FREE GIS DATA

General
Natural Earth - Vector: Offers detailed vector data, including
coastlines, land, oceans, rivers, and more. Available in different
detail levels, including a Wagner VII projection version.
Natural Earth - Raster: Provides raster background images like
hypsometric tints, land cover, and shaded relief.
Global Map: Consistent 1km resolution GIS layers globally,
covering transportation, elevation, drainage, vegetation, and
more. Created by the International Steering Committee on
Global Mapping.
DIVA-GIS Country Data: Compilation of administrative areas,
water bodies, roads, elevation, land cover, population, and
climate data for specific countries.
UNEP GEOdata: Diverse data from the UN Environment
Programme, including forest cover, temperatures, and watershed
boundaries. Accessible through advanced search.
Koordinates: GIS data site offering elevation, environment,
climate datasets, etc., for different regions. Requires registration.
MapCruzin: Aggregates various GIS data globally, with varying
quality.
GeoNetwork: Aggregates a broad range of human and physical
geography data.
European Environment Agency: Provides maps and datasets
related to physical geography and environment in Europe.

Land and Ocean Boundaries

GSHHS: A Global Self-consistent, Hierarchical, High-resolution
Shoreline Database - which basically means it's good quality (no
internal inconsistencies, good accuracy)
Elevation
GDEM: 30m resolution global elevation data from ASTER
satellite images.
SRTM (with interface): 90m resolution elevation data for most of
the world, easy download interface.
SRTM: Same as above, but covering the entire world.
EarthEnv-DEM90: 90m-resolution near-global DEM, combining
GDEM and SRTM with enhancements.
ETOPO1: 1 arc-minute resolution global relief model including
ocean depth.
Global Multi-Resolution Topography: Approx 100m resolution
elevation data covering land and sea-floor.
MERIT DEM: Improved DEM with errors removed, accessible
by contacting the developer.
ALOS Global DSM: 30m-resolution surface model from ALOS
satellite.
NASADEM: 1-arc-second resolution DEM based on SRTM
data.
EU-DEM: 25m-resolution DEM covering Europe, available for
download.
OpenTopography: Community site offering high-resolution
topography data, mainly in the USA and Greenland.
ArcticDEM: High-resolution elevation models for areas above 60
degrees north, from satellite imagery
Weather and Climate
WorldClim: Climate data for past, present, and future; temperature
and precipitation at 1km resolution.
NCAR GIS Climate Change Scenarios: Data from National Centre
for Atmospheric Research models, includes IPCC report data.
CRU Climate Datasets: Temperature, precipitation, pressure, and
other data from the University of East Anglia. Available in high
and low resolutions.
Downscaled GCM Portal: High-resolution climate data derived
from various General Circulation Models (GCMs).
European Climate Assessment and Dataset: Observation data for
Europe, including temperature, precipitation, cloudiness, and
more.
Global Potential Evapotranspiration and Aridity Index: 30 arc-
second resolution data on evapotranspiration and aridity.
GlobAerosol: Aerosol data in raster format, including estimations
of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD).
Global Aerosol Climatology Project: Monthly aerosol data from
1981-2006, including Optical Thickness.
Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring: Near real-
time datasets on cloud cover, surface radiation, and temperatures.
Climate Analysis Indicators Tool: Carbon dioxide emissions data
by country and US state, including adaptation measures.
International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project: Monthly
averages of cloud variables like cloud cover and top temperature.
CLIWOC: Meteorological data from ship logs between 1750-1850.
IRI/LDEO Climate Data Library: Over 300 datasets from various
climate models.
World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Center: Ozone and
UV data from global stations.
Gridded climatic data for the Americas and Europe: 1km and 4km
resolution data on temperature, precipitation, snow, and more.
 Hydrology
HydroSHEDS: Hydrological maps and data from SRTM elevation
data, including river networks, watershed boundaries, and flow
data globally.
Catchment Characterisation and Modelling: Data on river basins
and catchments in the European Union.
Major Watersheds of the World Delineation: Vector data of major
global watersheds (river basins).
Water Isotopes: Global grids of hydrogen and oxygen isotope
compositions in precipitation, available for the entire globe or
individual continents.
JRC Water Portal: European water data from the EC Joint
Research Centre, encompassing quantity, quality, price, usage,
exploitation, and irrigation.
General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans: Various gridded
bathymetric datasets compiled by experts.
EarthEnv Freshwater Ecosystems Environmental Information:
1km-resolution data on climate, land-cover, soil, and geology for
freshwater ecosystems globally.
Global River Widths from Landsat (GRWL): Information on river
widths worldwide, derived from Landsat data.

ICE AND SNOW

Randolph Glacier Inventory: Global glacier outlines inventory with
a focus on quality control, includes some multi-temporal data.
NSIDC Frozen Ground Maps: Maps of different types of frozen
ground, including permafrost, in the Arctic and other areas. Data is
accessible via their website.
Multisensor Analyzed Sea Ice Extent (MAISE): Northern
Hemisphere sea ice extent data from the NSIDC.