The GIS datasets are available for public use, and fall into one of several categories. These categories include:
- Political Boundaries - state and provincial boundaries, congressional districts, and counties.
- Geographic Boundaries - Great Lakes, Great Lakes watershed, and Lake Michigan Shoreline.
- Elevation/Bathymetries - Lake Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, St. Clair, and Superior bathymetry.
- Watershed Boundaries - full extent and Great Lakes Basin extent for HUC08, HUC10, and HUC12.
- Hydrology - major rivers.
- Fishery - spawning locations and larval max extent.
- Birds - important bird areas.
- Miscellaneous - transportation routes such as airports, railways, and commercial waterways.
PLEASE NOTE: Some datasets provide coverage for all the Great Lakes, while others only provide coverage for one lake.