Geographic Information Systems make complex geospatial information and services accessible and useful for many types of applications. To aid in interoperability and sharing of information, the Minnesota geospatial community has developed a number of standards and specifications.
A Methodology for Measuring and Reporting Positional Accuracy in Spatial Data
IRM Standard 19, Version 1: (6-12-00) The purpose of this standard is to provide a single, uniform statistical methodology for estimating the positional accuracy of points on maps and in digital spatial data. Read the Full Document
CTU Identifier Codes
This standard provides a set of codes that uniquely identify more than 2700 cities, townships and unorganized territories (CTUs) within the state of Minnesota. (3-25-09) Read the Full Document
Codes for the Identification of Basins in Minnesota
This standard provides a common convention for identifying lakes and wetland basins in Minnesota. This standard has been developed to improve sharing and exchange of information about lake and wetland basins in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Division of Waters has the authority and responsibility for naming and numbering basins in Minnesota. (6-12-02) Read the Full Document
Codes for the Identification of Counties in Minnesota
IRM Standard 15, Version 1: (4-3-97)The purpose of this standard is to provide a single, common coding scheme for counties in Minnesota. It is intended to be used primarily when data are being transferred between a state agency and some external customer. Its use will improve the sharability of data resources created by Minnesota state and local government by avoiding unnecessary duplication and incompatibilities in the collection, processing and dissemination of data. Read the Full Document
Codes for the Identification of River Reaches and Watercourses in Minnesota
This standard describes two related concepts for identifying rivers, streams, and ditches in Minnesota. It brings together current state and federal river naming and identification practices into a common framework for data sharing and transfer. The standard comprises two concepts: 'reach' and 'watercourse.' (6-9-08) Read the Full Document
Codes for the Identification of Watersheds (Hydrologic Units) in Minnesota
This standard provides a common convention for identifying watersheds in Minnesota. This standard enables the transfer of data among agencies and external customers, provides consistency between state practices and federal identification and naming conventions for watersheds (referred to as hydrologic units), and promotes data integration across state lines and with national data sets.(6-21-06) Read the Full Document
Codes for the Identification of the States and the District of Columbia
The purpose of this standard is to provide a common coding scheme for states. It is intended to be used primarily when data are being transferred between a state agency and some external customer. Its use will improve the shareability of data resources created by Minnesota state and local government by avoiding unnecessary duplication and incompatibilities in the collection, processing and dissemination of data.(12-1-94) Read the Full Document
Coordinate Specifications for Spatial Data Exchange Between Minnesota State Agencies
IRM Standard 17, Version 1: (6-9-98) The purpose of this standard is to define a common framework for spatial data exchange. This benefits all consumers of state-produced data by eliminating the need to prepare customized procedures for processing coordinate information. Deploying the standard allows for the streamlining of exchange procedures between data producers and consumers, thereby reducing costs associated with data processing and handling. Read the Full Document
United States National Grid
This standard describes a method for presenting the United States National Grid (USNG) in cartographic products. (3-25-09) Read the Full Document
Minnesota Geographic Metadata
The purpose of this guideline is to provide that common approach for documenting all types of geographic data. (10-7-98) Read the Full Document
