Introduction » CIS: background and data types » Data sets

Data sets

CIS comes bundled with data from the Countryside Surveys of 1990 & 1998 and with national and county political boundaries. These are available to user when CIS is downloaded and installed.
The built-in datasets include

  • Land Cover Map 2000
  • Countryside Survey 2000
  • Regions, Counties, Local Authorities
  • Ordnance Survey reference data (roads, rivers, etc.)
  • Ordnance Survey topography (altitude, slopes, etc.)

There is also the CIS website from which other data can be downloaded www.cis-web.org.uk/home/

Data in CIS is in a GRID or raster format either at a resolution of 1km2 or 10 km2.

Upland land cover (1km2)

Distrinution of Otters (10km2)

Additional data available to CIS includes MAGIC and Ordnance Survey data, which can be downloaded from the CIS website via the CIS Data Catalogue.
Ordnance Survey has provided Strategi data to CIS provides information on some general themes:

  • A Roads
  • B Roads
  • Foreshore Regions
  • Lakes
  • Minor Roads
  • Motorways
  • Primary Roads
  • Railways
  • Rivers
  • Urban Regions
  • Woodland Regions

MAGIC is a partnership project involving seven government organisations: Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Countryside Agency, English Heritage, English Nature, Environment Agency, Forestry Commission and ODPM (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)
The Magic datasets available in CIS are:

  • Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
  • Countryside Agency boundaries
  • Countryside Stewardship agreements
  • English Nature boundaries
  • Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  • Government office/ Defra regions
  • Greenbelt
  • Local Environment Agency Plans
  • Moorland Line
  • National Nature Reserves
  • Natural Areas
  • Objective 1 Areas
  • Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) agreements
  • Ramsar sites
  • Rural/urban definitions - 2001
  • Sites of Special Scientific Interest
  • Special Protection Areas (SPAs)
  • Woodland Trust Sites
  • Community Forests
  • Countryside Character Areas
  • English Heritage boundaries
  • Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  • Forestry Commission Conservancies
  • Grassland Inventory
  • Important Bird Areas
  • Lowland Grazing Marsh
  • National Forest
  • National Parks
  • NUTS (1,2,3) Boundaries (3 datasets)
  • Objective 2 Areas
  • Proposed National Parks
  • Registered / Historic Parks and Gardens
  • Scheduled Monuments
  • Special Areas for Conservation (SACs)
  • Woodland Grant Schemes
  • World Heritage Sites