National Hydrography Dataset (NHD)

The USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) Downloadable Data Collection from The National Map (TNM) is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that encodes information about naturally occurring and constructed bodies of surface water (lakes, ponds, and reservoirs), paths through which water flows (canals, ditches, streams, and rivers), and related entities such as point features (springs, wells, stream gages, and dams). The information encoded about these features includes classification and other characteristics, delineation, geographic name, position and related measures, a "reach code" through which other information can be related to the NHD, and the direction of water flow. The network of reach codes delineating water and transported material flow allows users to trace movement in upstream and downstream directions. In addition to this geographic information, the dataset contains metadata that supports the exchange of future updates and improvements to the data. The NHD supports many applications, such as making maps, geocoding observations, flow modeling, data maintenance, and stewardship. For additional information on NHD, go to https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/national-hydrography.

DWR is the steward for NHD and Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) in California. We work with other organizations to edit and improve NHD and WBD, using the business rules for California. California's NHD improvements are sent to USGS for incorporation into the national database. The most up-to-date products are accessible from the USGS website.

For additional derivative products and resources, including the major features in geopackage format, please go to this page: https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/nhd-major-features

Data and Resources

Field Value
accessLevel public
catalog_@context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
catalog_describedBy https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
identifier 7ed44dbb-6215-4bf4-8a93-018f4466a93e
issued 2018-03-01T16:37:12.698675
modified 2022-07-28T23:32:03.248107
publisher California Department of Water Resources
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 6e4d5bd5877edace8563bce8d7872308a280caf6
source_schema_version 1.1
theme {"Natural Resources",Water}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • aqueduct
  • arcgis
  • california-department-of-water-resources
  • canals
  • ckan
  • creek
  • creeks
  • flow-network
  • flowlines
  • geo
  • geoss
  • gis
  • gis-data
  • gis-layers
  • gis-maps
  • hydrography
  • hydrology
  • lakes
  • major-lakes
  • major-lakes-and-reservoirs
  • major-river
  • major-rivers
  • major-rivers-and-creeks
  • minor-rivers
  • national
  • national-hydrography-dataset
  • nhd
  • north-america
  • pipeline
  • ponds
  • reservoirs
  • river
  • river-basin
  • rivers
  • streams
  • united-states
  • usgs
  • waterbodies
  • watershed
  • watershed-boundary-dataset
  • watersheds
  • wbd
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer Jane Schafer-Kramer
maintainer_email Jane.Schafer-Kramer@water.ca.gov
metadata_created 2025-11-19T16:36:09.871232
metadata_modified 2025-11-19T16:36:09.871240
notes The USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) Downloadable Data Collection from The National Map (TNM) is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that encodes information about naturally occurring and constructed bodies of surface water (lakes, ponds, and reservoirs), paths through which water flows (canals, ditches, streams, and rivers), and related entities such as point features (springs, wells, stream gages, and dams). The information encoded about these features includes classification and other characteristics, delineation, geographic name, position and related measures, a "reach code" through which other information can be related to the NHD, and the direction of water flow. The network of reach codes delineating water and transported material flow allows users to trace movement in upstream and downstream directions. In addition to this geographic information, the dataset contains metadata that supports the exchange of future updates and improvements to the data. The NHD supports many applications, such as making maps, geocoding observations, flow modeling, data maintenance, and stewardship. For additional information on NHD, go to https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/national-hydrography. DWR is the steward for NHD and Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) in California. We work with other organizations to edit and improve NHD and WBD, using the business rules for California. California's NHD improvements are sent to USGS for incorporation into the national database. The most up-to-date products are accessible from the USGS website. For additional derivative products and resources, including the major features in geopackage format, please go to this page: https://data.cnra.ca.gov/dataset/nhd-major-features
num_resources 23
num_tags 44
title National Hydrography Dataset (NHD)