GIS Data

The WVDEP provides download services for GIS data developed or maintained in-house. Our enterprise data is available for downloading from our Open Data Hub website and the links are below. Lidar data is available as LAS files. Nearly all commercial mapping software can read the shapefile format. In addition there are a variety of open source or free software that can read shapefiles, including QGIS, ArcGIS Earth and Google Earth Pro. Most vector data is updated daily Monday-Friday.

Vector data

WVDEP enterprise data in file geodatabase format can be downloaded directly. They are updated weekly.

Data used by DEP applications also can be downloaded through the WVDEP open data hub

Data Published by Other Offices

LiDAR Data

WVDEP Lidar data was collected by the Natural Resource Analysis Center at WVU under contract with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Mining and Reclamation.

The data was collected between 04/09/2010 and 12/13/2011 during leaf-off, snow and flood free conditions in the spring and fall. This is now an historical elevation data source. More current lidar is now available through the USGS 3DEP program.

The data format is 1.5x1.5 km LAS v1.2 files in UTM 17 NAD83 (CORS96), NAVD88 (GEOID09). Contractor software initially classified ground returns for comprehensive and bare earth tiles, but did not perform other classifications. The Technical Applications and GIS (TAGIS) unit at the WVDEP performed Quality control checking and error correction on a tile-by-tile basis before creating derived products and edited LAS files.

Individual LAS format tiles are available for download through the LiDAR application. Tiles are 1.5km square. Using the application is easy-- just zoom in until the 1.5km tile grid is visible and click on a tile. A popup window will contain a link to the tile. Tiles also can be downloaded directly from the lidar repository

Hardware and flight parameters:

Scanner: Optech ALTM-3100
Post Spacing (Average): 3.3 ft / 1.0 meter
Flying Height (Above Ground Level): 5,000-ft / 1,524 meters
Average Ground Speed: 135 knots (155 MPH)
Scanner Pulse Rate Frequency: 70,000 Hz
Scanner Frequency / Field of View: 35 Hz / 36 degrees (18 half angle)
Overlap (Average): 30%

lidar download areas

Lidar Documents & shapefiles:

1:250,000 Geology

Features digitized from the "Geologic Map of West Virginia" by D. H. Cardwell, 1968.