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Geospatial Data Resources Guide: GIS Data Hosted at UW Libraries
University of Washington Geospatial Data
Geospatial datasets housed at the University of Washington Libraries have been migrated from shapefile format to storage within PostgreSQL database accessed through ESRIs Spatial Database Engine (SDE). Specific spatial datasets are organized based on geographic extent or source agency. Using the links in the sections below, spatial data can either be directly loaded into ArcGIS Desktop as a layer or downloaded as a zipped file in another format. Below are examples of the different data formats.
| Spatial Dataset Format | Icon | Format Description |
| SDE Dataset |  |
ArcGIS Layer File containing |
| Shapefile Dataset |  |
Zipped geospatial data in |
| Geodatabase |  |
Zipped geospatial data in |
| Coverage (.e00) |  |
Zipped geospatial data in |
Lists of datasets are hidden in collapsible sections, click on the purple arrow to expand or collapse the list of datasets.
 |
Collapsed List |
 |
Expanded List |
University of Washington Campus Data
Spatial datasets for the University of Washington such as building outlines and other layers.
Washington Cities
Spatial datasets available in the Maps Library originated from cities within the State of Washington. Some datasets are avalible for direct download while others can be copied from the physical media.
EarthCorps (formerly Seattle Urban Nature (SUN))
Washington Counties
Spatial datasets from counties within the State of Washington available in digital format. Some spatial datasets are directly downloadable while others are only available from the physical media.
U.S. Vector Data
Base datasets for the United States supplied by ESRI in the Maps and Media package.
US Census
Country Data
World Vector Data
Base datasets for the World supplied by ESRI in the Maps and Media package.
Connecting to the WAGDA 2.0 Server
UW students, faculty, and staff can access datasets via direct connection to our WAGDA SDE database.
- In the "Catalog" pane, under the "Project" tab, right-click on the empty area of the pane, point to "New," "New Database" then click "New Database Connection."
- You can also go to the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, click "Connection," "Database," then "New Database Connection"
- Then enter the following into the dialog box:
- Database Platform: PostgreSQL
- Instance: wagda.lib.washington.edu
- Authentication Type: Database authentication
- User Name: Guest (for on campus access) or UWNetID username (for off-campus access, see below for more details)
- Password: Anything (for on campus access) or UWNetID password (for off-campus access, see below for more details)
- Database: wagda
From on campus, you can use the username "guest" with anything as a password.
From off campus, you must first create an account in the database. Once you have created an account, use your UWNetID username and password to gain access. This method also works if you are on campus.
Need help connecting?
Need help? If you have troubles connecting to SDE or downloading data send an email to
uwlib-gis@uw.edu