This version of The Digital Chart of the World (DCW) is an Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) product originally developed for the US Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) using DMA data. This data was downloaded from the Penn State web site and then converted to Shapefile format using ArcMap.
This dataset is derived from the Vector Map (VMap) Level 0 database; the third edition of the Digital Chart of the World. The second edition was a limited release item published 1995 09. The product is dual named to show its lineage to the original DCW, published in 1992, while positioning the revised product within a broader emerging-family of VMap products.
VMap Level 0 is a comprehensive 1:1,000,000 scale vector basemap of the world. It consists of cartographic, attribute, and textual data stored on compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM). The primary source for the database is the National Imagery and Mapping Agency's (NIMA) Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) series. This is the largest scale unclassified map series in existence that provides consistent, continuous global coverage of essential basemap features. The database contains more than 1,900 megabytes of vector data and is organized into 10 thematic layers. The data includes major road and rail networks, major hydrological drainage systems, major utility networks (cross-country pipelines and communication lines), all major airports, elevation contours (1000 foot (ft), with 500ft and 250ft supplemental contours), coastlines, international boundaries and populated places.
