Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access

Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access is Pennsylvania's official public access geospatial information clearinghouse.

PASDA serves as Pennsylvania's node on the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI.) PASDA is a cooperative effort of the Pennsylvania Geospatial Technologies Officeof the Office of Information Technology and the Pennsylvania State University Institutes of Energy and the Environment.

PASDA became operational in 1996 serving, at that time, approximately 35 GIS data sets and metadata. By the end of 2006, PASDA provides access to thousands of data sets and many terabytes of data including data from many state agencies such as the PA DEP, PennDOT, and PA Department of Health, Federal government agencies including USGS and Bureau of the Census, local governments such as the City of Philadelphia, river conservation plans, and PAMAP imagery, digital raster graphics (topo maps), digital elevation models, and biological data for fish and birds in the Commonwealth.

PASDA also provides services to data creators including metadata creation and training and user support.

PASDA has developed cutting edge capabilities to utilize with its data resources. Users can select multiple data sets for download and customize their data to a specific projection and geographic region through the data wizard. In addition, PASDA a broad range of Internet map services that allow uses to bring data in to their desktop GIS without having to download individual data sets.

PASDA was an original member of the ESRI Geography Network, participates in Geospatial One Stop, and serves as a node on the National Biological Information Infrastructure.