton, and Anne Hoos for a NAWQA National Liaison Meeting, Washington D.C., October 5, 2006 http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/studies/mrb/mrb_factsheet.pdf None None U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/NewEngland/NHDPlus01V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 1. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/MidAtlantic/NHDPlus02V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 1. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/SouthAtlanticGulf/NHDPlus03V01_02_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 2. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/GreatLakes/NHDPlus04V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 3. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/Mississippi/NHDPlus05V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 3. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/Mississippi/NHDPlus06V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 2. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/Mississippi/NHDPlus07V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 3. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/Mississippi/NHDPlus08V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 5. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/SourisRedRainy/NHDPlus09V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 3. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/Mississippi/NHDPlus10LV01_02_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 4. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/Mississippi/NHDPlus10UV01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 4. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/Mississippi/NHDPlus11V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 5. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/TexasGulf/NHDPlus12V01_02_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 5. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/RioGrande/NHDPlus13V01_02_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 6. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/Colorado/NHDPlus14V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 6. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/Colorado/NHDPlus15V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 6. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/GreatBasin/NHDPlus16V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 6. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/PacificNorthwest/NHDPlus17V01_02_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 7. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey 2007 vector digital data Washington, D.C. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ftp://ftp.horizon-systems.com/NHDPlus/NHDPlusV1/California/NHDPlus18V01_01_Catshape.zip online 2007 publication date NHD The source data provided catchments for basin characterization for MRB 8. COMID is the unique item in NHDPlus that relates to the dbf files containing artificial drainage information. U.S. Census Bureau 2006 Second edition vector digital data http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger online2002ground conditionTIGERThe source data provided information on roads. Stream density was calculated by taking the reach length (in meters) and dividing it by catchment area ( in square meters) ( John Brakebill, U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 2008). Sinuosity was calculated by taking the reach length (in meters) and dividing it by its straight line length (in meters). Straight line length is measured from the beginning node of a reach to the end node of the reach. Mean reach catchment elevation was calculated with the following steps: 1) Downloaded elevation data in 30-meter format from http://www.horizon-systems.com/nhdplus/ 2) Summarized the mean elevation by catchment using the ZONALMEAN command in GRID. 3) Exported results into a dbf file format. Mean slope in percent and degrees was calculated with the following steps: 1) Downloaded elevation data in 30-meter format from http://www.horizon-systems.com/nhdplus/ 2) Used the SLOPE command in GRID to calculate slope in both degrees and percent 3) Summarized the mean slope by catchment using the ZONALMEAN command in GRID. 4) Exported results into a dbf file format. Number of road crossings per reach was calculated by intersecting the road coverage with the NHDPlus stream coverage and summing the intersections. Basin Shape Index was calculated by dividing the catchment area (square meters) by the catchment perimeter (meters) squared (James Falcone, U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 2007). 2008 COMID code bchar dbf tabular dataESRI OID Internal feature number. ESRI Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. COMID Unique ID to relate to the NHDPlus catchments NHDPlus Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. SINUOSITY Reach length divided by straight line length (straight line from beginning node to end node of reach) U.S. Geological Survey 1312.39 BSI Catchment area divided by catchment perimeter squared U.S. Geological Survey .0006.06308 STRM_DENS Reach length divided by catchment area U.S. Geological Survey 0.215 ELEVCM_MEA Mean elevation in meters U.S. Geological Survey -82.294050.67 SLP_DEG Mean slope in degrees U.S. Geological Survey 077.42 SLP_PERC Mean slope in percent rise U.S. Geological Survey 0501.61 RD_XING Number of road-stream crossings per catchment U.S. Geological Survey 088 U.S. Geological Survey Ask USGS -- Water Webserver Team mailing address

455 National Center

Reston Virginia 20192 USA 1-888-275-8747 (1-888-ASK-USGS) http://water.usgs.gov/user_feedback_form.html Downloadable Data Although this dataset has been used by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the U.S. Geological Survey as to the accuracy of the data and related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data, software, or related materials. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. dbf Full coverage zipped 5083 KB http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/dsdl/nhd_bchar_mrb1.zip dbf Full coverage zipped 10579 KB http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/dsdl/nhd_bchar_mrb2.zip dbf Full coverage zipped 13225 KB http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/dsdl/nhd_bchar_mrb3.zip dbf Full coverage zipped 11272 KB http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/dsdl/nhd_bchar_mrb4.zip dbf Full coverage zipped 10775 KB http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/dsdl/nhd_bchar_mrb5.zip dbf Full coverage zipped 8894 KB http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/dsdl/nhd_bchar_mrb6.zip dbf Full coverage zipped 6668 KB http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/dsdl/nhd_bchar_mrb7.zip dbf Full coverage zipped 3938 KB http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/dsdl/nhd_bchar_mrb8.zip None. This dataset is provided by the USGS as a public service. 20100817 U.S. Geological Survey Ask USGS -- Water Webserver Team mailing address

445 National Center

Reston Virginia 20192 USA 1-888-275-8747 (1-888-ASK-USGS) http://answers.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/gsanswers?pemail=h2oteam&subject=GIS+Dataset+nhd_bchar FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001-1998