ABOUT THE SECURED VIEWER
Overview
The West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office Interactive Map is designed
to provide professional consultants, state/federal agency employees and the
public with a means to make informed decisions with regards to cultural resource
locations.
The principal function of the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office
Interactive Map is to provide users with a quick and easy approximate
determination for an identified location of cultural resources. The goal is to
reduce the time delays and costs historically associated with inquiries directed
to the State Historic Preservation Office. However, if there is any doubt in
determining the location of a resource, it is recommended that the SHPO be
consulted as they are the official stewards of all cultural resources for the
state of West Virginia.
Requirements
A broadband internet connection and a Web browser (IE 9 or higher, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Chrome or
Firefox) is required.
Interactive Map Views
The West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office Interactive Map has two
customized map views: Public View and Restricted View. The Public View allows
the general public to obtain quick and easy cultural resource locations for
those resources that have no restriction based on data sensitivity. The
Restricted View is provided by SHPO through a subscription service. The
Restricted View contains data that is considered sensitive or restricted based
on location and fragility of the resource.
Coverage
Cultural resource location data is available for all 55 WV counties. In the
future, new cultural resource data will be added as it becomes available to the
State Historic Preservation Office.
See User Guide in the Resources Section for more information
Features
Allows the public to make informed decisions about the location of existing
cultural resources throughout the state of West Virginia. NOT the official
instrument of a final location determination. Includes the best available
cultural resource data based on West Virginia Historic Property Inventory Forms,
National Register Nominations, Archaeological Inventories, and Archaeological
Surveys. Incorporates the best available background and reference layers (aerial
photos, roads, 10-ft. contours, addresses, etc.) from commercial and local data
sources.
Tool Functions, Visualization, and Performance
Includes two customized map views
(Public and Restricted) for the general public and SHPO approved users for
viewing cultural resource location information. Provides multiple ways to zoom
to geographic locations, including by street address, coordinates, place names,
and navigation controls. Permits users to view high-resolution aerial photography
at a zoomed-in map scale of up to 1:564. Displays the approximate elevation of
the ground at any location with a vertical accuracy of +/- 10 feet. Links
specific cultural resources to its respective WV Historic Property Inventory
Form, National Register Nomination, Archaeological Inventory and Archaeological
Survey PDF file. Allows users to publish or exchange links of cultural resource
maps. Employs ArcGIS Server 10 technology to improve performance and visual
appearance of map features.
Data Layers
Data layers are divided into three major categories: (1) base map or background layers, (2) overlay reference layers, and (3) the SHPO cultural resource layers. Many of the layers are scale-dependent and only display at certain map scales.
Base Map (Background) Layers
The Map Viewer provides access to 15 base map layers from commercial and governmental web services. Road base map layers are useful for viewing the named features of roads, streams, and other points of interest. Topographic base layers are helpful for viewing the terrain. Photographic or satellite imagery base layers are useful for viewing structures and high resolution pictures of the earth's surface. The best leaf-off imagery layer includes high resolution imagery combined with the 2003 SAMB imagery.
Reference Layers
Overlay reference layers consist of vector framework layers such as transportation, hydrography, elevation contours, geographic names, boundaries, and addresses. Reference layers are generalized and more detailed at zoomed-out and zoomed-in scales, respectively, with all layers displayed at the largest zoom-in scale of 1:564.
SHPO Cultural Resource Layers
SHPO cultural resource layers encompass information about cultural resource location and links to their respective official forms collected as a part of their Architectural Inventory, National Register Nomination, Archaeological Inventory or Archaeological Survey. Certain cultural resource layers (National Register Restricted, Archaeological Sites, Archaeological Surveys) are only viewable in the Restricted View, for which approval and a subscription from SHPO is required.