Abstract: This dataset is produced for the Government of Alberta and is available to the general public. The Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) Watersheds of Alberta represents a collection of five nested hierarchically structured drainage basin feature classes that have been created using the Hydrologic Unit Code system of classification developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) with accommodation to reflect the pre-existing Canadian classification system. The pour points associated with the delineation of these watersheds have also been included as a point feature class. The HUC Watersheds of Alberta consist of successively smaller hydrologic units that nest within larger hydrologic units, resulting in a hierarchal grouping of alphanumerically-coded watersheds feature classes. These nesting watersheds feature classes were created using ArcHydro Tools v.2 (Alberta Environment and Parks) and are subject to periodic review and update. There are currently individual feature classes for HUC 2 (coarsest level), HUC 4, HUC 6, HUC 8 and HUC 10 (finest level). These are all contained within a single feature dataset. The HUC Watersheds of Alberta co-exists with the Watersheds of Alberta (GOA) as well as a number of other non-GOA watersheds datasets such as the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration watersheds data published by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The alphanumeric watershed coding follows the USGS system and also has a direct link to the Environment Canada Water Survey of Canada coding (as outlined by departmental Water Policy and Operations staff). Where possible, Water Survey of Canada regions (00XX level) were approximated by the HUC 6 level of delineation but some exceptions will be noted. Further delineation past the HUC 10 level may be required where smaller, more refined watershed units are needed. More information on the USGS hydrologic units can be found at http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/huc.html. It should be noted that the HUC Watersheds of Alberta feature class polygons may be represented as multipart polygons (i.e. there may be only one record in the database associated with more than one polygon). Multipart polygons are typically located in the same watershed or basin where by two (or more) polygons flow into another province or territory. Multipart polygons may be exploded into single part polygons if required. Note that this dataset replaces the Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta released on October 16, 2015. An area of approximately 3 381 hectares was deleted from HUC 11010404 (Elk River) and appended to HUC 11010401 (Brazeau River). The area amended is deemed to be part of the Brazeau Reservoir as opposed to the Elk River.There was an additional update to HUC 8 in May 2021. Please see the HUC 8 metadata for details.
Metadata:
File identifier:
017387ED-2EB1-4D16-868E-B019E3DA12E5
Language:
Language Code:
eng
Character set:
Character set code:
utf8
Hierarchy level:
Scope code:
dataset
Metadata author:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Position name:
Water, Biodiversity and Data Standards, Resource Stewardship Division
Contact info:
Contact:
Address:
Address:
Delivery point:
2nd Floor, Great West Life Building
Delivery point:
9920 - 108 Street
City:
Edmonton
Administrative area:
Alberta
Postal code:
T5K 2M4
Country:
Country:
CA
Electronic mail address:
Chad.Sherburne@gov.ab.ca
Hours of service:
08:15 to 16:30, Monday to Friday
Contact instructions:
This is the point of contact regarding the creation of, and characteristics of, metadata for the data set.
Queries about the creation and/or characteristics of the metadata submitted through facsimile or
electronic mail must include the salutation "Attention: Chad Sherburne, Provincial Programs Delivery
Branch, Operations Division; Dataset: "Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta". For Distribution
Information contact instructions, refer to the Distribution Information section of this metadata record.
Role:
Role code:
publisher
Date stamp:
2021-06-08
Metadata standard name:
NAP - Metadata
Metadata standard version:
1.2
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Vector spatial representation:
Geometric objects:
Geometric objects:
Geometric object type:
Geometric object type code:
complex
Geometric object count:
1
Geometric objects:
Geometric objects:
Geometric object type:
Geometric object type code:
complex
Geometric object count:
422
Geometric objects:
Geometric objects:
Geometric object type:
Geometric object type code:
point
Geometric object count:
841
Geometric objects:
Geometric objects:
Geometric object type:
Geometric object type code:
complex
Geometric object count:
19
Geometric objects:
Geometric objects:
Geometric object type:
Geometric object type code:
complex
Geometric object count:
132
Geometric objects:
Geometric objects:
Geometric object type:
Geometric object type code:
complex
Geometric object count:
42
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Reference system:
Reference system identifier:
RS Identifier:
Code:
3400
Code Space:
EPSG
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Data identification:
Citation:
Citation:
Title:
Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta
Alternate title:
HUC Watersheds
Date:
Date:
Date:
2017-06-01
Date type:
Date type code:
creation
Date:
Date:
Date:
2021-05-07
Date type:
Date type code:
publication
Cited responsible party:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Position name:
Water, Biodiversity and Data Standards, Resource Stewardship Division
Contact info:
Contact:
Address:
Address:
Delivery point:
2nd Floor, Great West Life Building
Delivery point:
9920 - 108 Street NW
City:
Edmonton
Administrative area:
Alberta
Postal code:
T5K 2M4
Country:
Country:
CA
Electronic mail address:
Chad.Sherburne@gov.ab.ca
Hours of service:
08:15 to 16:30, Monday to Friday
Contact instructions:
This is the point of contact regarding the creation of, and characteristics of, metadata for the
data set. Queries about the creation and/or characteristics of the metadata submitted through
facsimile or electronic mail must include the salutation "Attention: Chad Sherburne, Provincial
Programs Delivery Branch, Operations Division; Dataset: "Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of
Alberta". For Distribution Information contact instructions, refer to the Distribution
Information section of this metadata record.
Role:
Role code:
originator
Presentation form:
Presentation form code:
mapDigital
Abstract:
This dataset is produced for the Government of Alberta and is available to the general public. The Hydrologic
Unit Code (HUC) Watersheds of Alberta represents a collection of five nested hierarchically structured
drainage basin feature classes that have been created using the Hydrologic Unit Code system of
classification developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) with accommodation to reflect the
pre-existing Canadian classification system. The pour points associated with the delineation of these
watersheds have also been included as a point feature class. The HUC Watersheds of Alberta consist of
successively smaller hydrologic units that nest within larger hydrologic units, resulting in a hierarchal
grouping of alphanumerically-coded watersheds feature classes. These nesting watersheds feature classes were
created using ArcHydro Tools v.2 (Alberta Environment and Parks) and are subject to periodic review and
update. There are currently individual feature classes for HUC 2 (coarsest level), HUC 4, HUC 6, HUC 8 and
HUC 10 (finest level). These are all contained within a single feature dataset. The HUC Watersheds of
Alberta co-exists with the Watersheds of Alberta (GOA) as well as a number of other non-GOA watersheds
datasets such as the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration watersheds data published by Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada. The alphanumeric watershed coding follows the USGS system and also has a direct link to
the Environment Canada Water Survey of Canada coding (as outlined by departmental Water Policy and
Operations staff). Where possible, Water Survey of Canada regions (00XX level) were approximated by the HUC
6 level of delineation but some exceptions will be noted. Further delineation past the HUC 10 level may be
required where smaller, more refined watershed units are needed. More information on the USGS hydrologic
units can be found at http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/huc.html. It should be noted that the HUC Watersheds of
Alberta feature class polygons may be represented as multipart polygons (i.e. there may be only one record
in the database associated with more than one polygon). Multipart polygons are typically located in the same
watershed or basin where by two (or more) polygons flow into another province or territory. Multipart
polygons may be exploded into single part polygons if required. Note that this dataset replaces the
Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta released on October 16, 2015. An area of approximately 3 381
hectares was deleted from HUC 11010404 (Elk River) and appended to HUC 11010401 (Brazeau River). The area
amended is deemed to be part of the Brazeau Reservoir as opposed to the Elk River.There was an additional
update to HUC 8 in May 2021. Please see the HUC 8 metadata for details.
Purpose:
The Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta collection of feature classes is intended to define hydrologic
units that form a standardized baseline which covers the province of Alberta. Successively smaller
hydrologic units are nested within larger hydrologic units to create hierarchal watershed boundaries. These
standard units are based on sound hydrologic principles (flow direction) and have been reconciled between
and within the feature classes that form the dataset. Existing high resolution watersheds or catchment
polygons have been collated into larger watershed units to achieve the hierarchical, nested polygon dataset
structure.
Status:
Progress code:
completed
Point of contact:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Position name:
Water, Biodiversity and Data Standards, Resource Stewardship Division
Contact info:
Contact:
Address:
Address:
Delivery point:
2nd Floor, Great West Life Building
Delivery point:
9920 - 108 Street
City:
Edmonton
Administrative area:
Alberta
Postal code:
T5K 2M4
Country:
Country:
CA
Electronic mail address:
Chad.Sherburne@gov.ab.ca
Hours of service:
08:15 to 16:30, Monday to Friday
Contact instructions:
This is the point of contact regarding the creation of, and characteristics of the data set. Queries
about the creation of the dataset submitted through facsimile or electronic mail must include the
salutation "Attention: Chad Sherburne, Provincial Programs Delivery Branch, Operations Division;
Dataset: "Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta". For Distribution Information contact
instructions, refer to the Distribution Information section of this metadata record. For Metadata
Information contact instructions, refer to the Metadata Reference Information section of this
metadata record.
Role:
Role code:
pointOfContact
Resource maintenance:
Maintenance information:
Maintenance and update frequency:
Maintenance frequency code:
asNeeded
Descriptive keywords:
Keywords:
Keyword:
Alberta, Canada
Type:
Keyword type code:
place
Descriptive keywords:
Keywords:
Keyword:
basin
Keyword:
drainage area
Keyword:
HUC
Keyword:
hydrologic unit code
Keyword:
hydrologic
Keyword:
catchment
Keyword:
watershed
Type:
Keyword type code:
theme
Resource constraints:
Legal constraints:
Access constraints:
Restriction code:
otherRestrictions
Other constraints:
To access the data you must agree to the terms of the Non-Commercial Licence – Alberta.
Resource constraints:
Legal constraints:
Use constraints:
Restriction code:
license
Other constraints:
Your use of this information will be governed by the terms of the Non-Commercial Licence – Alberta, in
force as of the date you accessed the information, found at
https://extranet.gov.ab.ca/srd/geodiscover/srd_pub/NonCommercialLicence.pdf
Resource constraints:
Legal constraints:
Use limitation:
Distribution Liability: The Information is licensed “as is”, and the Information Provider excludes all
representations, warranties, obligations, and liabilities, whether express or implied, to the maximum
extent permitted by law. The Information Provider is not liable for any errors or omissions in the
Information, and will not under any circumstances be liable for any direct, indirect, special,
incidental, consequential, or other loss, injury or damage caused by its use or otherwise arising in
connection with this licence or the Information, even if specifically advised of the possibility of such
loss, injury or damage.
Resource constraints:
Security constraints:
Classification:
Classification code:
unclassified
User note:
Public/Unrestricted
Classification system:
GOA Data and Information Security Classification
Handling description:
https://imtpolicy.sp.alberta.ca/standards/pdf/Data-and-Information-Security-Classification-Standard.pdf
Aggregation Info:
AggregateInformation:
Aggregate Data Set Name:
Citation:
Title:
Watersheds of Alberta (GOA)
Date:
Date:
Date:
2014-12-31
Date type:
Date type code:
publication
Cited responsible party:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Contact info:
missing
Role:
Role code:
originator
Cited responsible party:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Contact info:
Contact:
Address:
Address:
Delivery point:
Edmonton, Alberta
Role:
Role code:
publisher
Presentation form:
Presentation form code:
mapDigital
Other citation details:
Previous versions of this data set have been made available as "Watersheds of Alberta 2011",
"Watersheds of Alberta", and "Drainage Basins of Alberta". All of these former data sets are no
longer valid and have been superseded by Watersheds of Alberta (GOA).
Association Type:
Association type code:
crossReference
Aggregation Info:
AggregateInformation:
Aggregate Data Set Name:
Citation:
Title:
Hydrologic Unit Code 4 Watersheds of Alberta
Date:
Date:
Date:
2014-08-15
Date type:
Date type code:
publication
Cited responsible party:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Contact info:
missing
Role:
Role code:
originator
Other citation details:
There are 6 feature classes within the Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta feature dataset: HUC
2, HUC 4, HUC 6, HUC 8 and HUC 10 (coarsest to finest) plus the Pour Points
Association Type:
Association type code:
crossReference
Aggregation Info:
AggregateInformation:
Aggregate Data Set Name:
Citation:
Title:
Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta Pour Points
Date:
Date:
Date:
2014-08-15
Date type:
Date type code:
publication
Cited responsible party:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Contact info:
missing
Role:
Role code:
originator
Other citation details:
There are 6 feature classes within the Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta feature dataset: HUC
2, HUC 4, HUC 6, HUC 8 and HUC 10 (coarsest to finest) plus the Pour Points
Association Type:
Association type code:
crossReference
Aggregation Info:
AggregateInformation:
Aggregate Data Set Name:
Citation:
Title:
Hydrologic Unit Code 10 Watersheds of Alberta
Date:
Date:
Date:
2017-05-31
Date type:
Date type code:
publication
Cited responsible party:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Contact info:
missing
Role:
Role code:
originator
Other citation details:
There are 6 feature classes within the Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta feature dataset: HUC
2, HUC 4, HUC 6, HUC 8 and HUC 10 (coarsest to finest) plus the Pour Points
Association Type:
Association type code:
crossReference
Aggregation Info:
AggregateInformation:
Aggregate Data Set Name:
Citation:
Title:
Hydrologic Unit Code 8 Watersheds of Alberta
Date:
Date:
Date:
2014-08-15
Date type:
Date type code:
publication
Cited responsible party:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Contact info:
missing
Role:
Role code:
originator
Other citation details:
There are 6 feature classes within the Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta feature dataset: HUC
2, HUC 4, HUC 6, HUC 8 and HUC 10 (coarsest to finest) plus the Pour Points
Association Type:
Association type code:
crossReference
Aggregation Info:
AggregateInformation:
Aggregate Data Set Name:
Citation:
Title:
Hydrologic Unit Code 6 Watersheds of Alberta
Date:
Date:
Date:
2014-08-15
Date type:
Date type code:
publication
Cited responsible party:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Contact info:
missing
Role:
Role code:
originator
Other citation details:
There are 6 feature classes within the Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta feature dataset: HUC
2, HUC 4, HUC 6, HUC 8 and HUC 10 (coarsest to finest) plus the Pour Points
Association Type:
Association type code:
crossReference
Aggregation Info:
AggregateInformation:
Aggregate Data Set Name:
Citation:
Title:
Hydrologic Unit Code 2 Watersheds of Alberta
Date:
Date:
Date:
2014-08-15
Date type:
Date type code:
publication
Cited responsible party:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Contact info:
missing
Role:
Role code:
originator
Other citation details:
There are 6 feature classes within the Hydrologic Unit Code Watersheds of Alberta feature dataset: HUC
2, HUC 4, HUC 6, HUC 8 and HUC 10 (coarsest to finest) plus the Pour Points
Association Type:
Association type code:
crossReference
Spatial representation type:
Spatial representation type code:
vector
Language:
Language Code:
eng
Character set:
Character set code:
utf8
Topic category:
Topic category code:
geoscientificInformation
Topic category:
Topic category code:
inlandWaters
Environment description:
Microsoft Windows 7 Version 6.1 (Build 7601) Service Pack 1; Esri ArcGIS 10.1.1.3143
Extent:
Extent:
Geographic element:
Geographic bounding box:
West bound longitude:
-120
East bound longitude:
-110
South bound latitude:
49
North bound latitude:
60
Supplemental Information:
Watershed boundaries will vary between existing watershed/basin GIS layers available from the Government of
Alberta and the Government of Canada. The user takes full responsibility understanding the spatial and
temporal limitations of the HUC Watersheds of Alberta. More information concerning data sources used can be
found within the department using the keywords listed below. Updates to this dataset will not necessarily be
performed upon further review of existing watershed units. All rights reserved. HUC Watersheds of Alberta
data is subject to change without notice. The Government of Alberta assumes no responsibility for
discrepancies at time of use. Watershed unit delineation follows ArcHydro Tools v2 process, as outlined by
the ArcHydro Tools Community of Practice (COP). Scale and accuracy of the HUC Watersheds of Alberta mimic
the scale and accuracy of data contained in ArcHydro Tools geodatabase. Metadata is available for those
datasets.
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Distribution:
Distribution format:
Format:
Name:
ESRI File Geodatabase
Version:
10.7.1
Specification:
FGDB
File decompression technique:
ZIP
Distribution format:
Format:
Name:
ESRI Shapefile
Version:
10.7.1
Specification:
SHP
File decompression technique:
ZIP
Distributor:
Distributor:
Distributor contact:
Responsible party:
Organisation name:
Alberta Environment and Parks, Government of Alberta
Position name:
Provincial Geospatial Centre
Contact info:
Contact:
Phone:
Telephone:
Voice:
7804277374
Facsimile:
7804220712
Address:
Address:
Delivery point:
9820 - 106 Street NW
Delivery point:
14th Floor Oxbridge Place
City:
Edmonton
Administrative area:
Alberta
Postal code:
T5K2J6
Country:
Country:
CA
Electronic mail address:
AEP.Data@gov.ab.ca
Hours of service:
08:15 to 16:30 Monday to Friday
Contact instructions:
This is the point of contact regarding distribution of the data set. Queries about distribution of
the data set submitted through facsimile or electronic mail must include the salutation
"Attention: Data Distribution Unit, Provincial Geospatial Centre; Dataset: Hydrologic Unit Code
Watersheds of Alberta". For Metadata Information contact instructions, refer to the Metadata
Reference Information section of this metadata record.
Role:
Role code:
distributor
Transfer options:
Digital transfer options:
Units of distribution:
MB
Transfer size:
225
Online:
Online Resource:
Linkage:
URL:
https://extranet.gov.ab.ca/srd/geodiscover/srd_pub/inlandWaters/Watersheds/HUCWatershedsOfAlberta.zip
Protocol:
FTP
Name:
HUC Watersheds of Alberta (SHP/FGDB)
Description:
ZIP file containing HUC Watersheds of Alberta dataset
Function:
Online function code:
download
Transfer options:
Digital transfer options:
Online:
Online Resource:
Linkage:
URL:
https://geospatial.alberta.ca/titan/rest/services/environment/hydrologic_unit_code_watersheds_of_alberta/MapServer
Protocol:
REST
Name:
HUC Watersheds of Alberta Web Service
Description:
REST web service for HUC Watersheds of Alberta
Function:
Online function code:
webService
Transfer options:
Digital transfer options:
Online:
Online Resource:
Linkage:
URL:
https://geospatial.alberta.ca/titan/rest/services/environment/hydrologic_unit_code_watersheds_of_alberta/MapServer/WMS
Protocol:
WMS
Name:
HUC Watersheds of Alberta Web Map Service
Description:
Web map service for HUC Watersheds of Alberta
Function:
Online function code:
webMapService
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Data quality:
Scope:
Scope:
Hierarchy level:
Scope code:
dataset
Report:
Topological consistency:
Evaluation method description:
The underlying data used to create the HUC Watersheds of Alberta are associated with various degrees of
accuracy. There may be inconsistency in the spatial accuracy as a result. All HUC Watersheds of Alberta
feature classes within the HUC Watersheds of Alberta feature dataset have been topologically reconciled
between and within the feature classes for boundary alignment and gaps. The geometry has been checked
and repaired.
Result:
missing
Report:
Conceptual consistency:
Measure description:
The underlying data used to create the HUC Watersheds of Alberta are associated with various degrees of
accuracy. There may be inconsistency in the spatial accuracy as a result. All HUC Watersheds of Alberta
feature classes within the HUC Watersheds of Alberta feature dataset have been topologically reconciled
between and within the feature classes for boundary alignment and gaps. The geometry has been checked
and repaired.
Result:
missing
Report:
Completeness omission:
Measure description:
This dataset is complete for all feature classes for the province of Alberta. No delineation coarser than
HUC level 2 or finer than HUC level 10 is publically available.
Result:
missing
Report:
Absolute external positional accuracy:
Measure description:
The positional accuracy of the watershed boundaries will vary according to the accuracy of the source data.
Result:
missing
Lineage:
Lineage:
Statement:
The HUC Watersheds of Alberta co-exists with the Watersheds of Alberta (GOA) as well as a number of other
non-GOA watersheds datasets such as the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration watersheds data
published by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The alphanumeric watershed coding follows the USGS system
and also has a direct link to the Environment Canada Water Survey of Canada coding (as outlined by
departmental Water Policy and Operations staff).
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Maintenance information:
Maintenance and update frequency:
Maintenance frequency code:
asNeeded
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