ISO 19115 Topic Category
biota
boundaries
environment
location
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus
Ecosystem
Environment
Management
Natural Resources
Surface Water
None
United States
Level III Ecoregions of Indiana
vector digital data
US Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) - National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL)
Corvallis, OR
2012
ftp://newftp.epa.gov/EPADataCommons/ORD/Ecoregions/in/in_eco_l3.zip
https://edg.epa.gov/metadata/
Ecoregions by state were extracted from the seamless national shapefile. Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. These general purpose regions are critical for structuring and implementing ecosystem management strategies across federal agencies, state agencies, and nongovernment organizations that are responsible for different types of resources within the same geographical areas. The approach used to compile this map is based on the premise that ecological regions can be identified through the analysis of patterns of biotic and abiotic phenomena, including geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another. A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels for ecological regions. Level I is the coarsest level, dividing North America into 15 ecological regions. Level II divides the continent into 50 regions (Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997). At Level III, the continental United States contains 105 regions whereas the conterminous United States has 85 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2011). Level IV ecoregions are further subdivisions of Level III ecoregions. Methods used to define the ecoregions are explained in Omernik (1995, 2004), Omernik and others (2000), and Gallant and others (1989).
Literature cited:
Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997, Ecological regions of North America- toward a common perspective: Montreal, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 71 p.
Gallant, A. L., Whittier, T.R., Larsen, D.P., Omernik, J.M., and Hughes, R.M., 1989, Regionalization as a tool for managing environmental resources: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA/600/3-89/060, 152p.
Omernik, J.M., 1995, Ecoregions - a framework for environmental management, in Davis, W.S. and Simon, T.P., eds., Biological assessment and criteria-tools for water resource planning and decision making: Boca Raton, Florida, Lewis Publishers, p.49-62.
Omernik, J.M., Chapman, S.S., Lillie, R.A., and Dumke, R.T., 2000, Ecoregions of Wisconsin: Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters, v. 88, p. 77-103. Omernik, J.M., 2004, Perspectives on the nature and definitions of ecological regions: Environmental Management, v. 34, Supplement 1, p. s27-s38.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2011. Level III and IV ecoregions of the continental United States. U.S. EPA, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon, Map scale 1:3,000,000. Available online at: https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/level-iii-and-iv-ecoregions-continental-united-states.
Comments and questions regarding Ecoregions should be addressed to Glenn Griffith, USGS, c/o US EPA., 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541)-754-4465, email:griffith.glenn@epa.gov Alternate: James Omernik, USGS, c/o US EPA, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541)-754-4458, email:omernik.james@epa.gov
Ecoregion maps assist managers of aquatic and terrestrial resources to understand the regional patterns of the realistically attainable quality of these resources
Electronic versions of ecoregion maps and posters as well as other ecoregion resources are available at: https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/ecoregions. Except for the Great Lakes, waterbodies were merged with surrounding ecoregion polygons, especially along coastlines. Ecoregions were digitized at 1:250,000 scale and are intended for large geographic extents (i.e. states, multiple counties, or river basins). Use for smaller areas, such as individual counties or a 1:24,000 scale map boundary, is not recommended.
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41.975493
37.539095
None
None
Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3; ESRI ArcGIS 10.0.3.3600
Publication date
20120508
As needed
FIPS Pub 199
No Confidentiality
Standard Technical Controls
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL)
Randy Comeleo
GIS Analyst
mailing address
200 S.W. 35th Street
Corvallis
OR
97333
(541) 754-4491
comeleo.randy@epa.gov
https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-national-health-and-environmental-effects-research-laboratory-nheerl
Vector
GT-polygon composed of chains
6
USA Contiguous Albers Equal Area Conic USGS version
29.5
45.5
-96.0
23.0
0.0
0.0
coordinate pair
0.0000000037527980722984474
0.0000000037527980722984474
Meter
D North American 1983
GRS 1980
6378137.0
298.257222101
in_eco_l3.shp
shapefile name
US Environmental Protection Agency
FID
Internal feature number.
ESRI
0
5
Shape
Feature geometry.
ESRI
Coordinates defining the features.
US_L3CODE
Code for Level III Ecoregion (US)
USEPA
unique code
US_L3NAME
Name for Level III Ecoregion (US)
USEPA
unique name
NA_L3CODE
Code for Level III Ecoregion (North America/CEC)
CEC
unique code
NA_L3NAME
Name for Level III Ecoregion (North America/CEC)
CEC
unique name
NA_L2CODE
Code for Level II Ecoregion (North America/CEC)
CEC
unique code
NA_L2NAME
Name for Level II Ecoregion (North America/CEC)
CEC
unique name
NA_L1CODE
Code for Level I Ecoregion (North America/CEC)
CEC
unique code
NA_L1NAME
Name for Level I Ecoregion (North America/CEC)
CEC
unique name
STATE_NAME
Name of State (US)
ESRI
unique name
EPA_REGION
EPA Administrative Region
USEPA
1
10
L3_KEY
US Level III Code and Name for Legend, color layer/style file
USEPA
unique code plus name
L2_KEY
NA Level II Code and Name for Legend, color layer/style file
USEPA
unique code plus name
L1_KEY
NA Level I Code and Name for Legend, color layer/style file
USEPA
unique code plus name
Shape_Leng
Length of feature
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.
Ecoregions are hierarchical, with Level IV being the most detailed and Level I defining the broadest classifications. Because of this hierarchy, Level IV features include appropriate codes and names for Levels III, II, and I. Likewise, Level III features contain Levels II and I, and Level II retains Level I information. Attributes pertaining to Level IV are only available for the Conterminous United States (US_). Level III has attributes for the US and North America (NA_) while Levels II and I apply to only North America. All features are identified by State and EPA Administrative Regions, as well. Fields ending with "KEY" combine ecoregion code and name attributes for convenient legends and are linked to style and layer files containing color definitions.
none
20120426
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001-1998
local time
20160426
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL)
Randy Comeleo
GIS Analyst
mailing address
200 S.W. 35th Street
Corvallis
OR
97333
(541) 754-4491
comeleo.randy@epa.gov
https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-national-health-and-environmental-effects-research-laboratory-nheerl
Although ecoregion polygons and attributes have been checked for accuracy, some errors may remain. Polygons along state borders were reviewed and updated, May 2010. ARC/INFO software is used to create and maintain topological relationships.
Unknown
Data were collected using methods that have unknown accuracy (EPA National Geospatial Data Policy [NGDP] Accuracy Tier 10). For more information, please see EPA's NGDP at https://www.epa.gov/geospatial/epa-national-geospatial-data-policy
2011
1) U.S.G.S. 1:250,000 topographic maps are used to delineate the ecoregions. The lines drawn are manually digitized or scanned to produce georeferenced electronic files.
2011
2) All base maps are joined together and errors along the edges are resolved.
2011
3) Topology is established and the maps are reviewed for accuracy, completeness, and conformity with the original lines. Corrections are made as needed and topology regenerated.
2011
4) Attributes are added.
2011
5) Maps are plotted for visual inspection by two individuals and necessary changes made.
2011
6) Ecoregions from all available states are merged and dissolved to identify and correct inconsistencies.
2011
7) Polygons of the corrected seamless ecoregion features are extended beyond the coastal borders.
2011
8) State and Ecoregion datasets are intersected.
2011
9) Topology errors removed.
2011
10) Final QA
2011
11) Select State from national geodatabase
2012
12) metadata
Downloadable Data
Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the Environmental Protection Agency, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. It is also strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data to evaluate data set limitations, restrictions or intended use. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL)
Randy Comeleo
GIS Analyst
mailing address
200 S.W. 35th Street
Corvallis
OR
97333
(541) 754-4491
comeleo.randy@epa.gov
https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-national-health-and-environmental-effects-research-laboratory-nheerl
20220816
15160800
1.0
TRUE
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Local Area Network
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