Connecticut's high resolution land cover dataset is part of the NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).

About the NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP)

Through it, NOAA produces nationally standardized land cover and land change data for the coastal regions of the U.S. C-CAP products provide inventories of coastal intertidal areas, wetlands, and adjacent uplands. While regional C-CAP data capture changes in our nation’s coastal areas by updating land cover maps every five years, high-resolution C-CAP products focus on bringing NOAA’s national mapping framework to the local level by providing data relevant for addressing site-specific management decisions. High-resolution C-CAP land cover products provide a more spatially detailed representation of coastal regions with resolutions ranging from 1 to 5 meters, while the Landsat-derived regional products have a resolution of 30 meters. High-resolution C-CAP products can also be distinguished from their moderate-resolution counterparts by their minimum mapping units (1/10th acre for impervious surfaces and 1/4th acre for non-impervious surface features). Using standardized data and consistent methods, NOAA is able to produce data that can be compared through time, as well as information that can be used to evaluate different areas of the country. This apples-to-apples type of comparison is not always possible with various regional products that were produced by different groups for different reasons. Higher resolution C-CAP land cover provides more detailed analysis select locations that can be related to the regional products.

Connecticut's High Resolution Land Cover

Connecticut currently has one full land cover high resolution dataset that was created using the 2016 aerial imagery. We are hopeful that more datasets will be produced in the future.

2016 High Resolution Land Cover Viewer

There are also three single-class high resolution layers from 2021 for forest canopy, impervious, and water. They are individual layers and there can be overlap, for example, where tree canopy overlaps an impervious feature like a road. Visit the sections below for services or to download the 2021 single-class land cover layers.