U.S. Department of Agriculture - Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Other Federal, State, and local partners U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 20221101 vector digital data Helena, MT Montana State Library https://ftpgeoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Data/Spatial/MSDI/HydrologicUnits/Historic/MTMajorBasinsandHUCs20221101.zip Montana State Library https://mslservices.mt.gov/Geographic_Information/Data/DataList/datalist_Details.aspx?did={0077A7D3-F6C3-4D08-9837-410E79A12FCC} The Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) is a comprehensive aggregated collection of hydrologic unit data consistent with the national criteria for delineation and resolution. It defines the areal extent of surface water drainage to a point except in coastal or lake front areas where there could be multiple outlets as stated by the "Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD)" “Standard” (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/). Watershed boundaries are determined solely upon science-based hydrologic principles, not favoring any administrative boundaries or special projects, nor particular program or agency. This dataset represents the hydrologic unit boundaries to the 12-digit (6th level) for the entire United States. Some areas may also include additional subdivisions representing the 14- and 16-digit hydrologic unit (HU). At a minimum, the HUs are delineated at 1:24,000-scale in the conterminous United States, 1:25,000-scale in Hawaii, Pacific basin and the Caribbean, and 1:63,360-scale in Alaska, meeting the National Map Accuracy Standards (NMAS). Higher resolution boundaries are being developed where partners and data exist and will be incorporated back into the WBD. WBD data are delivered as a dataset of polygons and corresponding lines that define the boundary of the polygon. WBD polygon attributes include hydrologic unit codes (HUC), size (in the form of acres and square kilometers), name, downstream hydrologic unit code, type of watershed, non-contributing areas, and flow modifications. The HUC describes where the unit is in the country and the level of the unit. WBD line attributes contain the highest level of hydrologic unit for each boundary, line source information and flow modifications. The intent of defining Hydrologic Units (HU) within the Watershed Boundary Dataset is to establish a base-line drainage boundary framework, accounting for all land and surface areas. Hydrologic units are intended to be used as a tool for water-resource management and planning activities particularly for site-specific and localized studies requiring a level of detail provided by large-scale map information. The WBD complements the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and supports numerous programmatic missions and activities including: watershed management, rehabilitation and enhancement, aquatic species conservation strategies, flood plain management and flood prevention, water-quality initiatives and programs, dam safety programs, fire assessment and management, resource inventory and assessment, water data analysis and water census. 20221101 publication date Complete As needed -118.777532 -100.267457 50.713107 42.168437 ISO 19115 Topic Category 16-digit Hydrologic Unit Code Region 4-digit HUC Watershed Boundary Dataset 2-digit Basin 10-digit Hydrologic Units Sub-basin Watershed WBD 6-digit inlandWaters Sub-region Subwatershed 12-digit 14-digit 8-digit U.S. Department of Commerce, 1977, Countries, dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and their principal administrative divisions (Federal Information Processing Standards 10-3): Washington, D.C., National Institute of Standards and Technology. US United States None The distributor shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of this data, based on the description of appropriate/inappropriate uses described in this metadata document. It is strongly recommended that this data is directly acquired from the distributor and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. These data should not be used at scales greater than 1:24,000 for the purpose of identifying hydrographic watershed boundary feature locations in the United States. The Watershed Boundary Dataset is public information and may be interpreted by all organizations, agencies, units of government, or others based on needs; however, they are responsible for the appropriate application of the data. Photographic or digital enlargement of these maps to scales greater than that at which they were originally delineated can result in misrepresentation of the data. If enlarged, the maps will not include the fine detail that would be appropriate for mapping at the small scale. Digital data files are periodically updated and users are responsible for obtaining the latest version of the data from the source distributor. Acknowledgment of the origination agencies would be appreciated in products derived from these data. Funding for the Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) was provided by the USDA-NRCS, USGS and EPA along with other federal, state and local agenciesies. Representatives from many agencies contributed a substantial amount of time and salary towards quality review and updating of the dataset in order to meet the WBD Standards. Acknowledgment of the originating agencies would be appreciated in products derived from these data. See dataset specific metadata for further information WBDHU8 Polygon feature class representing the 2-digit hydrologic unit boundaries (previously referred to as Regions) and are part of the WBD delivery. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset OBJECTID Internal feature number. Esri Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Shape Feature geometry. Esri Coordinates defining the features. TNMID MetaSourceID SourceDataDesc SourceOriginator SourceFeatureID LoadDate GNIS_ID AreaAcres AreaSqKm States HUC8 Name Shape_Length Length of feature in internal units. Esri Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. Shape_Area Area of feature in internal units squared. Esri Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. WBDHU4 Polygon feature class representing the 4-digit hydrologic unit boundaries (previously referred to as Subregions) that are part of the WBD delivery. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset HUC4 The HUC4 field is a unique 4-digit hydrologic unit code. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) WBDHU6 Polygon feature class representing the 6-digit hydrologic unit boundaries (previously referred to as Basins) and are part of the WBD delivery. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset HUC6 The HUC6 field is a unique 6-digit hydrologic unit code. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) WBDHU8 Polygon feature class representing the 8-digit hydrologic unit boundaries (previously referred to as Subbasins) and are part of the WBD delivery. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset HUC8 The HUC8 field is a unique 8-digit hydrologic unit code. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) WBDHU10 Polygon feature class representing the 10-digit hydrologic unit boundaries (previously referred to as Watersheds). Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset HUC10 The HUC10 field is a unique 10-digit hydrologic unit code. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Provide Codeset Definition Reference (Citatation/URL) WBDHU12 Polygon feature class representing the 12-digit hydrologic unit boundaries (previously referred to as Subwatersheds). Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset HUC12 The HUC12 field is a unique 12-digit hydrologic unit code. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) ToHUC The 12-digit hydrologic unit ToHUC code attribute is the code for the 12-digit hydrologic unit that is downstream from and naturally receives the majority of the flow from another 12-digit hydrologic unit. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) WBDHU14 Polygon feature class representing the 14-digit hydrologic unit boundaries. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset HUC14 The HUC14 field is a unique 14-digit hydrologic unit code. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) WBDHU16 Polygon feature class representing the 16-digit hydrologic unit boundaries. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset HUC16 The HUC16 field is a unique 16-digit hydrologic unit code. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) WBDLine Line feature class defining the hydrologic unit boundaries Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset HUDigit HUDigit is a domain-based field that indicates the minimum number of digits used to represent the hydrologic unit bounded by the line. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) HUMod Two-character, uppercase abbreviation used to track either a modification to natural overland flow that alters the location of the hydrologic unit boundary or special conditions that are applied to a specific boundary line segment. The value identifies the type of modification, from the list provided, that has been applied to the boundary segment. If more than one abbreviation is used, the list is separated by commas without spaces and organized from most to least predominant. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) LineSource LineSource represents the code for the base data used for delineating hydrologic unit boundaries. If more than one code is used,then the list is separated by a comma with no spaces with the most recent LineSource listed first in the sequence. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) NWISDrainageArea Polygon features representing PROVISIONAL contributing drainage area for select gage locations in the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset AreaSqKm Area of the gaged watershed Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Calculated polygon area, square kilometers AgencyCode Site Agency code U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System https://help.waterdata.usgs.gov/ SiteNumber U.S. Geological Survey unique site identifier U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System Unique code identifying a measurement site in the National Water Information System database StationName Site Name U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System Common name associated with site in the National Water Information System database TotalAreaSqMi Total drainage area Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset Total area of the polygon, square miles NWISTotalAreaSqMi Total drainage area reported in U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System Total area in square miles ContributingAreaSqMi Total contributing drainage area, square miles Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset Total contributing area, square miles NWISContributingAreaSqMi Contributing drainage area reported in U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System Total contributing area, square miles ReferenceTNMIDNHDPointEvent Unique identifier for NHD point event representing gage Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset Unique identifier that is automatically generated Remarks Remarks Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset Free text holding remarks from reviewers and/or dataset originator NWISDrainageLine Line features representing the boundary of the contributing gaged drainage area Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset LengthKm Length of the line Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset Calculated line length, kilometers LineSource Code identifying the base data used for delineating hydrologic unit boundaries Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) AgencyCode Site Agency code U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System https://help.waterdata.usgs.gov/ SiteNumber U.S. Geological Survey unique site identifier U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System Unique code identifying a measurement site in the National Water Information System database WBDLine, WBDHU2, WBDHU4, WBDHU6, WBDHU8, WBDHU10, WBDHU12, WBDHU14, WBDHU16, NWISDrainageArea, NWISDrainageLine, NonContributingDrainageArea, NonContributingDrainageLine The following attribute fields are common to all feature classes within the WBD Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset OBJECTID Internal feature number. ESRI Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Shape Feature geometry. ESRI Coordinates defining the features. TNMID TNMID (short for The National Map Identification) is a unique 40-character field that identifies each element in the database exclusively. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) TNMID is an automatically assigned code that stays with each element. When an element is updated or changed, TNMID links the element to the metadata record and documents the change. TNMID is also used to maintain relationship classes in the normalized data model. When an element is deleted or split, TNMID stays with the original element and is not used again. When an element is split, new permanent identifiers are assigned to the resultant parts. MetaSourceID MetaSourceID is a unique identifier that links the element to the metadata tables. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) MetaSourceID is a unique identifier that links the element to the metadata tables. This ID is generated and assigned automatically by the database and remains with the object permanently. SourceDataDesc SourceDataDesc is a space provided for a brief description of the type of base data used to update or change the current WBD. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) The WBD In-State Steward completes this field as part of the metadata form. SourceOriginator SourceOriginator is the description of the agency that created the base data used to improve the WBD. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) The WBD In-State Steward completes this field as part of the metadata form SourceFeatureID SourceFeatureID is a long, unique code. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) This code identifies the parent of the feature if the feature is the result of a split or merge, and it is automatically generated and assigned. LoadDate LoadDate represents the date when the data were loaded into the official USGS WBD ArcSDE database. The field is the effective date for all feature edits, and it is automatically generated. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) 12:00:00 AM 5/22/2015 9:18:54 AM SHAPE_Length Length of feature in internal units. Esri 0.00969668135620442 156.106394893564 WBDHU2, WBDHU4, WBDHU6, WBDHU8, WBDHU10, WBDHU12, WBDHU14, WBDHU16, NWISDrainageArea, NonContributingDrainageArea The following attribute field is common to all polygon feature classes within the WBD Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset Shape_Area Area of feature in internal units squared. Esri 1.4877635179339E-06 9.79299310229808 WBDHU2, WBDHU4, WBDHU6, WBDHU8, WBDHU10, WBDHU12, WBDHU14, WBDHU16 The following attribute fields are common to the WBD hydrologic unit polygon datasets Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset GNIS_ID GNIS_ID is a preassigned numeric field that uses a unique number to relate the name of the hydrologic unit to the GNIS names database. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) GNIS (https://www.usgs.gov/tools/geographic-names-information-system-gnis) AreaAcres The area of each hydrologic unit including non-contributing areas stored in acres AreaAcres is common to all polygon feature classes and is calculated at the 12-digit hydrologic unit from the intrinsic area value maintained by the GIS software; therefore, acreage values may vary from user calculations, depending on the projection of the data. North American Albers Equal Area Conic, North American Datum 1983 is the required projection to use for calculation. If the units of the area field are stored in square meters, then use the conversion factor 0.0002471. For example, 40,469,446 square meters multiplied by 0.0002471 =10,000 acres Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) 0 50000000 acres AreaSqKm The area of each hydrologic unit including non-contributing areas stored in square kilometers. AreaSqKm is calculated at the 12-digit hydrologic unit from the intrinsic area value maintained by the GIS software; therefore, the square kilometer values may vary from user calculations, depending on the projection of the data. North American Albers Equal Area Conic, North American Datum 1983 is the default projection. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) 0 100000 square kilometers States The States or outlying area attribute identifies the State(s) or outlying areas that the hydrologic unit falls within or touches. Will be populated with the 2 character state abbreviation or outlying area attribute for each area that the unit falls within in alphabetical order. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) Name Name refers to the GNIS name for the geographic area in which the hydrologic unit is located. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) WBDHU10, WBDHU12, WBDHU14, WBDHU16 The following attribute fields are common to the 10-digit, 12-digit, 14-digit and 16-digit WBD polygon datasets Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset HUType The 12-digit hydrologic unit type attribute is the single-letter abbreviation for Watershed type from the list of official names provided in the WBD Standards. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) HUMod The hydrologic unit modification attribute is a two-character, uppercase abbreviation(s) for either (1) the type of modification to natural overland flow that alters the natural delineation of a hydrologic unit or (2) the special conditions GF-groundwater flow, GL-glacier, IF-ice field, KA-karst, and NC-noncontributing area. The value of the HUMod field helps to indicate where the modification to the hydrologic unit is located. If more than one abbreviation is used, the will be separated by commas without spaces and listed from most to least predominant. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes (https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/) WBDHU12, WBDHU14, WBDHU16, NWISDrainageArea and NonContributingDrainageArea The following attribute fields are common to the 12-digit, 14-digit and 16-digit WBD polygon datasets as well as the NWISDrainageArea, and NonContributingDrainageArea polygon datasets Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset NonContributingAreaAcres The noncontributing area attribute represents the area, in acres, of hydrologic units that do not contribute to downstream accumulation of streamflow under normal flow conditions. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) 0 50000000 NonContributingAreaSqKm The noncontributing area attribute represents the area, in square kilometers, of hydrologic units that do not contribute to downstream accumulation of streamflow under normal flow conditions. Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) 0 100000 The Watershed Boundary Dataset is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that represents the surface drainages areas of the United States. The information included with the features includes a feature date, a unique common identifier, name, the feature length or area, and other characteristics. Names and their identifiers are assigned from the Geographic Names Information System. The data also contains relations that encode metadata. The names and definitions of all these feature attributes are in the Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD). The document is available online at https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/. The names and definitions of all fields within the WBD attribution are in the U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Standards and Procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD). The document is available online at https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/11/a3/. Information about the attribute tables and fields are in Section 6: Geospatial Data Structure and Attributes U.S. Geological Survey mailing

U.S. Geological Survey, National Geospatial Technical Operations Center, P.O. Box 25046

Denver CO 80225 1-877-275-8747 bpgeo@usgs.gov Downloadable Data The distributor shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of this data, based on the description of appropriate/inappropriate uses described in this metadata document. It is strongly recommended that this data is directly acquired from the distributor and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. The Watershed Boundary Dataset is public information and may be interpreted by all organizations, agencies, units of government, or others based on needs; however, they are responsible for the appropriate application of the data. Federal, State, or local regulatory bodies are not to reassign to the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service or the U.S. Geological Survey any authority for the decisions they make. Photographic or digital enlargement of these maps to scales greater than that at which they were originally delineated can result in misrepresentation of the data. If enlarged, the maps will not include the fine detail that would be appropriate for mapping at the small scale. Digital data files are periodically updated. Files are dated, and users are responsible for obtaining the latest version of the data from the source distributor. Vector Digital Data Set (Polygon) https://ftpgeoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Data/Spatial/MSDI/HydrologicUnits/Historic/MTMajorBasinsandHUCs20221101.zip None. No fees are applicable for obtaining the data set. 20221101 U.S. Geological Survey WBD Point of Contact mailing

U.S. Geological Survey, National Geospatial Technical Operations Center, P.O. Box 25046

Denver CO 80225 1-877-275-8747 bpgeo@usgs.gov FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001-1998 local time {ee7c7e82-b4b0-4f93-8ef3-25e4fce9efc5}