MnDOT Geodetic Monuments

This page last updated: 01/14/2015
Metadata created using Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines


Go to Section:
1. Overview
2. Data Quality
3. Data Organization
4. Coordinate System
5. Attributes
6. Distribution - Get Data
7. Metadata Reference

Section 1 Overview
Originator Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)
Title MnDOT Geodetic Monuments
Abstract The Geodetic Database contains information on permanent geodetic control marks located in Minnesota or just outside its boundaries. Permanent geodetic control marks are established for the purpose of providing precise horizontal and vertical control positions for the registration of surveying and mapping activities in the local area. Information about the location of an object based on its geodetic location locates that object in a worldwide geographic information system. The marks have unique identification and year established stamped on the monument disk, usually an 89 mm (3.5 inch) diameter brass or aluminum disk. Monuments consist of material (concrete or metal) that are meant to stay in place for 50 to 100 years or more and have little or no movement due to frost action or activity near the monument. The marks have been established by all levels of government in Minnesota and they are referenced to the National Spatial Reference System (NAD 1927, NAD 1983, NGVD 1929, and NAVD 1988). The Federal Government supports monumentation at the state level by providing technical expertise, adjustments of the data, and maintenance of the National Spatial Reference System through its State Advisor Program.
Purpose To provide geodetic control information on an electronic medium that will allow convenient data access, modification, and distribution. The data stored in the database allows the user to: 1. Create reports on all geodetic control monuments that reside in a specified area (by county, by township, range, or section, by Latitude and Longitude, etc.) 2. Create a computer file of geodetic control mark data 3. Create a file for input to a GIS format.
Time Period of Content Date 1860-Present
Currentness Reference Starts with year the mark was set with history of years that the mark was adjusted and recovered.
Progress In work
Maintenance and Update Frequency Continually
Spatial Extent of Data State of Minnesota and nearby marks in surrounding states and Canada.
Bounding Coordinates -98.44
-88.60
50
41.52
Place Keywords Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Canada
Theme Keywords Geodetic, Horizontal Control, Vertical Control, Global Positioning System, GPS, Surveying
Theme Keyword Thesaurus None
Access Constraints Contact Distributor
Use Constraints Contact Distributor
Contact Person Information Office of Land Management, Geodetic Unit
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)
395 John Ireland Boulevard, Mailstop 641
Saint Paul, MN  55155
Phone:
Email: OLM.Geodetic.Support.DOT@state.mn.us
Browse Graphic None Available
Not Applicable
Associated Data Sets

Section 2 Data Quality
Attribute Accuracy Variable
Logical Consistency None
Completeness Ongoing
Horizontal Positional Accuracy Varies from +/- 3 seconds to +/- .00001 seconds (100 meters to .001 meter) Latitude/Longitude. The accuracy of each individual horizontal station can be derived from the number of significant digits.
Vertical Positional Accuracy Varies from +/- 3 meters to +/- .001 meter. The accuracy of each individual vertical station can be derived from the Method field in the database.
Lineage HISTORY OF THE GEODETIC DATABASE:
The need for a Geodetic Database available to the local surveying and mapping community has been identified at many levels of local government. Increased use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for positioning objects or monuments has generated more requests for geodetic control information. Access to geodetic control information for all levels of government and the private sector fosters a common locational reference system and acceptable accuracy standards for all levels of GIS/LIS activities. The MnDOT Geodetic Unit recognized this need in the early Seventies, and work was started to automate the information then.
Computer formatting of this data took place in stages over the past twenty years. The new horizontal datum (NAD 83) was made available in August, 1986, and the new vertical datum (NAVD 88) became available in November, 1991. With the introduction of the new horizontal datum, MnDOT provided a ground coordinate system (County Coordinates) that allows the user to compute and map using horizontal ground distances.
The Minnesota High Accuracy Reference Network (HARN) observations resulted in a readjustment of the geodetic network based on the NAD 83 Datum. The HARN observations completed during the period of 1993-1996 using high precision GPS techniques, were adjusted by the National Geodetic Survey in December, 1996. After the observations were adjusted for the HARN, the entire geodetic network in Minnesota will be readjusted, holding the HARN stations fixed. The shifts of the NAD 83 (1986) adjustment compared to the NAD 83 (1996) HARN adjustment are relatively small for mapping purposes (+/- 0.03 ~ 0.70 meters) but significant for geodetic surveys. The source scale is 1:24000 (USGS Quadrangle map) for scaled Latitudes and Longitudes of vertical control marks that have not been positioned by a horizontal control survey.
In January 2002, MnDOT began Federal Base Network (FBN) observations. The FBN provides spatial reference control that has some of the most precise accuracies available. FBN observations concluded in February 2002. This survey consisted of 54 stations on a 100 km grid spacing.
In January 2004, MnDOT began the Cooperative Base Network (CBN) observations. This survey consisted of 454 stations on a 25 km spacing. Phase 1 observations concluded in May 2004. These observations included stations in Districts 1 and 2. Phase 2 observations began in October 2004 and concluded in May 2005. These observations included stations in Districts 3,4,6,7,8 and Metro Division.

Section 3 Spatial Data Organization (not used in this metadata)

Section 4 Coordinate System
Horizontal Coordinate Scheme Universal Transverse Mercator
UTM Zone Number 15E
Horizontal Datum NAD83
Horizontal Units meters

Section 5 Attributes
Overview All Geodetic monuments in the database with no filters applied.
Detailed Citation OLMDB2
Table Detail:
GDB.GEOD_STATIONS_SPATIAL_VIEW_NEW - View Designed for multiple mapping purposes and definition queries but itself being unfiltered inclusion of all Geodetic Stations. (OLMDB2)
Field NameValid ValuesDefinitionDefinition Source
MNDOT_STATION_NAME
-
Name assigned by MnDOT. Unique by County.OLMDB2
NGS_STATION_NAME
-
Name assigned by NGS. Not Unique. Legal name.OLMDB2
COUNTY
-
County and State abreviation of station location.OLMDB2
MAP_SHEET1 to 7County Map Sheet of station location. The same as MnDOT standard, with a few exceptions.OLMDB2
NGS_ACRN
-
Identifier assigned by NGS. Unique. Legal Id.OLMDB2
CONDITION
-
Condition.OLMDB2
CONDITION_DATE
-
Date of last condition entry.OLMDB2
STA_AGENCY
-
Abreviated agency indentified on station disk or surroundings.OLMDB2
QUAD
-
USGS quad map relevant to the location of the station.OLMDB2
PM4 to 5PLSS prime meridian of the location of the station.OLMDB2
TOWNSHIP
-
PLSS township of the location of the station.OLMDB2
RANGE
-
PLSS range of the location of the station.OLMDB2
FIRST_DIVISION
-
PLSS section of the location of the station.OLMDB2
SECOND_DIVISION
-
PLSS quadrent of the section of the location of the station.OLMDB2
STAMPING
-
What is stamped on the disk of the station, if available.OLMDB2
SET_DATE
-
Date the station was placed, most likely similar to the date on the stamping.OLMDB2
MONUMENT_TYPE
-
Type of monument. (what is below the ground)OLMDB2
DISK_TYPE
-
Type of disk for the station. (what is visabable)OLMDB2
REF_LATITUDE
-
Referance latitude.OLMDB2
REF_LONGITUDE
-
Referance longitude.OLMDB2
REF_UTM_X
-
Referance UTM 15E X coordinate.OLMDB2
REF_UTM_Y
-
Referance UTM 15E Y coordinate.OLMDB2
DATA_SHEET_PDF
-
URL of datasheet.OLMDB2
BRIDGE_NUMBER
-
Bridge number of the bridge the station is set in, if set in bridge.OLMDB2
USABLE_HORIZ
-
Usable for horizontal work, GPSable.OLMDB2
USABLE_VERT
-
Usable for vertical work, Levelable.OLMDB2
GS_ID
-
Geodetic Station Identifier, MnDOT unique ID for station information. MOST USED ID FIELD.OLMDB2
SM_ID
-
Survey Monument Identifier, MnDOT unique ID for monument information.OLMDB2
CNTY_ID
-
County Identification number.OLMDB2
CATEGORYenumeratedOld category field based on highest historical Horizontal order and Verticle order.OLMDB2
HARNHoriz A,B
3DHoriz C ; Vert 1,2
HORIZHoriz C ; Vert NOT 1,2
VERTHoriz NOT A,B,C ; Vert 1,2
OTHERHoriz 3,4,NULL ; Vert 3,4,NULL : but not NULL;NULL
UNPOSHoriz NULL ; Vert NULL
CATEGORY_NGVD29enumeratedCategory field based on NGVD29 Verticle order.OLMDB2
VERT29'Order 1,2
OTHER29'Order NOT 1,2,NULL
UNPOS29'Order NULL
CATEGORY_NAVD88enumeratedCategory field based on NAVD88 Horizontal order and Verticle order.OLMDB2
VERT88'Order 1,2 ; leveling derived
OTHER88'Order NOT 1,2
GPS88'Order 1,2 ; static GPS derived
UNPOS88'Order NULL
CATEGORY_NAD83_2011enumeratedCategory field based on NAD83 2011 Horizontal Accuracies and NAVD88 Verticle Order.OLMDB2
3DHoriz A,B,C ; Vert 1,2
HORIZHoriz A,B,C ; Vert NOT 1,2
VERTHoriz NOT A,B,C ; Vert 1,2
OTHERHoriz 3,4,NULL ; Vert 3,4,NULL : but not NULL;NULL
UNPOSHoriz NULL ; Vert NULL
CATEGORY_NAD83_2007enumeratedCategory field based on NAD83 2007 Horizontal Accuracies and NAVD88 Verticle Order.OLMDB2
3DHoriz A,B,C ; Vert 1,2
HORIZHoriz A,B,C ; Vert NOT 1,2
VERTHoriz NOT A,B,C ; Vert 1,2
OTHERHoriz 3,4,NULL ; Vert 3,4,NULL : but not NULL;NULL
UNPOSHoriz NULL ; Vert NULL
CATEGORY_NAD83_1996enumeratedCategory field based on NAD83 1996 Horizontal Accuracies and NAVD88 Verticle Order.OLMDB2
HARNHoriz A,B
3DHoriz C ; Vert 1,2
HORIZHoriz C ; Vert NOT 1,2
VERTHoriz NOT A,B,C ; Vert 1,2
OTHERHoriz 3,4,NULL ; Vert 3,4,NULL : but not NULL;NULL
UNPOSHoriz NULL ; Vert NULL
CATEGORY_NAD83_1986enumeratedCategory field based on NAD83 1996 Horizontal Accuracies/Order and NAVD88 Verticle Order.OLMDB2
3DHoriz A,B,C ; Vert 1,2
HORIZHoriz A,B,C ; Vert NOT 1,2
VERTHoriz NOT A,B,C ; Vert 1,2
OTHERHoriz 3,4,NULL ; Vert 3,4,NULL : but not NULL;NULL
UNPOSHoriz NULL ; Vert NULL
CATEGORY_NAD27enumeratedCategory field based on NAD27 Horizontal Order and NAVD29 Verticle Order.OLMDB2
3DHoriz A,B,C ; Vert 1,2
HORIZHoriz A,B,C ; Vert NOT 1,2
VERTHoriz NOT A,B,C ; Vert 1,2
OTHERHoriz 3,4,NULL ; Vert 3,4,NULL : but not NULL;NULL
UNPOSHoriz NULL ; Vert NULL
VERT_ORDER_NGVD29
-
NGVD29 Verticle Order.OLMDB2
VERT_ORDER_NAVD88
-
NGVD29 Verticle Order.OLMDB2
HORIZ_ORDER_NAD83_2011
-
NAD83 2011 adjustment, Horizontal Accuracy converted to Order.OLMDB2
HORIZ_ORDER_NAD83_2007
-
NAD83 2007 adjustment, Horizontal Accuracy converted to Order.OLMDB2
HORIZ_ORDER_NAD83_1996
-
NAD83 1996 adjustment, Horizontal Accuracy converted to Order.OLMDB2
HORIZ_ORDER_NAD83_1986
-
NAD83 1996 adjustment, Horizontal Accuracy converted to Order.OLMDB2
HORIZ_ORDER_NAD27
-
NAD27 Horizontal Order.OLMDB2


Section 6 Distribution
Publisher Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)
Publication Date periodically revised
Contact Person Information Office of Land Management, Geodetic Unit
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)
395 John Ireland Boulevard, Mailstop 641
Saint Paul, MN  55155
Phone:
Email: OLM.Geodetic.Support.DOT@state.mn.us
Distributor's Data Set Identifier Geodetic Monuments
Distribution Liability The Minnesota Department of Transportation makes no representation or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the reuse of data provided herewith, regardless of its format or the means of its transmission. There is no guarantee or representation to the user as to the accuracy, currency, suitability, or reliability of this data for any purpose. The user accepts the data 'as is', and assumes all risks associated with its use. By accepting this data, the user agrees not to transmit this data or provide access to it or any part of it to another party unless the user shall include with the data a copy of this disclaimer. The Minnesota Department of Transportation assumes no responsibility for actual or consequential damage incurred as a result of any user's reliance on this data.
Ordering Instructions Contact Distributor
Online Linkage I AGREE to the notice in "Distribution Liability" above. Clicking to agree will either begin the download process, link to a service, or provide more instructions. See "Ordering Instructions" above for details.

Section 7 Metadata Reference
Metadata Date 01/14/2015
Contact Person Information Office of Land Management, Geodetic Unit
Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)
395 John Ireland Boulevard, Mailstop 641
Saint Paul, MN  55155
Phone:
Email: OLM.Geodetic.Support.DOT@state.mn.us
Metadata Standard Name Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines
Metadata Standard Version 1.2
Metadata Standard Online Linkage http://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/committee/standards/mgmg/metadata.htm


This page last updated: 01/14/2015
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