The StreamCat Web API, Web Tool, and R Package
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StreamCat is an extensive dataset of landscape metrics for ~2.65 million streams within the conterminous USA. StreamCat contains over 600 metrics that include local catchment and watershed metrics. StreamCat metrics represent both natural (e.g., soils and geology) and anthropogenic (e.g, urban areas and agriculture) landscape information. The StreamCat dataset provides an important tool for stream researchers and managers to understand and characterize the Nation’s rivers and streams. While StreamCat greatly reduces the specialized geospatial expertise needed to acquire landscape information at specific streams for both researchers and managers, there is still room to improve access to these data based on different users’ needs. In response, we have developed three different web tools to access StreamCat data: a map utility for accessing information on individual catchments and watersheds; a menu utility for getting information by regions, states, and counties; and an R programming interface for accessing StreamCat data using the R programming language. In this presentation, we provide an introduction to the StreamCat dataset and some of its applications, and then provide a series of live demonstrations on how to access and use the three different web tools.