Series Information File for the 2016 Cartographic Boundary File, State-County-County Subdivision , 1:500,000
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. County subdivisions are
the primary divisions of counties and their equivalent entities for the reporting of
Census Bureau data. They include legally-recognized minor civil divisions (MCDs) and
statistical census county divisions (CCDs), and unorganized territories. For the 2010
Census, the MCDs are the primary governmental and/or administrative divisions of
counties in 29 States and Puerto Rico; Tennessee changed from having CCDs for Census
2000 to having MCDs for the 2010 Census. In MCD States where no MCD exists or is not
defined, the Census Bureau creates statistical unorganized territories to complete
coverage. The entire area of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas is
covered by county subdivisions. The boundaries of most legal MCDs are as of January
1, 2016, as reported through the Census Bureau's Boundary and Annexation Survey
(BAS).
Resources
Name
Format
Description
Link
25
http://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/GENZ2016/kml
21
Simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the Census Bureau's MAF/TIGER geographic
database