Metadata for Montana Towns

Identification Information:
Citation:
Originator: Montana State Library
Publication date: 11/01/2003
Title: Montana Towns
Publication place: Helena, Montana
Publisher: Montana State Library
Online linkage: http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/shape/ct107.zip
Browse graphic file name: http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/ct107.gif

Abstract:
Location and estimated 1990 and 2000 population of 624 towns in Montana, with number of schools and estimated percent minority population.
Purpose: Display and analysis of location of Montana towns.
Supplemental information:
Many of these towns are incorporated places or Census Designated places. The populations of these towns are the populations recorded for these places in the 1990 and 2000 Census. The boundaries of these places in 1990 are available at http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/ct101.html. The boundaries of the places in 2000 are available at http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/place2000.html.

Some Census Designated places have different names than the corresponding town in this data set -- these names are given in the alt_name field. There are many Census Designated places that are not in this data set.

Many of these towns are not Census Designated places, and some Census Designated places cover more than one of these towns. In these cases, the populations are estimated by adding the population of all Census Blocks that fall completely within a two-mile diameter circle centered on the town to the part of the Census Blocks that are partially within the circle, in proportion according to the percentage of each block that is within the circle.

Where a town is closer than one mile to another town, population was estimated with a two-kilometer diameter circle or a manually defined area rather than a two-mile diameter circle. The populations of Butte and Anaconda are also estimated based on manually-defined areas, since there is no incorporated or Census designated area that corresponds to the built-up areas of these towns. The manually-defined areas are distributed with the towns shapefile in a shapefile named "estborder".

For some towns, the population estimate is zero because no Census Blocks are completely within the circle and because of the low population density of the Census Blocks near the town. This does not imply that the State Library believes that the population of these towns is zero. Look at the max90_2mi and max00_2mi fields to see how many people might live in or close to these towns.

Where a town was not a Census Designated Place in 1990 but is a Census Designated Place in 2000, the 1990 population is an estimated population for the area covered by the 2000 definition of the place.

Time period of content:
Calendar date: 04/01/2000
Currentness reference: publication date
Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance and update frequency: Decennial
Access constraints: None
Use constraints: None
Point of contact:
Gerry Daumiller
Senior GIS Programmer
Montana State Library
P.O. Box 201800
Helena, Montana 59620-1800


Telephone: (406) 444-5358
Fax: (406) 444-0581
E-Mail: gdaumiller@mt.gov


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Data Quality Information:
Attribute accuracy report:
Population data are based on 1990 and 2000 Censuses. For most incorporated places and Census Designated places, these are the numbers reported by the Census. These towns have a value of "Census Count" in the EST_METHOD field. See the Census Bureau web site for discussions on the accuracy of the Census.

Population estimates of other towns, and the 1990 population of places newly designated in 2000, are based on the population of Census Blocks in a region around the town, using the percent of each Census Block that is within the region. The regions are defined by the EST_METHOD field.

Because the actual proportion of the population from the Census Blocks that are partially within the regions cannot be known, the towns whose population are based on partial Census Blocks have fields that give the maximum and minimum possible population.

For some towns, the population estimate is zero because no Census Blocks are completely within the region and because of the low population density of the Census Blocks near the town. This does not imply that the State Library believes that the population of these towns is zero. Look at the max90_2mi and max00_2mi fields to see how many people might live in or close to these towns.

1990 percent minority is the percent of the population that are not non-hispanic whites. 2000 percent minority is the percent of the population that did not identify themselves as non-hispanic whites and one race only.

Logical consistency report: None
Completeness report:
The towns were selected to generally match the places shown on the official 1998 Montana State Highway map. There were a few towns ommitted from and added to this list.


Horizontal Posistional Accuracy Report:
The coordinate for each town is someplace within the area considered to define the town.

Lineage:
Source information:
Originator: U.S. Geological Survey
Publication date: 1992
Title: Geographic Names Information System
Publication place: Reston, VA
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
Online linkage: http://geonames.usgs.gov
Source scale denominator: 24000
Type of source media: online
Source contribution:
This is the source for the coordinate, name, and county of each town.
Calendar date: 1992
Source information:
Originator: U.S. Census Bureau
Publication date: 08/08/1992
Title: 1990 Census Blocks with Population Data
Publication place: Helena, MT
Publisher: Montana State Library
Online linkage: http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/cb4.html
Source scale denominator: 100000
Type of source media: online
Source contribution:
This is the source of the 1990 Census block locations and populations that were used to estimate the 1990 population and percent minority of the towns that were not incorporated or Census Designated places in 1990.
Calendar date: 04/01/1990
Source information:
Originator: U.S. Census Bureau
Publication date: 1990
Title: 1990 Population of Places
Publication place: Helena, MT
Publisher: Census and Economic Information Center
Online linkage: http://ceic.commerce.mt.gov/Demog/1990dec/popplc.HTM
Type of source media: online
Source contribution:
This is the source of the 1990 populations of the incorporated and Census Designated places.
Calendar date: 04/01/1990
Source information:
Originator: U.S. Census Bureau
Publication date: 2001
Title: 2000 Census Blocks with Population Data
Publication place: Helena, MT
Publisher: Montana State Library
Online linkage: http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/tgr2000/default.asp?Dtype=statep
Source scale denominator: 100000
Type of source media: online
Source contribution:
This is the source of the 2000 Census block locations and populations that were used to estimate the 2000 population and percent minority of the towns that were not incorporated or Census Designated places in 2000.
Calendar date: 04/01/2000
Source information:
Originator: U.S. Census Bureau
Publication date: 06/30/2001
Title: 2000 Incorporated and Census Designated Places
Publication place: Helena, MT
Publisher: Montana State Library
Online linkage: http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/place2000.html
Source scale denominator: 100000
Type of source media: online
Source contribution:
This is the source of the area covered by and the 2000 populations of the incorporated and Census Designated places.
Calendar date: 04/01/2000
Source information:
Originator: Montana Office of Public Instruction
Publication date: Unpublished Material
Title: List of Public Schools
Type of source media: disc
Source contribution:
This database was used to count the number of schools in each town.

Process step:
Select towns from the GNIS database, join incorporated and Census Designated places to their populations from the 1990 Census table, and estimate the population of the remaining towns with the 1990 Census Blocks data. These estimated populations, stored in the "est98" field, are very subjective.
Process date: 09/01/1998
Process step:
Count the number of schools in each town and figure the 1990 percent minority population.
Process date: 09/01/1998
Process step:
Join the towns to the 2000 Census populations of incorporated and Census Designated places. Determine which towns are newly added to the Census Designated Place list and estimate the 1990 population of the regions covered by these places.
Process date: 06/02/2003
Process step:
Estimate the 1990 and 2000 population of the towns that are not Census Designated places. Estimate the 2000 percent minority population of all the towns.
Process date: 06/02/2003
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Spatial Data Organization Information:
Point and vector object information:
SDTS object type: Entity point
SDTS object count: 624
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Spatial Reference Information:
Horizontal coordinate system definition:
Grid coordinate system name: State Plane Coordinate System
SPCS zone identifier: 2500
Lambert conformal conic:
Standard parallel: 45.000000
Standard parallel: 49.000000
Longitude of central meridian: -109.500000
Latitude of projection origin: 44.250000
False easting: 600000.000000
False northing: 0.000000
Planar distance units: meters
Geodetic model:
Horizontal datum name: North American Datum of 1983
Ellipsoid name: Geodetic Reference System 80
Semi-major axis: 6378137.000000
Denominator of flattening ratio: 298.257222
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Entity and Attribute Information:
Entity type label: towns.dbf
Entity type definition: Feature attribute table

Attribute label: FID
Attribute definition: Internal feature number.

Attribute label: Shape
Attribute definition: Feature geometry.

Attribute label: TOWNS_ID
Attribute definition: Unique Identification number

Attribute label: NAME
Attribute definition: Name of the town

Attribute label: COUNTY
Attribute definition: Name of the county that contains the town.

Attribute label: POP_1990
Attribute definition: 1990 population or population estimate
Attribute value accuracy information:

Attribute label: POP_2000
Attribute definition: 2000 population or population estimate
Attribute value accuracy information:

Attribute label: TYPE_1990
Attribute definition: Type of place, 1990.


Attribute
Value
Definition of
Attribute Value
Census Designated Place A non-incorporated place with boundaries and population defined by the U.S. Census Bureau
City area, City/County Entity The urbanized area of Butte or Anaconda, which do not have a Census designated boundary or population.
Incorporated Place A place with a boundary defined under Montana law and population defined by the U.S. Census Bureau
Other Place A town that does not have a legally- or U.S. Census-defined boundary, whose population is estimated.
Other Place with a Library A town, which has a library, that does not have a legally- or U.S. Census-defined boundary, whose population is estimated.

Attribute label: TYPE_2000
Attribute definition: Type of place, 2000

Attribute label: EST_METHOD
Attribute definition: Method used to estimate population


Attribute
Value
Definition of
Attribute Value
Census Count pop_1990 and pop_2000 are the actual U.S. Census counts for an incorporated or Census Designated place
1990 estimate of 2000 place pop_2000 is the actual U.S. Census count of a Census Designated place, pop_1990 is an estimate of the 1990 population of the area of the 2000 place, based on the 1990 Census Blocks that are totally with the place and the proportional area of 1990 Census Blocks that are partially within the 2000 definition of the place.
2-kilometer diameter circle Population is an estimate based on the proportion of Census Blocks contained within a 2-kilometer diameter circle centered on the town.
2-mile diameter circle Population is an estimate based on the proportion of Census Blocks contained within a 2-mile diameter circle centered on the town.
Manually defined region Population is an estimate based on the proportion of Census Blocks contained within a manually defined region around the town. The manually defined regions are shown in the accompanying estborder shapefile.

Attribute label: LON
Attribute definition: Longitude position of the town
Range domain minimum: -115.9561
Range domain maximum: -104.0444
Attribute units of measure: decimal degrees

Attribute label: LAT
Attribute definition: Latitude position of the town
Range domain minimum: 44.561
Range domain maximum: 48.999
Attribute units of measure: decimal degrees

Attribute label: ELEVATION
Attribute definition:
Elevation of the point location of the town, determined from the 3 arc-second digital elevation model.
Range domain minimum: 1919
Range domain maximum: 7608
Attribute units of measure: feet

Attribute label: SCHOOLS
Attribute definition: Number of public schools

Attribute label: MINOR1990
Attribute definition:
Percent of town population that is in a minority group (any group other than Non-Hispanic Whites) in 1990

Attribute label: MINOR2000
Attribute definition:
Percent of town population that is in a minority group (any group other than Non-Hispanic Whites) in 2000

Attribute label: ALT_NAME
Attribute definition:
Alternate name - this is the name of a Census Designated Place that partially corresponds to the town.

Attribute label: EST90_2KM
Attribute definition:
Estimated population, 1990, of a circle with a diameter of 2 kilometers centered on the town. Set to -1 if no estimate was performed.

Attribute label: MIN90_2MI
Attribute definition:
Population of 1990 Census Blocks that are completely inside a two-mile diameter circle centered on the town. Set to -1 if this was not determined.

Attribute label: EST90_2MI
Attribute definition:
Estimated population, 1990, of a circle with a diameter of 2 miles centered on the town. Set to -1 if no estimate was performed.

Attribute label: MAX90_2MI
Attribute definition:
Total population of 1990 Census Blocks that are wholly or partially inside a two-mile diameter circle centered on the town. Set to -1 if this was not determined.

Attribute label: EST00_2KM
Attribute definition:
Estimated population, 2000, of a circle with a diameter of 2 kilometers centered on the town. Set to -1 if no estimate was performed.

Attribute label: MIN00_2MI
Attribute definition:
Population of 2000 Census Blocks that are completely inside a two-mile diameter circle centered on the town. Set to -1 if this was not determined.

Attribute label: EST00_2MI
Attribute definition:
Estimated population, 2000, of a circle with a diameter of 2 miles centered on the town. Set to -1 if no estimate was performed.

Attribute label: MAX00_2MI
Attribute definition:
Total population of 2000 Census Blocks that are wholly or partially inside a two-mile diameter circle centered on the town. Set to -1 if this was not determined.

Attribute label: EST98
Attribute definition:
Estimate, made in 1998, of the 1990 population of a place. This was a subjective estimate, rounded to the nearest 5 or 10 persons for small places. Set to -1 if no estimate was made.
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Distribution Information:
Distributor:
Gerry Daumiller
Senior GIS Programmer
Montana State Library
P.O. Box 201800
Helena, Montana 59620-1800


Telephone: (406) 444-5358
Fax: (406) 444-0581
E-Mail: gdaumiller@mt.gov


Distribution liability:
Users must assume responsibility to determine the usability of this data for their purposes.

Standard order process:
Digital form:
Format name: ESRI Shapefile
Online option:
http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/shape/ct107.zip
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Metadata Reference Information:
Metadata date: 10/24/2003
Metadata contact:
Gerry Daumiller
Montana State Library
P.O. Box 201800
Helena, Montana 59620-1800


Telephone: (406) 444-5358
Fax: (406) 444-0581
E-Mail: gdaumiller@mt.gov


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