GIS and Geospatial Data

Services | Support/Training | Software | WI Data Collections | Online Data Resources | Request Data

NEW!! Have a technical GIS question? Email the GISHelp List

Find out about GIS services, resources, and events on the UW-Madison campus!
Check out the UW Geospatial Alliance

GIS Services at the Robinson Map Library
Map Library staff is available to assist users with GIS software and data. Appointments can be made for one-on-one preliminary consultations with the Map/GIS Librarian.

What we will help with:

• Basic understanding of geospatial data types and formats
• Where to find reliable sources of geospatial data

What we will NOT help with:

• Creating maps for students
• Course-related projects or assignments where the professor or TA should be consulted first
• Detailed analysis and specialized software functions
• Cartographic principles and techniques
  

To make an appointment for GIS assistance, contact Jaime Stoltenberg:
Email: jstoltenberg@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-1471

GIS Support and Training on the UW-Madison campus
The Map Library provides initial consultation for GIS projects and introduction to ArcGIS software. Any further requests for support or assistance in making maps or performing detailed analysis can be provided elsewhere on campus. Students seeking detailed assistance or in-depth project consultation are advised to consider formal training. Visit the SIAC website for a complete listing of courses!

• The Land Information and Computer Graphics Facility offers ArcGIS and other ESRI-Authorized training courses. They can also provide students with access to the ESRI Virtual Campus online training modules.
  Contact Math Heinzel for access to these online courses.
• The UW Geography Department offers an introductory GIS course: Geography 377: Introduction to GIS
• The UW Geography Department offers an advanced GIS course: Geography 578: GIS Applications
• The UW Urban and Regional Planning Department offers the course: Applications of GIS in Planning
• The UW Department of Landscape Architecture offers the course: Applications of GIS in Natural Resources

Software in the Map Library: ArcGIS 10
There are six public GIS workstations available for browsing geospatial data and/or using GIS software.

UW-Madison faculty, staff and student ArcGIS license information is available from:
The Land Information and Computer Graphics Facility
550 Babcock Drive, Rm B102
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: (608) 263-5534

Digital Geospatial Data Collections

Wisconsin Local Data Collections:

CLICK HERE to view the Map Library's policy on GIS data distribution.
CLICK HERE to see the Map Library's GIS Data User Agreement.

• Adams County (via NCWRPC): 2005 landuse, tax parcels, MCDs, hydrogology, PLSS, roads, rails, wetlands, zoning

• Ashland County:
  2010 tax parcels and assessment data
  2006 tax parcels and assessment data

• Barron County: tax parcels, right-of-way, 2ft contours, cultural and recreational features, land cover, roads, rails, vegetation, wetlands, hygrology, watersheds, zoning, zip codes, 2005 6" b/w orthophotos (various years)

• Bay Lake Regional Planning Commission: Land Use for: Brown , Door, Florence, Kewaunee, Marinette, Oconto, & Sheboygan Counties (various years)

• Bayfield County:
  2010 tax parcels and assessment data
  2007 tax parcels and assessment data, 10ft contours/10mDEM
  2006 tax parcels and assessment data

• Brown County: 2009 addresses, administrative, bathymetry, cadastral (tax parcels/assessment) census, cultural resources, flood hazards, geology, land conservation, existing land use, natural environment, parks&recreation, reference, storm water management, 2ft contours, transportation, utilities, zoning; historic 2005 tax parcels and assessment data.
  
  
• Calumet County:
  2010 Admin: police, fire, ems, addresing, municipal boundaries, polling/voting, daycare/elderly facilities, shoreland zoning, school districts, senate/supervisory districts, TIF districts, PLSS, utility districts, zip codes, zoning, 2004 land use
  2010 BaseMap: traffic counts, boat landings, bridges, building footprints, cell towers, dams, fire hydrants, gas lines, medical, mine/quarry areas, power lines/stations, railroads, rec facilities, roads, school locations, trails,
  
  2010 Environmental: hydro, 4ft contours, bedrock, parks, soils, watersheds, wells, wetlands
  
  2007 existing land use (via ECWRPC)

• Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest areas: CNNF districts, vegetation stands 2009, management areas, NEPA boundaries, ownership areas, recreation sites, timber harvest data for 1999-2009, roads, trails (2009).
  
  
• Chippewa County: 2010 Tax parcels and assessment data.

• Columbia County
  2012 tax parcels and assessment data
  
  2009 floodplains, LESA, soils (hightly erodible lands, hydric, prime farmland), public lands,4ft contours, recreation trails, biking roads, hydrography, MDCs, municipal buildings, recycling centers, PLSS, public lands, boat launches, recreation/trails/rustic roads/snowmobile/IceAge, school districts, school buildings, tax parcels/assessment, ferry crossing, railroads, roads, 2001 supervisory districts/voting wards, zoning/agricultural districts/300ft shoreland buffer.
  
  2007 countywide MrSID ortho/1ft color.
  
  2006 4ft contours, roads/transportation, emergency/fire/ems, municipal boundaries, hydrology, PLSS, 2005 land use, tax parcels, school districts, recreation trails, soils, voting wards, miscellaneous points of interest, zoning.
  
  

• Dane County:
  2011 boat launch locations and WiDNR boat landings, cultural sites, intersection controls (via CARPC)
  2011 tax parcels and assessment data, street centerlines, environmental corridors, hydrography, building footprints
  
  2010 tax parcels and assessment data, street centerlines, environmenal corridors, hydrography
  
  2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 (years may vary by layer:) soils, 10-ft contours, municipal boundaries, street centerlines, hydrography, PLSS, supervisory districts, building footprints, environmental corridors, MCDs, cell towers, conservation easements (associated metadata should be consulted for actual currency of data).
  
  2006-2000 historic tax parcels and assessment data
  
  2005/2000/1990 Land Use
  

• Dodge County:
  2008 tax parcels, road centerlines, PLSS, municipal boundaries, hydrography, Horicon Marsh, public lands, railroads, 2006 6"b/w MrSID orthophoto

• Door County:
  2010 tax parcels and assessment data, land use
  2007 DEM, EMS address, land use, roads, streams, zoning, cultural & recreational data, 2ft contours, DRGs, DTM, soils, watersheds, 1992 1m b/w orthophotos, 2002 1ft color orthophotos.
  2006 tax parcels and assessment data

• Douglas County: AVAILABLE ONLINE (Click Here)
  2010 tax parcels and assessment data, transportation, 1ft contours (LIDAR), 2009 orthos, administrative boundaries, existing land use, floodplains, zoning, impervious surfaces, hydrography, archery/hunting sites, plss, buildings, cemetaries, parks, trails, schools, utilities; historic 2005 tax parcel and assessment data.
  
  2009 land use (via Northwest RPC)
  
  
• Fond du Lac County:
  2010 airport zoning, cemetaries, admininstrative boundaries, 2ft contours (LIDAR), government, hospitals, municipal, hydrography, parks, places of worship, plss, roads, ROW, schools, trails, unincorporated villages, wind turbines, zoning, tax parcels and assessment data,
  
  2009 floodplains
  
  2007 existing land use (via ECWRPC)
  
  
• Florence County (via Northwest RPC): 1999 and 2009 land use.

• Green County: 2007 tax parcels and assessment data, school districts, supervisory districts, voting wards, 20ft contours, lakes, soils, watersheds, subdivisions, PLSS sections, PLSS towns, MCDs, address grid, cell towers, EMS/Fire/Law zones, streets, private roads, zip codes, 2005 countywide MrSID 1.5' b/w orthophoto.

• Green Lake County:
  2011 LIDAR data / 2ft contours
  2009 tax parcels, transportation, MCDs, 4ft contours, 2005 6" b/w orthos
  

• Iowa County: 2008 road centerlines and tax parcels, 2005 b/w 18' orthophotos.

• Iron County:
  2009 county boundary, forests, tax parcels/assessment data, MCDs, school districts, PLSS, hydrography, transportation, general soils, tribal land; historic 2005 tax parcels and assessment data.
  
  2002 land use (via Northwest RPC)

• Jackson County: 2008 tax parcels, subdivisions, control corners, streets, address points, forestry, highways, streams, open water, railroads, ROW, PLSS, soils

• Jefferson County:
  2011 tax parcels/assessment data, roads, contours for select areas.
  
  2009 tax parcels/assessment data, roads, bike paths, contours for select areas.
  
  2007 conservation and public lands, roads, tax parcels/assesment data, environmental corridors, zoning, soils, trails, municipal boundaries, subdivisions, 2ft contours for Lake Ripley area, 2004-05 orthophotos.
  
  2006 tax parcels/assessment data, land use, subdivisions.
  
  
• Kenosha County (via SEWRPC): 1963, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 land use
  
  
• Kewaunee County:
  2009 tax parcels and assessment data, street centerlines, highways, 2009 orthophtos
  2006 trails, census, soils/sand&gravel/subsoils, hydrography, environmental corridors, fire departments, 100yr floodplains, alder districts, parks, admin boundaries, watersheds, hunting lands, bike trails, prime farmland, rescue squads, PLSS, school districts, telephone exchanges, MCDs, water table (within 3ft), watersheds/subwatersheds
  2006 land use (via Bay Lake RPC)
  

• Lincoln County: 2006 & 2007 5ft contours, landfill inventory, cultural and recreational data, infrastructure and utilities, tax parcels, soils, geology, watersheds, wetlands, other hydrography; 2001 and 2005 orthophotos.

• Madison, City of:
  2011 street centerlines, intersection controls, and traffic information (via MPO)
  
  2010 street centerlines, private streets, water utility easements, parcels and ownership, hydrography, municipal boundaries, place names, PLSS, sanitary/storm sewer easements (via City Engineer's Office)
  2010 bike routes, alder districts, bus routes, historic preservation districts (via MPO)
  
  2009 street centerlines, bike paths, park&ride locations, railroads, police sectors, school districts, MMSD school attendance areas
  
  2008 MCDs, bus routes, TAZ, bike routes and paths, parks, watersheds, zoning (via MPO)
  2008 City Engineer geodatabases: streets, parcels, ROW, water utilitiy & sewer easements, hydro, railroads, tax parcels, private streets
  
  2007 color 6" orthos, 2007 color IR 6" orthos (via City Engineer's Office)
  
  2005/2000/1990 land use (via MPO)
  2005 LIDAR floating point grids, point clouds, breaklines, 2ft contours (via City Engineer's Office)
  
  
  
• Manitowoc County: 2010 tax parcels and assessment data.
  2008 land use (via Bay Lake RPC)
  
  
• Marinette County (via Bay Lake RPC): 2001 and 2008 land use

• Marquette County: 2005 1ft b/w orthophotos, MrSID format.

• Menominee County: 200 7tax parcels/assessment data, contours, hydrology, roads, building footprints (.dwg files)

• Milwaukee County: 2007 (and historic 1995 and 2005)Automated Mapping and Land Information System data:
  2 foot contours, detailed planimetric/transportation, environmental, utilities, geodetic control.
  
  Orthophotos: 6in_2010, 1ft_2007, 1ft_2005.
  
  Cadastral/Parcel data 2007, 2008, 2009.
  
  1963, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 land use (via SEWRPC)

• Oconto County: 2009 (and historic 2005) tax parcels, hydrology, soils, wetlands, PLSS, and 2004 orthophotos.
  2007 land use (via Bay Lake RPC)

• Oneida County: 2009 tax parcels & assessment data, roads, addresses, PLSS, water, zoning, 2005 building footprints, jurisdictional boundaries, 2005 color orthophotos.
  
  
• Outagamie County (via ECWRPC): 2007 existing land use.

• Ozaukee County: 2005 contours, land use, street centerlines, tax parcels, natural areas, parks and open space, environmental corridors, groundwater inventory, watersheds, detailed planimetric data, 2005 orthophotos.
  1963, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 land use (via SEWRPC)
  
  
• Pepin County: 2009 tax parcels, addresses, roads, school districts, hydro, roads, boundaries.
  
  
• Polk County: 2011 tax parcels and assessment data, streets, public lands, hydro

• Portage County: 2008 rural and urban landuse, 2000 and 2005 spring orthophotos.

• Racine County: 2005 tax parcels, orthophotos, hydrology, land use, roads, wetlands, zoning, environmental corridors.
  1963, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 land use (via SEWRPC)

• Rock County: 2009 tax parcels and assessment data, airports, floodplains, hydrography, 2000 land use, MCDs, transportation, school districts, PLSS, zoning.
  
  
• Rusk County: 2009 countywide data in AutoCAD format (.dwg)

• St. Croix County: 2007 tax parcels, environmental corridors, hydrology, minor civil divisions, subdivisions, land cover, land use, 2004 1ft orthophotos.

• Sauk County: 2007 (and select 2011 updates) roads, wetlands, parcels, hydrology, contour grids, 2005 orthophotos.
  

• Sawyer County: 2007 hydrology, PLSS, reservation boundary, municipal boundaries, roads, soils, watersheds, wetlands, 2006 orthophotos.

• Sheboygan, City of: 2009 transportation, general features, hydro, tax parcels.

• Sheboygan County: 2006 tax parcels and assessment data (except for the City of Sheboygan).
  2002 land use (via Bay Lake RPC)

• Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (See Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington, & Waukesha counties): 1963, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 land use; watershed boundaries.
  
  
• Vernon County: 2011 tax parcels and assessment data
  
  
• Vilas County: 2010 (and 2011 updates) addresses, boat ramps, forest, trails, cultural points, municipal boundaries, tax parcels, roads, plss sections, snowmobile trails, tax exempt lands, hydro, zoning;
  2005 1ft color orthophotography (MrSID format)
  
  
• Walworth County (via SEWRPC): 1963, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 land use
  
  
• Washington County: 2010 cadastral data/parcels.
  1963, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 land use (via SEWRPC)

• Waukesha County: 2007-2009 tax parcels, roads, railroads, hydrology, subdivisions, plss, environmental data, transportation, soils, 2ft contours, school districts, supervisory districts, wetlands, wireless transmission facilities, zoning, census, FEMA floodplains, geology, soils, hydrography, wetlands, trails, water table elevation, admin districts/boundaries, MCDs, 2005 orthophotos.
  1963, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 land use (via SEWRPC)

• Waupaca County: AVAILABLE ONLINE (except contours) (Click Here)
  2010 addressing, adminsitrative districts, 2ft contours, natrual features, tax parcels and assessment data, parks and recreation, planning, plss, solid waste, zoning. Historic: 2007 forest programs, hydrology, parcels, railroads, road centerlines, zoning, land use,
  2005 orthophotos.

• Waushara County (via ECWPRC): 2000-2004 existing land use (by township).
  
  
• Winnebago County:
  2011 2ft contours
  2010 tax parcels, streets, rails, hydro, mcds, pavement
  2007 existing land use (via ECWRPC)
  

• Wood County: AVAILABLE ONLINE (Click Here)
  2008 Tax parcels and assessment data, PLSS, school districts, hydrography, transportation (roads, rails, ROW, etc.)
  

Online Geospatial Data Sources

Wisconsin Digital Orthophotos:
Comprehensive statewide USDA-NAIP (1m for 2005, 2m for 2006, 1ft urban areas for 2007, 1m for 2008, 1m for 2010) digital aerial photography for Wisconsin is available from the WisconsinView.org

About WisconsinView:
WisconsinView became a full member of the AmericaView Inc. consortium in April 2004. WisconsinView is built on a partnership between the University of Wisconsin - Madison's Environmental Remote Sensing Center ( ERSC ), and the State Cartographer's Office ( SCO ). The WisconsinView consortium is growing and has enlisted a number of key players in geospatial and information technology.


Wisconsin Data Sources:

WI CENSUS and other statistical data from the UW Applied Population Laboratory
A quick and simple way to view and download current and historical US Census statistical data and geospatial boundary files for Wisconsin from the Applied Population Lab. Most data is available in GIS-ready format(s).

WISCLINC - The Wisconsin Land Information Clearinghouse
WISCLINC is a clearinghouse effort in Wisconsin maintained by the Wisconsin State Cartographer's Office. WISCLINC is part of a network of NSDI nodes which contribute to the progress of federal initiatives such as Geospatial One Stop and the National Map. WISCLINC pulls together records of geospatial data, land records web sites and statewide land information inventory survey.

Wisconsin Land cover (WISCLAND) - Wisconsin Land cover data
WISCLAND is the Wisconsin Initiative for Statewide Cooperation on Landscape Analysis and Data, a partnership of public and private organizations seeking to facilitate landscape GIS data development and analysis.

WI DNR Interactive Web Mapping Applications
A list of 14 web mapping applications hosted by the DNR that include subjects such as floodplain management, DNR managed lands, natural heritage inventory, and others.

WI DNR's FTP site
Download data directly from the public FTP web site hosted by the WI DNR.

WI County Web Mapping Applications
A current list of Wisconsin counties that host online web mapping applications for viewing local GIS data. This list is maintained by David Hart of the UW Sea Grant Institute.

Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS) GIS Data and Maps
The WGNHS provides downloadable maps and GIS data in shapefile and coverage formats. These include bedrock geology, glacial geology, water-table elevation maps, etc.

Wisconsin Legislative Data form the WI State Legislature/Redistricting
Find relevant Wisconsin data for wards, congressional districts, senate and assembly boundaries, and other legislative information here.

U.S. Data Sources:

ArcGIS Online Maps and Tasks
ArcGIS Online hosts maps and tasks that can be used in ArcGIS clients. The maps and tasks are generally worldwide in coverage and most are updated at least twice per year. For more details about individual maps and tasks, see:

• Basemaps
• Demographic Maps
• Reference and Specialty Maps
• Bing Maps
• Tasks
  
  

Atlas of the Biosphere : Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE)
"The idea behind this website is simple: gather as much information about the environment as possible, and deliver it to as many people as possible. We are dedicated to bringing environmental information to the widest possible audience. Although we specifically target high school to university students and teachers, anyone can benefit from a stroll through our collection".

Census Bureau TIGER and TIGER/Line Mapping Center
Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) product information from the US Census Bureau, including up-to-date U.S. Census boundary shapefiles and relationship files.

Cropland Data Layer (USDA)
The Spatial Analysis Reseach Section released the 2009 Cropland Data Layer (CDL) for ALL Continental US States. All state products were issued in unsmoothed format, with the exception of Florida (i.e., citrus smoothing applied) with associated metadata. The file sizes are quite large and range between 13 - 100 megabytes per download.

Economic Data Resources : USDA ERS
ERS's highly trained economists and social scientists conduct research, analyze food and commodity markets, produce policy studies, and develop economic and statistical indicators. The agency’s research program is aimed at the information needs of USDA, other public policy officials, and the research community. ERS information and analysis is also used by the media, trade associations, public interest groups, and the general public. The Agency's work is structured among four Divisions:

• Food Economics
• Information Services
• Market and Trade Economics
• Resource and Rural Economics

ESRI Data - Free Data including Census 2000 and 2010
Lists available federal clearinghouses, as well as U.S. Census boundary files and demographic data in GIS-ready formats.

FEMA Map Service Center
Flood Rate Insurance Maps [FIRMs] on the Web

Forest Service Geospatial Clearinghouse (USFS)
Raster and vector forest data, state and private forestry assessment data, maps, etc.

Geodata.gov - "Geospatial One Stop", a U.S. e-Gov initiative.
Data Categories:
Imagery | Base Maps | Administrative and Political Boundaries | Agriculture and Farming Soil Resources / Water Resources | Atmosphere and Climatic | Biology and Ecology | Cadastral | Cultural, Society, and Demographic Demographic | Elevation and Derived Products | Derived Elevation Data and Products | Environment and Conservation Land Cover | Geological and Geophysical | Human Health and Disease | Imagery and Base Maps Orthoimagery | Inland Water Resources | The Drainage Network | Locations and Geodetic Networks | Oceans and Estuaries | Transportation Networks | Utilities and Communication

Geospatial Data Gateway
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. This site includes county and state level data, including but not limited to: DRGs, DEMs, census data, land cover, quad indexes, digital orthophotos, etc.

The GIS Data Depot
(GeoCommunity Data Clearinghouse) Available data include DOQQs, DRGs, DEMs, Census data, hydrology, land use/land cover, etc.

The National Atlas
U.S. Department of the Interior (map layers are available for download via the "Map Layers Data Warehouse". An index lists all of the map layers currently contained in nationalatlas.gov, by broad subject categories that correspond to the chapters of the National Atlas: Agriculture, Biology, Boundaries, Climate, Environment, Geology, History, Map Reference, People, Transportation, Water.

The National Map
(USGS) Provides public access to high-quality, geospatial data and information from multiple partners to help support decision making by resource managers and the public. The National Map is the product of a consortium of Federal, State, and local partners who provide geospatial data to enhance America's ability to access, integrate, and apply geospatial data at global, national, and local scales.

The National Spatial Data Infrastructure Clearinghouse
(NSDI) - Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)

The National Wetlands Inventory
Digital wetlands data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Branch of Habitat Assessment.

Seamless Data Distribution System
National Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Web mapping application for viewing and downloading popular USGS datasets.

Soil Data Mart
NRCS detailed soil digital data (shapefiles. coverages, and .e00s) and attribute (tabular) data by county for the entire U.S.

Soil Data Viewer
Soil Data Viewer is a tool built as an extension to ArcMap that allows a user to create soil-based thematic maps. The application can also be run independent of ArcMap, but output is then limited to a tabular report.

Starting the Hunt: Guide to Mostly On-Line and Mostly Free U.S. Geospatial and Attribute Data
Guide to finding free sources for U.S. geospatial data (from the University of Arkansas)

USGS Geographic Data Download
Quick links to many of the popular USGS datasets for direct downloading (no online viewing), including Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), National Elevation Dataset (NED), National Land Use & Land Cover (LULC), and the National hydrology Dataset (NHD).

USGS Digital Topographic Map Download
Download free USGS topographic maps at various scales. Use the "Map Locator" to select a site, view the quad boundaries and download a PDF.

International Data Sources:

GIS data by country
A comprehensive list of online international data sources from Stanford University.

Alphabetical Listing of Resources:

ADDS - Africa Data Dissemination Service
Tabular, spatial, and imagery data for the continent of Africa.

Antarctic Digital Database
The Antarctic Digital Database (ADD) is the premier source of vector topographic data for Antarctica. First published on CD-ROM in 1993, the current version is available for download from this site. The data are supplied in ARC/INFO uncompressed export format, compressed and encrypted for download using zip. The data are encrypted using an individual password which is supplied to registered users of the ADD site.

CARPE - Central African Regional Program for the Environment
An interactive web GIS for the Congo Basin and the CARPE Data Explorer lets you search and browse CARPE-related data and metadata. You can search by defining an area of interest, or by specifying a content type and an optional keyword. Alternatively, you can browse through data organized in various categories such a CBFP landscapes, countries, etc.

China Historical GIS - China Historical Geographic Information System
The China Historical Geographic Information System, CHGIS, project was launched in January 2001 to establish a database of populated places and historical administrative units for the period of Chinese history between 222 BCE and 1911 CE. CHGIS provides a base GIS platform for researchers to use in spatial analysis, temporal statistical modeling, and representation of selected historical units as digital maps.

CIESIN - Center for International Earth Science Information Network
CIESIN works at the intersection of the social, natural, and information sciences, and specializes in on-line data and information management, spatial data integration and training, and interdisciplinary research related to human interactions in the environment.

France: Open Access to French Government Data
Beta version as of December 2011. Open Access Portal to French Government inforamtion.

GeoGratis - GIS data for Canada
GeoGratis is a portal provided by the Earth Sciences Sector (ESS) of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) which provides geospatial data at no cost via your Web browser.

Geoscience Australia
Free GIS data downloads from the Australian government.

Global Land Cover Facility
The GLCF is a center for land cover science with a focus on research using remotely sensed satellite data and products to assess land cover change for local to global systems. Direct download global land cover data for use in a GIS.

Go-Geo! - GIS Database for the United Kingdom
Go-Geo! is a tool designed to help you find details about geospatial datasets and resources within Great Britain.

Natural Earth
Natural Earth is a public domain map dataset available at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110 million scales. Featuring tightly integrated vector and raster data, with Natural Earth you can make a variety of visually pleasing, well-crafted maps with cartography or GIS software.

Oak Ridge National Labs Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC)
(Biogeochemical and ecological data useful for studying environmental processes. These data have been collected on the ground, from aircraft, or by satellite or have been generated by computer models. The extent of data ranges from site-specific to global, and durations range from days to years.)

SAFARI - Southern Africa Regional Science Initiative
Visit the FTP download site for direct access to soils, hydrology, climate, satellite imagery,vegetation and wetlands data for the southern Africa region.

SALB - Second Administrative Level Boundaries
The Second Administrative Level Boundaries (SALB) dataset is a dataset aiming at improving the availability of information about administrative boundaries down to the second subnational level. The SALB dataset forms part of the UN geographic database and was developed in the  context of the United Nations Geographic Information Working Group (UNGIWG).

SEDAC - Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center
From CIESIN (Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University, NY).
SEDAC, the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center, is one of the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) in the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. SEDAC focuses on human interactions in the environment.

Streets/Transportation/International OpenStreetMap Data - Cloudmade.com
International streets data and transportation networks from OpenStreetMap data. Downloadable shapefiles for countries around the world!