North American Environmental Atlas: Mapping North America's shared environment
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Commission for Environmental Cooperation North American Environmental Atlas
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Created through the cooperation of three national agency partners, the North American Environmental Atlas combines harmonized data from Canada, Mexico and the United States to allow for a continental and regional perspective on environmental issues that cross boundaries.
Transcript of North American Environmental Atlas: Mapping North America's shared environment
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Mapping North America’s shared environment
North American Environmental Atlas
[on the cover]
Land cover — The observed physical cover of Earth’s surface, which forms a foundation for understanding continental-scale environmental issues. It provides a snapshot of North America’s environment as a mosaic of forests, prairies, deserts and cities.
At first glance, the maps in the North American Environmental Atlas look no different from maps found on walls across the continent. These maps are unique, however, in that they harmonize geographic information across North America’s political boundaries to depict significant environmental issues at a continental scale.
Through a collaboration of government agencies in Canada, Mexico and the United States and the trilateral Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), the North American Environmental Atlas assembles seamless, accurate geospatial data, including maps, documentation, and interactive map layers generalized at a scale of 1:10,000,000 or finer. The variety of base and thematic map layers is continuously expanding, providing a foundation to analyze the status of environmental conditions and identify significant trends across North America.
MApping north AMericA’s shAred environMent
Irrigation planning
By looking at irrigation patterns within watersheds, users can see where land requires additional water for cultivation.
Human impact on protected areas
overlaying protected areas on a map of human influence allows users
to observe the potential for human encroachment on conservation areas.
Pollution and human health
A close-up of population density and the location of industrial facilities
reporting pollutants shows the proximity of these pollutants to urban centers.
Identifying the priorities
By using maps and information on biodiversity, threats and land cover, researchers can identify priority conservation areas within key ecosystems such as the grasslands.
Watersheds
human influence
industrial pollution
terrestrial ecoregions
the North American Environmental Atlas assembles a growing number of foundational and thematic map layers. By comparing these layers, users can better understand and quantify critical trends and interrelationships at a continental scale.
Watersheds
errestrial ecoregions
ndustrial pollutionndustrial pollution
Base map
the base map of north America is actually a collection of layers showing the continent’s infrastructure and
physical features, such as main transportation routes, waterways and cities. it highlights the connectivity
of the continent and interdependency of these systems.
Mapping North America’s shared environment
North American Environmental Atlas
Commission for Environmental Cooperation 393, rue St-Jacques Ouest, bureau 200Montréal (Québec) Canada H2Y 1N9t 514.350.4300 f [email protected] / www.cec.org
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Printed in Canada on paper containing 30% post-consumer fiber.
Created through the cooperation of three national agency partners, the North American Environmental Atlas combines harmonized data from Canada, Mexico and the United States to allow for a continental and regional perspective on environmental issues that cross boundaries. The Atlas continues to grow in breadth and depth as more thematic maps are createdthrough the work of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and its partners. Scientists and map makers from Natural Resources Canada, United States Geological Survey and Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía and other agencies in each country produced the information contained in the Atlas.
The collection of viewable maps, data, and downloadable map files is available without cost online at: www.cec.org/naatlas.
A north AMericAn pArtnership
