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NATIONAL HYDROGRAPHY DATASET
Description:
The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a feature-based database that interconnects and uniquely identifies the stream segments or reaches that comprise the nations surface water drainage system. It is based initially on the content of the U.S. Geological Survey 1:100,000-scale Digital Line Graph (DLG) hydrography data, integrated with reach-related information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Reach File Version 3.0 (RF3). More specifically, it contains reach codes for networked features and isolated lakes, flow direction, names, stream level, and centerline representations for areal water bodies. Reaches are also defined to represent waterbodies and the approximate shorelines of the Great Lakes, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the Gulf of Mexico. The NHD also incorporates the National Spatial Data Infrastructure framework criteria set out by the Federal Geographic Data Committee.