Research Guides
GEOG 360 : Geospatial Resources Guide: Libraries Hosted GeoData
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 directly be 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 symbology and connection information for SDE |
| Shapefile Dataset |  |
Zipped geospatial data in shapefile format |
| Geodatabase |  |
Zipped geospatial data in ESRI geodatabase format |
| Coverage (.e00) |  |
Zipped geospatial data in ESRI coverage format |
Lists of datasets are hidden in collapsible sections, click on the purple arrow to expand or collapse the list of datasets.
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Collapsed List |
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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.
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.
Connecting to the WAGDA 2.0 Server
UW students, faculty and staff can access datasets via direct connection to our WAGDA SDE database. You must be an administrator on your machine.
- Download the SQL Client Library here: ftp://software.gis.washington.
edu/ESRI/ArcGISDesktop/ - Open the directory folder for your ESRI sofware version → DBMSSupportFiles directory → Windows or Linux → Download the PostgreSQL_Client_Libraries_
for_Windows_905_......exe - Run PostgreSQL_Client_Libraries_
for_Windows_905_......exe - In the Destination Folder for Files dialog box browse to or enter the following pathway (note that the pathway will need to be changed for your software version, i.e. ...\Desktop10.x\bin):
- In ArcCatalog click on "Add Database Connection" and enter the following into the Spatial Database Connection dialog box:
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 here. 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 datat send an email to uwlib-gisatlib@uw.edu.
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.