Geospatial Data Guides

The Academic Data Center currently has access to a wealth of geospatial data, ranging from detailed local data to worldwide geospatial resources. Some data are downloadable online while others need to be requested at the ADC.

The following pages outline frequently-requested geospatial datasets by geographic region. Detailed information on data format, scale, time period, and access is also provided.

Ontario
Other Provinces/Territories
Canada
World

If need help finding and using geospatial data please do not hesitate to contact us at libdata@uwindsor.ca

Popular External Online Resources 

  • Scholars GeoPortal: a new geospatial data discovery tool provides search, preview, query, download and sharing functionality for a growing selection of geospatial datasets licensed by Ontario university libraries, covering such topics as land use, transportation networks, census boundaries, geology, soils, points of interest (such as schools, airports, and golf courses), imagery, and more. The current collections are from Statistics Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and DMTI Spatial Incorporated. Datasets are continually being added to the GeoPortal from these sources. See the Scholars GeoPortal user guide for detailed instructions.
  • GeoBase: seamless Canadian data including administrative boundaries, digital elevation data, geodetic network, geographic names, land cover, national hydro network, national road network and satellite imagery. GeoBase is being discontinued by the end of December 2014. For data formerly accessed via GeoBase, use the Open Government of Canada search tool.
  • GeoGratis: a wealth of vector/raster/tabular data distributed by Nature Resources Canada, such as the Atlas of Canada, National Topographic Database, land cover/land use data, Canadian digital elevation data, and satellite imagery etc. GeoGratis Catalogue and Search tool will shut down as of August 31, 2017. As of that date, you can consult the Open Government of Canada search tool. Use the HTML geospatial product index to visualize an inventory of the most popular GeoGratis collections and to download the files. You will also find a KMZ index to view in Google Earth.
  • Open Government of Canada search tool: search and access open data released by the Canadian federal government.

Data Use Restrictions

Most of the datasets are available to University of Windsor students, faculty and staff for academic research or teaching purpose through various licensing agreements with the federal, provincial and municipal governments as well as private companies. Online access to these licensed data may require user authentication (i.e., UWin ID and password). If these licensed data are requested in person at the Academic Data Center, you will be required to sign a data release agreement form before the data can be released.

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