Airports of the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Frequently-anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How should this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
• How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?
  1. How well have the observations been checked?
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How should this data set be cited?

   U.S. Geological Survey, 200110, Airports of the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

   Online Links:

   • <http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html>

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: 170

   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -64

   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 72

   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 17

3. What does it look like?

4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Calendar_Date: Oct-2001

   Currentness_Reference: publication date

5. What is the general form of this data set?

6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
   1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      Indirect_Spatial_Reference:

      U.S. Department of Commerce, 1987, Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of The United States, and Associated Areas (Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 5-2): Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology.

      U.S. Department of Commerce, 1990, Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas (FIPS 6-4): Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology.

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Point (901)

   2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.000278. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000278. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is GRS1980.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.
      

7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   Airports (described by airprtx020.dbf)

   An area where aircraft take off and land. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Shape

   The representation of the entity in the data. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Value	Definition
   Point	0-dimensional element

   Area

   The size of the shape in coverage units. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.000
   Maximum:	0.000

   Perimeter

   The perimeter of the shape in coverage units. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.000
   Maximum:	0.000

   Airprtx020

   Internal feature number. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1
   Maximum:	901

   Locid

   Unique 3-4 character identifier assigned to the landing facility. (Source: Federal Aviation Administration)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Air Carrier Activity Information System (ACAIS)
   Codeset Source:	U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration

   Feature

   The type of landing facility. (Source: National Transportation Atlas Databases-2000, Bureau of Transportation Statistics)

   Value	Definition
   Airport	An area where aircraft can take off and land, usually equipped with associated buildings and facilities, and used primarily by conventional, fixed-wing aircraft.
   Heliport	An area where aircraft can take off and land, usually equipped with associated buildings and facilities, and used primarily by rotary- wing aircraft.
   Seaplane Base	An area where aircraft can take off and land, usually equipped with associated buildings and facilities, and used primarily by seaplanes.

   Name

   Name or identification for the airport. (Source: Federal Aviation Administration)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Air Carrier Activity Information System (ACAIS)
   Codeset Source:	U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration

   Tot_enp

   The total enplanements during calendar year 2000 (the sum of large certified, commuter, air taxi, foreign, and in-transit enplanements). (Source: Air Carrier Activity Information System, Federal Aviation Administration)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	250
   Maximum:	38136866

   State

   The 2-character abbreviation for the name of the State in which the airport or landing facility is located. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of the United States, and Associated Areas; FIPS 5-2.
   Codeset Source:	U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology

   County

   The name of the county or county equivalent in which the airport or landing facility is located. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas; FIPS 6-4
   Codeset Source:	U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology

   Fips

   The 5-digit FIPS code of the county or county equivalent. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas; FIPS 6-4
   Codeset Source:	U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology

   State_fips

   The 2-digit FIPS code for the State in which the airport or landing facility is located. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of the United States, and Associated Areas; FIPS 5-2.
   Codeset Source:	U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • U.S. Geological Survey

2. Who also contributed to the data set?

3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Steve Kambly
   U.S. Geological Survey
   561 National Center
   Reston, VA 20192
   

   703-648-5094 (voice)
   [email protected]
   

Why was the data set created?

These data are intended for geographic display and analysis at the national level, and for large regional areas. The data should be displayed and analyzed at scales appropriate for 1:2,000,000-scale data. No responsibility is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data.

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   NTAD97 (source 1 of 6)

   U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 1997, National Transportation Atlas Databases 1997 (NTAD97): Bureau of Transportation Statistics, DOT, Washington, DC.

   Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM

   Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information

   NTAD-2001 (source 2 of 6)

   U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 2001, National Transportation Atlas Databases 2001 (NTAD-2001): Bureau of Transportation Statistics, DOT, Washington, DC.

   Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM

   Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information

   ATLAS_AP98 (source 3 of 6)

   U.S. Geological Survey, 19980316, Airports of the U.S.: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Type_of_Source_Media: online

   Source_Contribution: attribute information

   ACAIS (source 4 of 6)

   U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 2000, Extract from Air Carrier Activity Information System: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT, Washington, DC.

   Type_of_Source_Media: computer file

   Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information

   ATLAS_AP99 (source 5 of 6)

   U.S. Geological Survey, 19990216, Airports of the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Type_of_Source_Media: online

   Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information

   ATLAS_COUNTY (source 6 of 6)

   U.S. Geological Survey, 200102, County Boundaries of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Type_of_Source_Media: online

   Source_Contribution: spatial and attribute information

2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

   Date: 1998 (process 1 of 3)

   Data from the NTAD97 CD-ROM were obtained from the Department of Transportation. Using the airport.pnt and airport.t01 files on the CD-ROM, airports with passenger enplanement of greater than or equal to 250 passengers per year were selected to create a point coverage to which the following attributes were attached: airport location identifier, name of airport, name of State, State FIPS code, Air Carrier Activity Information System airports, and Total Enplanement. The data were converted to shapefile format for use in National Atlas applications and for distribution to the public.

   Data sources used in this process:

   • NTAD97

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • ATLAS_AP98

   Date: 16-Feb-1999 (process 2 of 3)

   Airports for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were added. Airport names were changed from all upper case and no period after initials to lower case and period after initials. For example, LYNDON B JOHNSON is now Lyndon B. Johnson.

   Data sources used in this process:

   • ATLAS_AP98

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • ATLAS_AP99

   Date: 05-Aug-2001 (process 3 of 3)

   ATLAS_AP99 was updated with enplanement data from NTAD-2001. Existing airports, heliports, and seaplane bases with enplanements of 250 or greater were kept in the data set, while those below 250 enplanements were deleted. Sixty-five airports, heliports, and seaplane bases that had 250 or greater enplanements were added. The following attributes were added to ATLAS_AP99: Feature, indicating the type of facility, name of County, and County FIPS code.

   Data sources used in this process:

   • ATLAS_AP99
   • NTAD-2001
   • ACAIS
   • ATLAS_COUNTY

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

1. How well have the observations been checked?

2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

   This category includes airports in the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands with enplanements greater than or equal to 250 passengers per year.

5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

   No tests for logical consistency were performed on this data set.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None

Use_Constraints:

None. Acknowledgment of the National Atlas of the United States of America would be appreciated in products derived from these data.

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   Earth Science Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey
   507 National Center
   Reston, VA 20192
   

   1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747) (voice)
   

   Contact_Instructions:

   In addition to the address above, there are other ESIC offices throughout the country. A full list of these offices is at <http://mapping.usgs.gov/esic/esic_index.html>.

2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

   Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the U.S. Geological Survey regarding the utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. No responsibility is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data.

4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	ESRI Shapefile
     Network links:	<http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html>

     Data format:	SDTS
     Network links:	<http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html>

   • Cost to order the data:

     There is no charge for the online option. For National Atlas files ordered on CD-ROM there is a base price of $45.00 per disc, a handling fee of $5.00, and a per-file charge based on file size. The charge for files less than 10 megabytes in size is $1.00. The charge for files that range in size from 10 to 150 megabytes is $7.50. The charge for files of 150 megabytes or larger is $15.00. The charge is $1.00 for the Airports of the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

   • Special instructions:

     To order files on CD-ROM, please see <http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html#q12>

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 18-Oct-2001

Metadata author:

Peg Rawson
U.S. Geological Survey
521 National Center
Reston, VA 20192

703-648-4183 (voice)
[email protected]

Metadata standard:

FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)