Attributes for NHDPlus Catchments (Version 1.1): Basin Characteristics, 2002
type: Dataset
description: 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-R…
keyword: amerigeo
keyword: amerigeoss
keyword: base-shape-index
keyword: basin-characteristics
keyword: cali
keyword: california
keyword: catchment
keyword: ckan
keyword: cogb
keyword: conterminous-united-states
keyword: environment
keyword: geo
keyword: geoscientificinformation
keyword: geoss
keyword: glmr
keyword: great-lakes-ohio-upper-mississippi-and-souris-red-rainy
keyword: inlandwaters
keyword: lmtg
keyword: lower-mississippi-arkansas-white-red-and-texas-gulf
keyword: major-river-basin
keyword: mean-elevation
keyword: mean-slope
keyword: missouri
keyword: mori
keyword: mrb
keyword: mrb1
keyword: mrb2
keyword: mrb3
keyword: mrb4
keyword: mrb5
keyword: mrb6
keyword: mrb7
keyword: mrb8
keyword: national
keyword: nawqa
keyword: nema
keyword: new-england-and-mid-atlantic
keyword: nhdplus
keyword: north-america
keyword: pacific-northwest
keyword: panw
keyword: rio-grande-colorado-and-great-basin
keyword: sagt
keyword: slope
keyword: south-atlantic-gulf-and-tennessee
keyword: sparrow
keyword: stream-density
keyword: united-states
issued: 2025-11-21T14:07:50.543661
modified: 20201117
theme: {geospatial}
contact point: Organization
  fn: Michael E. Wieczorek
spatial: Location

US Migrating
type: Agent

Original Metadata
type: Distribution
description: The metadata original format
media type: text/xml
format: XML
access URL: https://data.usgs.gov/datacatalog/metadata/USGS.2270e533-86a1-42a2-b2fa-1457bac2882f.xml
issued: 2022-07-07T15:58:46.314064
modified: 2025-11-21T14:07:50.520085

Digital Data
type: Distribution
description: Landing page for access to the data
media type: application/http
format: XML
access URL: https://water.usgs.gov/lookup/getspatial
issued: 2022-07-07T15:58:46.314071
modified: 2025-11-21T14:07:50.520509