2016 Cartographic Boundary File, Current County and Equivalent for United States, 1:20,000,000
Description
The 2016 cartographic boundary KMLs are simplified representations
of selected geographic areas from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File /
Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database
(MTDB). These boundary files are specifically designed for small-scale thematic
mapping. When possible, generalization is performed with the intent to maintain the
hierarchical relationships among geographies and to maintain the alignment of
geographies within a file set for a given year. Geographic areas may not align with
the same areas from another year. Some geographies are available as nation-based
files while others are available only as state-based files. The primary legal
divisions of most states are termed counties. In Louisiana, these divisions are known
as parishes. In Alaska, which has no counties, the equivalent entities are the
organized boroughs, city and boroughs, municipalities, and for the unorganized area,
census areas. The latter are delineated cooperatively for statistical purposes by the
State of Alaska and the Census Bureau. In four states (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada,
and Virginia), there are one or more incorporated places that are independent of any
county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of their states. These
incorporated places are known as independent cities and are treated as equivalent
entities for purposes of data presentation. The District of Columbia and Guam have no
primary divisions, and each area is considered an equivalent entity for purposes of
data presentation. The Census Bureau treats the following entities as equivalents of
counties for purposes of data presentation: Municipios in Puerto Rico, Districts and
Islands in American Samoa, Municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, and Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The entire area of the United
States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas is covered by counties or equivalent
entities. The generalized boundaries for counties and equivalent entities are based
on those as of January 1, 2016, primarily as reported through the Census Bureau's
Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS).
Resources
Name
Format
Description
Link
21
Simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the Census Bureau's MAF/TIGER geographic
database
The cartographic boundary files contain geographic data
only and do not include display mapping software or statistical data. For
information on how to use cartographic boundary file data with specific
software package users shall contact the company that produced the
software.