The Atlas contains 523 water resources, including 18 lakes and 505 rivers.
Data recorded in the Atlas reaches back 101 years, starting on October 25, 1907. The most recent data is from September 7, 2008.
Over 1605179 data samples have been included in the Atlas! The samples came from over 50 data sources provided by 25 different data providers. These people and agencies have helped make the Atlas an integral tool for managing our water resources.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data consists largely of land mapping and spatial data and is used in a wide variety of fields. The lay of the land can affect almost every aspect of life, including an area's culture, government, environment, and commerce, making GIS information important to everyone. Fields such as anthropology, medical science, and natural science use GIS to measure and predict the impact of geography on a region. By mapping water resources, the Atlas provides spatial information useful to citizens, water management professionals, and scientists alike.
Citizens, scientists, and professionals all contribute to monitoring and sampling data in many ways. Citizens often provide information such as water levels data through volunteer programs. Scientists and professionals set up equipment at sampling stations for measuring attributes such as water quality and hydrology. They provide the data in various formats to the Atlas, which compiles, organizes, and presents the data to help people better understand the county's water resources.
View Monitoring and Sampling Metadata
Bay Walker Charters, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish & Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Sea Grant, Mote Marine Laboratories, National Audubon Society, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau, Sarasota County, Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Southwest Florida Water Management District, Tampa Bay Estuary Program, U.S. Geological Survey
The Atlas is still in development and may be inconsistent in its functionality. All data obtained from the Atlas are provisional, subject to change, and provided without warranty of any kind as detailed in our Full Disclaimer.
The Atlas has been developed with wide accessibility in mind. We have made efforts to make the content of the Atlas available to as many visitors as possible, whatever technology they are using or constraints they may be operating under. For more information, please see our Accessibility Statement.
The privacy policy in effect for all Water Atlas sites can be viewed here.
© 2001-2008 Florida Center for Community Design + Research, School of Architecture and Community Design, University of South Florida