The National Land Cover Database (NLCD)

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

2001

The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) provides land cover and land use data for the United States, derived from satellite imagery. It includes information on different land cover types and changes over time. The NLCD provides 30-meter spatial resolution raster data, making it one of the most detailed national-scale land cover datasets available. It is derived from Landsat satellite imagery, which enables accurate mapping of vegetation, urban areas, water bodies, and other land cover types. The dataset covers multiple years from 2001 to 2019, allowing researchers to track land cover changes over time. Updates are made periodically to reflect land cover trends, including urban expansion, deforestation, wetland loss, and agricultural shifts. In addition to land cover, impervious surface maps show the extent of human development (roads, buildings, infrastructure). Tree canopy cover maps indicate the percentage of tree cover in different regions, supporting climate and carbon cycle studies. In total, the dataset has a size of more than 1000 GB. The total number of observations is in the billions, as each pixel provides information about land cover, impervious surfaces, or canopy cover.