North America Fossil Fuel Power Plants 2005

Overview This map layer presents a dataset of named populated places across North America, encompassing Canada, the United States, and Mexico, suitable for use at a continental scale of 1:10,000,000. The information is derived from the national mapping and census agencies of each country: Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It is a revised version of the 2004 data set, released as part of a joint venture coordinated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). Places, which refer to individual municipalities, are represented as points fitted to the North American Environmental Atlas roads, railroads, and hydrography layers, so that each point reflects the approximate location of a place relative to those features. The selection of populated places was based on local importance as indicated by population size, importance as a cross-border point, and occasionally other factors. All capital cities (national, provincial, territorial, or state) are included for Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The dataset supports multiple languages for attribute names, including English, Spanish, and French, facilitating accessibility across North America. It also includes standardized identifiers and classification codes for population class, capital status, country, and state or province for each place. Geographic Coverage The coverage spans North America, including the continental territories of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Features located outside these three countries are included only to provide geographic context and carry no completeness or accuracy guarantees from the contributing agencies. Data Sources and Licensing This data is produced by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), derived from national atlas and census programs in Canada (Natural Resources Canada, Statistics Canada), Mexico (INEGI), and the United States (U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Census Bureau). The compiled dataset is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing redistribution and adaptation with appropriate attribution. Update frequency: Irregular Limitations of use: Intended for continental-scale reference. Positional accuracy is dependent on the source data and integration processes. Data outside Canada, Mexico, and the United States is provided for context only; the CEC and partner agencies assume no responsibility for its completeness or accuracy. Vintage: The information presented in the map layer represents data compiled in 2009, based on national census records from 2000–2001. Applications (Intended Use) Continental-scale reference and base mapping Transportation and cross-border connectivity analysis Population distribution and urban settlement research Environmental and policy research requiring geographic context Educational and reference purposes Files Download

Overview This layer shows the grasslands priority conservation areas (GPCAs) within North America's Central Grasslands, an ecosystem considered among the most threatened on the continent and the world. GPCAs are areas of tri-national importance due to their ecological significance and threatened nature, which require international cooperation for their successful conservation. This layer is part of the North American Environmental Atlas, produced through a collaboration between the national atlas programs of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, in partnership with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The 55 original GPCAs were identified in 2004 by 36 experts from Canada, Mexico, and the United States, during a workshop co-organized by the CEC and The Nature Conservancy (TNC). In 2010, the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) updated the dataset using national and international land cover, elevation, habitat, species, and bird survey data, bringing the total to 59 GPCAs. Each area was scored and ranked based on its importance to key grassland species and the rate at which its habitat was being lost. Geographic Coverage This layer covers the Central Grasslands ecosystem of North America, spanning parts of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Data Sources and Licensing This dataset draws on more than 120 physical, biological, and social data sets from federal, state, and provincial governments, engineering and environmental firms, universities, industries, and conservation organizations, including USGS land cover and elevation layers, USGS Breeding Bird Surveys and Christmas Bird Counts, RMBO bird and vegetation surveys, and Canadian Wildlife Service bird surveys. Further detail on the selection methodology is available in the North American Grassland Priority Conservation Areas: Technical Report and Documentation. This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator. Update frequency: Not planned Limitations of use: None. Acknowledgement of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, and (or) the Nature Conservancy would be appreciated in products derived from these data. Vintage: 2010 Applications (Intended Use) Conservation planning and priority-setting for grassland habitats across North America. Biodiversity research and monitoring of grassland-dependent species. Cross-border collaboration in the conservation of shared grassland ecosystems. Land use and natural resource management, including habitat protection. Integration with other thematic layers in the North American Environmental Atlas for continental-scale analysis. Supporting environmental cooperation and policy-making among Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Files Download

Overview This map shows the estimated annual truck CO2 emissions for the year 2035 along the Mexico City to Montreal transportation corridor. Carbon dioxide emissions are measured as kilotonnes per kilometer. The transportation corridor is one of several that cross North America and the major roads are based on the North American Environmental Atlas' base layer. Major roads are divided, multi-lane, and limited access highways. The roads included are either those that connect major centers of population or selected frontier roads. Roads under construction are not shown. The data were collected by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) from various sources as part of the Greening North American Transportation Corridors: Challenges and Opportunities paper published by the CEC. The major source for data on truck movement was the FHWA's Freight Analysis Framework (FAF and FAF2). In Canada, the information included for the estimation came from Transport Canada truck flows. In Mexico, the information that was used included truck flows from the Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) and the Instituto Mexicano de Transporte (IMT). Other data sources encompass the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' (BTS) National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD) and North American Transborder Freight Data (NATFD), and other freight databases. Geographic Coverage The coverage spans North America, including Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Data Sources and Licensing Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The data is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing redistribution and adaptation with appropriate attribution. Update frequency: Not Planned Limitations of use: None. Acknowledgement of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation would be appreciated in products derived from these data. Vintage: 2035 Applications (Intended Use) Assessing projected truck CO2 emissions for 2035 along a major North American transportation corridor. Supporting transportation and environmental policy planning related to freight trucking. Informing research and education on transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. Integration with other thematic layers in the North American Environmental Atlas for continental-scale analysis. Supporting cross-border environmental cooperation and policy-making among North American nations. Files Download

Overview This 30-meter dataset reflects land cover information for 2010 from Mexico and Canada, and 2011 for Alaska and the conterminous United States. Each country developed its own classification method to identify land cover classes and provided an input layer to produce a continental land cover map across North America. The main inputs for image classification were 30-meter Landsat data; image selection varied by country according to site-specific requirements. Canada selected most images from 2010, with a few from 2009 and 2011; the United States primarily used 2011 imagery; and Mexico used all available images from 2010. National maps were generated for Canada by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS); for Mexico by the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad), National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía), and National Forestry Commission of Mexico (Comisión Nacional Forestal); and for the United States by the United States Geological Survey. Each country used its own approach, ancillary data, and mapping methodology, and the national datasets were then combined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) into a seamless North American product, merging four map sections: Alaska, Canada, the conterminous United States, and Mexico. The current version (version 3) includes updated data over Canada, provided by the CCRS and the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO) in February 2024, along with updated 2011 land cover datasets for Alaska and the conterminous United States, provided by the USGS in February 2024. The main change in Alaska relates to the inclusion of an improved road network. No updates were performed over Mexico for this version. Land Cover Classes The raster attribute table provides 19 thematic land cover classes plus a background value, with class names in English, Spanish, and French: 1: Temperate or sub-polar needleleaf forest 2: Sub-polar taiga needleleaf forest 3: Tropical or sub-tropical broadleaf evergreen forest 4: Tropical or sub-tropical broadleaf deciduous forest 5: Temperate or sub-polar broadleaf deciduous forest 6: Mixed forest 7: Tropical or sub-tropical shrubland 8: Temperate or sub-polar shrubland 9: Tropical or sub-tropical grassland 10: Temperate or sub-polar grassland 11: Sub-polar or polar shrubland-lichen-moss 12: Sub-polar or polar grassland-lichen-moss 13: Sub-polar or polar barren-lichen-moss 14: Wetland 15: Cropland 16: Barren lands 17: Urban and built-up 18: Water 19: Snow and ice Geographic Coverage The service covers Canada, the United States, and Mexico, including Alaska. Data Sources and Licensing This dataset is produced by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), derived from national land cover maps provided by Natural Resources Canada, the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, the National Forestry Commission; and the United States Geological Survey. The compiled dataset is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing redistribution and adaptation with appropriate attribution. Update frequency: Irregular Limitations of use: Intended for continental-scale reference. Vintage: 2010 Applications (Intended Use) Land cover review and continental- to national-scale mapping. Environmental monitoring and change detection over time. Spatial analysis and integration with other thematic layers in the North American Environmental Atlas. Supporting cross-border environmental cooperation and policy-making among North American nations. Files Download

Overview This map layer prepared by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) presents the cumulative impact of human activities on marine ecosystems across North America based on Halpern et al. 2008. A global map of human impact on marine ecosystems. Science 319 (5865): 948–952. To generate this map, a research team collected or created global maps of 17 different human activities, such as fishing and pollution, that have an impact on marine ecosystems, as well as maps of different marine ecosystems. The team quantified the vulnerability of each marine ecosystem to the different human activities, and this map of human impacts was made by combining the threat maps and the vulnerability scores. Geographic Coverage The coverage spans North American marine areas, including the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. Data Sources and Licensing Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Halpern et al. (2008). The data is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing redistribution and adaptation with appropriate attribution. Update frequency: Not planned Limitations of use: Acknowledgment of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and/or the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis is appreciated in products derived from these data. Vintage: 2007–2008 Applications (Intended Use) Marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management. Allocation of conservation resources and identification of priority areas for protection. Assessing cumulative human pressures on ocean ecosystems for research and education. Supporting cross-border environmental cooperation and policy-making among North American nations. Files Download

Overview This layer is an image of nighttime lights of North America, including the Caribbean and Mexico, produced through a collaborative effort between the national atlas programs of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, in partnership with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The data were collected in 1996 and 1997 as part of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) of the United States. DMSP satellites collect visible and infrared cloud imagery, as well as monitoring atmospheric, oceanographic, hydrologic, cryospheric, and near-Earth space environments. The program maintains a constellation of two sun-synchronous, near-polar orbiting satellites, with an orbital period of 101 minutes and an inclination of 99 degrees. This image was created during the periods 16–21 March 1996, 5–14 January 1997, and 3–12 February 1997, when the gain on the OLS sensor was turned down to 24 from the normal 64 decibels so that urban centers did not saturate the signal.  This is a revised version made in May 2002 map layer, with a corrected shoreline for Greenland. Geographic Coverage The coverage spans the North American continent, including Canada, Mexico, and the United States, as well as the Caribbean. Data Sources and Licensing Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), based on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC). The data is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing redistribution and adaptation, including for commercial purposes, with appropriate attribution. Update frequency: As needed Limitations of use: None. Acknowledgment of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and/or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) would be appreciated in products derived from these data. Vintage: 1996–1997 Applications (Intended Use) Visualizing urbanization and human settlement patterns across North America. Research on population distribution and land use as inferred from artificial lighting. Basemap and reference layer for continental-scale environmental analysis. Integration with other thematic layers in the North American Environmental Atlas for comprehensive continental analysis. Files Download