Help on Clearinghouse

The Clearinghouse is a virtual collection of digital spatial data distributed over
many servers in the United States and abroad. The primary intention of the
Clearinghouse is to provide discovery services for digital data allowing users
to evaulate its quality through descriptions, known as "metadata." In most
metadata, one can find out how to acquire the data; in many cases, links to
the data or an order form are available online.

Digital spatial data are usable in geographic information systems and geographic
data viewers. Except for interactive mapping web services, most data advertised
in Clearinghouse are not ready-to-use maps, but the raw spatial data bases
that can generate them. As web mapping technology is standardized, this service
will allow users to find and display spatial data from multiple sources on one
web map browser.

Search of spatial data is performed through HTML only, Java map-based
forms, and a custom search interface, permitting search for map data based
on geographic extent of the data in your area of interest, time period of
coverage, where relevant, and full-text and fielded search. Explore the
following screens to perform search for data you are interested in!