Country boundaries, U.S. states, counties, interstates, federal lands… So much GIS data is yours for the downloading. And directly from Esri. So you know it’s good, right?
Esri Data and MapsIf you are a long time Esri GIS user, you may recall that Esri Data and Maps CDs that came in the folder with your ArcGIS installation CDs. It was very easy to install the Data and Maps then.
Several years ago, Esri switched to a download model where users must log on to their my.esri.com account to access and download software they have purchased or are otherwise entitled to.
The Data and Maps is not longer so easy to locate. Plus, the download file is HUGE. Most users don’t even know that this data exists.
Download the Whole Data and Maps SetIf you can get into your my.esri.com account, you’ll find the Data and Maps under the “additional products” link for ArcGIS for Desktop v10.3. The Data and Maps link does not appear under every version, so take care to click on 10.3 which is the current version as of this posting.
Download Layer Package by Layer PackageIf you do not have access to my.esri.com, or you can’t download the large file, don’t despair. You can download the datasets one by one, as needed, from ArcGIS Online.
I’ll show you how in this video.