Explore Watershed Land Use: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

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National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD)

NLCD data is one of the most frequently cited land classifications and provides our base description of the landscape. The data represents a breakdown of all land cover across Minnesota. As a general land cover classification it presents broad classes consistently represented throughout the United States. It is produced by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC), a cooperation of Federal Agencies, and is considered the “definitive Landsat-based, 30-meter resolution, land cover database for the Nation” (Homer et al., 2012).

About the Data

The data contains 20 unique land cover classes, 15 of which are present in Minnesota (see the classification legend below, under Resources)

NLCD data is available in 2 or 3 year intervals from 2001 to 2021. Use the year drop-down menu to switch between the available years.

NLCD data is consistent across the United States, enabling us to report land cover for watersheds that span beyond Minnesota’s state border.

The data is only available within the United States, and portions of a watershed that fall outside of the United States (i.e., in Canada) are reflected by the “Background” class.

The chart and table can be viewed with grouped classes or ungrouped classes, with all classes broken out individually. The radio buttons (grouped/ungrouped) control this setting.

Resources

NLCD Fact Sheet (PDF)

NLCD Classification Legend

References

Homer, C.H., Fry, J.A., and Barnes C.A. (2012). The National Land Cover Database (U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2012-3020). Retrieved from https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3020/fs2012-3020.pdf.

Watershed Health Assessment Framework: Land CoverWHAF: Land Covermenumenu

National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD)

Resources

References

Watershed Health Assessment Framework: Land CoverWHAF: Land Cover