USGS CMG "ARC Coverage" Definition

An ARC coverage is a digital vector storage framework for geographic information that is produced by ARC/INFO and used by ARC/INFO, ArcView, ArcGIS and other widely used GIS software.
ARC/INFO, ArcView and ArcGIS are commercial GIS software packages for making maps and analyzing geographic data.
A coverage stores map (geographic) features as:
- primary features (such as arcs, nodes, polygons, and label points) and
- secondary features (such as tics, map extent, links, and annotation).
Associated feature attribute tables describe and store attributes of the map features.
Map projection, datum, precision, and other meta data are included in the coverage format.

NOTE: An individual ARC/INFO coverage is a collection of files and directories that should not be moved or distributed using standard file management tools. The coverage must first be "exported" to an "interchange" format or managed from with the GIS software.

"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit.
"No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it.
It's just that something happened to it along the way."

Dictionaries:	Our Mapping Systems The USGS and Science Education USGS Fact Sheets Topics Keywords Data Dictionary Metadata Dictionary Computer Terminology Digital Formats
InfoBank Terms:	Activity ID activity overview crew digital data formal metadata lines metadata NGDC port stops project/theme region ship stations time virtual globe year
Data Types:	bathymetry biological geochemical gravity ground penetrating radar imaging LIDAR logs magnetics metering equipment navigation samples seismic total station definitions disclaimer
Data Formats:	ARC coverage E00 FGDC metadata gridded/image imaging material scattered/swath Shapefile vector/polygon