What's New?
NYS ITS Geospatial Services Welcomes You to Celebrate!
Geography Awareness Week November 17th - 21st
The 26th anniversary of GIS Day is November 19th! - engage on social media using #GISDay2025
Geography Awareness Week helps celebrate how important geographers are! GIS Day was first celebrated 26 years ago on November 18, 1999. It represents a way to help bring awareness to, educate, and showcase the power of GIS. More information can be found at the American Association of Geographers and National Geographic.
Visit Here to see some examples of famous GIS uses and maps from Cornell University's "Latitude" Exhibition!
Below is a list of some of the various events happening within NYS to celebrate GIS Day.
Albany - Binghamton - NYU - Staten Island
Governor Kathy Hochul at a news briefing for a wildfire in Ulster County. NYS ITS Geospatial Services' employees were at the incident providing GIS needs for the Incident Management Team.
Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion Map Projection - shows our planet as one island, in one ocean. This helps reduce size and shape distortions.
Cholera Map - commonly known as GIS' first use case. John Snow's 1854 map of cholera outbreak data led to the source of the issue at the Broad Street pump.
Projections Matter - instead of a geographic example, this shows how projections would distort a non-geo object...like a human face.
New Releases
Data Updates!
2025 Orthoimagery released for Chemung and Schuyler counties - more to come!
2023 NYS Lake Ontario Shoreline & 2024 USGS LIDAR is now available for download
What is GIS?
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is essentially a combination of maps and databases. GIS is a computer-based tool that can be used to capture, create, store, interpret, analyze, and visualize spatial data. Uses range from simple (viewing parcel data) to complex (criteria-based site selection for a proposed development). GIS is widely used and relies on data and information from many sources. The NYS GIS Clearinghouse helps connect users with GIS data, information, and fellow GIS users. To learn more, see our frequently asked questions (FAQs) or contact us.
GIS Distribution List
To stay up-to-date on changes to the Clearinghouse, please sign up for the NY GIS List (GISNY-L) hosted by the New York State Library.