Metadata for TIGER/Line 2000 Redistricting Census Files for Montana Metadata for TIGER/Line 2000 Redistricting Census Files for Montana

Download full XML Metadata

Identification Information:

Citation:

Originator: U.S. Census Bureau

Publication date: 2001

Title: TIGER/Line 2000 Redistricting Census Files for Montana

Series name: TIGER/Line
Issue identification: Redistricting Census 2000

Publication place: Washington, DC
Publisher: U.S. Census Bureau

Larger Work Citation:

Title: Montana State Library Census Data Collection, 1990-2010
Online linkage: http://mslapps.mt.gov/Geographic_Information/Data/DataList/datalist_Details.aspx?did={77211e26-cfa9-4a7b-b8f8-09d567c1d131}

Abstract:

These data are the Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER geographic files. The data are in TIGER format and must be converted by 3rd-party software for use with geographic information systems.

The data are available by request from the Montana State Library archive and, at the time of the writing of this metadata in 2015, they were available for download from the U.S. Census Bureau web site at the locations given in the distribution information.

The TIGER/Line files contain data describing three major types of features/entities;
Line Features -
1) Roads
2) Railroads
3) Hydrography
4) Miscellaneous transportation features and selected power lines and pipe lines
5) Political and statistical boundaries

Landmark Features -
1) Point landmarks, e.g., schools and churches.
2) Area landmarks, e.g., Parks and cemeteries.
3) Key geographic locations (KGLs), e.g., shopping centers and factories.

Polygon features -
1) Geographic entity codes for areas used to tabulate the Census 2000 census statistical data and 1990 geographic areas
2) Locations of area landmarks
3) Locations of KGLs

The line features and polygon information form the majority of data in the TIGER/Line files. Some of the data/attributes describing the lines include coordinates, feature identifiers (names), CFCCs (used to identify the most noticeable characteristic of a feature), address ranges, and geographic entity codes. The TIGER/Line files contain point and area labels that describe landmark features and provide locational reference. Area landmarks consist of a feature name or label and feature type assigned to a polygon or group of polygons. Landmarks may overlap or refer to the same set of polygons. The Census TIGER data base uses collections of spatial objects (points, lines, and polygons) to model or describe real-world geography. The Census Bureau uses these spatial objects to represent features such as streets, rivers, and political boundaries and assigns attributes to these features to identify and describe specific features such as the 500 block of Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

TIGER, TIGER/Line, and Census TIGER are registered trademarks of the Bureau of the Census. The Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line files are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the Census TIGER data base. The geographic coverage for a single TIGER/Line file is a county or statistical equivalent entity, with the coverage area based on January 1, 2000 legal boundaries.

The Census TIGER data base represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts. However, each county-based TIGER/Line file is designed to stand alone as an independent data set.

The Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line files do NOT contain the ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) and the address ranges are of approximately the same vintage as those appearing in the 1999 TIGER/Line files. That is, the Census Bureau is producing the Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line files in advance of the computer processing that will ensure that the address ranges in the TIGER/Line files agree with the final Master Address File (MAF) used for tabulating Census 2000.

The files contain information distributed over a series of record types for the spatial objects of a county. There are 17 record types, including the basic data record, the shape coordinate points, and geographic codes that can be used with appropriate software to prepare maps. Other geographic information contained in the files includes attributes such as feature identifiers/census feature class codes (CFCC) used to differentiate feature types, address ranges and ZIP Codes, codes for legal and statistical entities, latitude/longitude coordinates of linear and point features, landmark point features, area landmarks, key geographic features, and area boundaries. The Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line data dictionary contains a complete list of all the fields in the 17 record types.

Purpose:

In order for others to use the information in the Census TIGER data base in a geographic information system (GIS) or for other geographic applications, the Census Bureau releases to the public extracts of the data base in the form of TIGER/Line files. Various versions of the TIGER/Line files have been released; previous versions include the 1990 Census TIGER/Line files, the 1992 TIGER/Line files, the 1994 TIGER/Line files, the 1995 TIGER/Line files, the 1997 TIGER/Line files, the 1998 TIGER/Line files, and the 1999 TIGER/Line files. The Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line files were originally produced to support the Census 2000 Redistricting Data Program.

Time period of content:

Calendar date: 2000
Currentness reference: publication date

Status:

Progress: Complete
Maintenance and update frequency:: TIGER/Line files are extracted from the Census TIGER data base when needed for geographic programs required to support the census and survey programs of the Census Bureau. No changes or updates will be made to the Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line files. Future releases of TIGER/Line files will reflect updates made to the Census TIGER data base and will be released under a version numbering system based on the month and year the data is extracted.

Access constraints: None

Use constraints:

Acknowledgment of the U.S. Bureau of the Census would be appreciated for products derived from these files. TIGER, TIGER/Line, and Census TIGER are registered trademarks of the Bureau of the Census.

The Montana State Library provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The Library did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The Library provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the Library be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The Library makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The Library reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.

Point of contact:

Geography Division U.S. Census Bureau
Telephone: 301-763-1128
E-Mail: geo.tiger@census.gov

Data Quality Information:

Attribute accuracy report:: Accurate against Federal information Processing Standards (FIPS), FIPS Publication 6-4, and FIPS-55 at the 100% level for the codes and base names. The remaining attribute information has been examined but has not been fully tested for accuracy.
Logical consistency report:: The feature network of lines (as represented by Record Types 1 and 2) is compete for census purposes. Spatial objects in TIGER/Line belong to the "Geometry and Topology" (GT) class of objects in the "Spatial Data Transfer Standard" (SDTS) FIPS Publication 173 and are topologically valid. Node/geometry and topology (GT)-polygon/chain relationships are collected or generated to satisfy topological edit requirements. These requirements include:
* Complete chains must begin and end at nodes.
* Complete chains must connect to each other at nodes.
* Complete chains do not extend through nodes.
* Left and right GT-polygons are defined for each complete chain element
and are consistent throughout the extract process.
* the chains representing the limits of the files are free of gaps.

The Census Bureau performed automated tests to ensure logical consistency and limits of files. All polygons are tested for closure. The Census Bureau uses its internally developed Geographic Update System to enhance and modify spatial and attribute data in the Census TIGER data base. Standard geographic codes, such as FIPS codes for states, counties, municipalities, and places, are used when encoding spatial entities. The Census Bureau performed spatial data tests for logical consistency of the codes during the compilation of the original Census TIGER data base files. Most of the Codes themselves were provided to the Census Bureau by the USGS, the agency responsible for maintaining FIPS 55. Feature attribute information has been examined but has not been fully tested for consistency.
Completeness report:: Data completeness of the TIGER/Line files reflects the contents of the Census TIGER data base at the time the TIGER/Line files (Redistricting Census 2000 version) were created.
Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report:: The information present in these files is provided for the purposes of statistical analysis and census operations only. Coordinates in the TIGER/Line files have six implied decimal places, but the positional accuracy of these coordinates is not as great as the six decimal places suggest. The positional accuracy varies with the source materials used, but generally the information is no better than the established national map Accuracy standards for 1:100,000-scale maps from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); thus it is NOT suitable for high-precision measurement applications such as engineering problems, property transfers, or other uses that might require highly accurate measurements of the earth's surface.

The USGS 1:100,000-scale maps met national map accuracy standards and use coordinates defined by the North American Datum, 1983. For the contiguous 48 States, the cartographic fidelity of most of the Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line files, in areas outside the 1980 census Geographic Base File/Dual Independent map Encoding (GBF/DIME) file coverage and selected other large metropolitan areas, compare favorable with the USGS 1:100,000-scale maps. The Census Bureau cannot specify the accuracy of features inside of what was the 1980 GBF/DIME-File coverage or selected metropolitan areas.

The Census Bureau added updates to the TIGER/Line files that enumerators annotated on maps sheets prepared from the Census TIGER data base as they attempted to traverse every street feature shown on the Census 2000 map sheets; the Census Bureau also made other corrections from updated map sheets supplied by local participants for Census Bureau programs. The locational accuracy of these updates is of unknown quality. In addition to the Federal, State, and local sources, portions of the files may contain information obtained in part from maps and other materials prepared by private companies.

Despite the fact the TIGER/Line data positional accuracy is not as high as the coordinate values imply, the six-decimal place precision is useful when producing maps. The precision allows features that are next to each other on the ground to be placed in the correct position, on the map, relative to each other, without overlap.