Maricopa County Hydrography Polygons from U.S. Census TIGER/Line 2023

U.S. Census Bureau's TIGER/Line 2023 shapefile contains area hydrography features for Maricopa County, AZ. It includes perennial and intermittent water bodies like ponds, lakes, oceans, swamps, glaciers, and double-line drainage areas. The data is topologically integrated and designed to stand alone or be combined with other files for national coverage.

Use Cases

• Map perennial and intermittent area hydrography features like ponds, lakes, and swamps for environmental planning in Maricopa County.
• Analyze the spatial distribution of double-line drainage features such as large rivers and canals for water resource management.
• Combine this standalone polygon dataset with the Linear Hydrography Shapefile (LINEARWATER.shp) to create a complete hydrographic network representation.

Strengths

• Data originates from the authoritative U.S. Census Bureau Master Address File/TIGER Database (MTDB), ensuring a national standard.
• The dataset is topologically integrated, representing a seamless file with no overlaps or gaps between geographic parts.
• Specific feature types are clearly defined, including ponds, lakes, oceans, swamps, glaciers, and double-line drainage.

Limitations

• The dataset is limited to a single county (Maricopa County, AZ), requiring combination with other files for broader regional or national analysis.
• Sample data and specific record counts (rows) or attribute columns are unavailable for review prior to download.
• The description does not specify the update frequency, so the 2023 vintage may become stale for applications requiring real-time water feature data.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Extracted from the Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB).

Time Range

2023

Freshness

Data vintage is 2023, with a platform record last updated in August 2025.

Geography

Maricopa County, Arizona, United States