This is a thematic aggregation of the original full resolution Geomorphology/Landform and Lithology database which has been produced from visual interpretation of digitally enhanced LANDSAT TM images acquired mainly in the year 1997. The landform classes have been developed using the ITC (International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) and SOTER (Soil and Terrain Database) methods. This thematic aggregation groups the lithology codes into three main groupins based on geological origin (i.e. Igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic). The structure of the derived legend follows a specific criteria that allows and easy correlation between these classes and the standardised one listed in LCCS (SOTER classification first and second level). SOTER is a pure Parametric or Morphometric classification. The main origin or process of terrain units is an important descriptive element because it realtes to the dominant exogenous or endogenous processes. this aspect in a general classification gives a meaningful grouping and has analytical value. The proposed legend is structured in such a way that it can be read, not only from the Morphometric point of view as in SOTER, but also taking into account the main origin and the age of landforms (mainly derived from the lithology legend). Lithology is linked with the mapping units, but is listed seperately. See the full landform/lithology legend in the resource section.

This is a thematic aggregation of the original full resolution Geomorphology/Landform and Lithology database which has been produced from visual interpretation of digitally enhanced LANDSAT TM images acquired mainly in the year 1999. The landform classes have been developed using the ITC (International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) and SOTER (Soil and Terrain Database) methods. This thematic aggregation groups the landform codes into broader landform units. The structure of the derived legend follows a specific criteria that allows and easy correlation between these classes and the standardised one listed in LCCS (SOTER classification first and second level). SOTER is a pure Parametric or Morphometric classification. The main origin or process of terrain units is an important descriptive element because it relates to the dominant exogenous or endogenous processes. This aspect in a general classification gives a meaningful grouping and has analytical value. The proposed legend is structured in such a way that it can be read, not only from the Morphometric point of view as in SOTER, but also taking into account the main origin and the age of landforms (mainly derived from the lithology legend). Lithology is linked with the mapping units, but is listed separately. See the full landform/lithology legend in the resource section.

The full resolution dataset of landform and lithology has been produced from visual interpretation of digitally enhanced LANDSAT TM images acquired mainly in the year 1999. The landform classes have been developed using the ITC (International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) and SOTER (Soil and Terrain Database) methods. The structure of the derived legend follows a specific criteria that allows an easy correlation between these classes and the standardised one listed in LCCS (SOTER classification first and second level). SOTER is a pure Parametric or Morphometric classification. The main origin or process of terrain units is an important descriptive element because it realtes to the dominant exogenous or endogenous processes. this aspect in a general classification gives a meaningful grouping and has analytical value. The proposed legend is structured in such a way that it can be read, not only from the Morphometric point of view as in SOTER, but also taking into account the main origin and the age of landforms (mainly derived from the lithology legend). Lithology is linked with the mapping units, but is listed seperately. See the full landform/lithology legend in the resource section.

The full resolution dataset of landform and lithology has been produced from visual interpretation of digitally enhanced LANDSAT TM images acquired mainly in the year 1999. The landform classes have been developed using the ITC (International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) and SOTER (Soil and Terrain Database) methods. The structure of the derived legend follows a specific criteria that allows an easy correlation between these classes and the standardised one listed in LCCS (SOTER classification first and second level). SOTER is a pure Parametric or Morphometric classification. The main origin or process of terrain units is an important descriptive element because it realtes to the dominant exogenous or endogenous processes. this aspect in a general classification gives a meaningful grouping and has analytical value. The proposed legend is structured in such a way that it can be read, not only from the Morphometric point of view as in SOTER, but also taking into account the main origin and the age of landforms (mainly derived from the lithology legend). Lithology is linked with the mapping units, but is listed seperately. See the full landform/lithology legend in the resource section.

The Himalaya Regional Land Cover database has been produced as part of the Global Land Cover Network - Regional Harmonization Programme. Its extent includes the Hindu Kush - Karakorum - Himalaya mountain chain, which is the widest and most recent in the world. The database was developed using 2000 Landsat satellite imagery as reference source for an automatic segmentation. The land cover change was then assessed upon other sets of historical imagery: 1970-80, 1990, and 2007. The mapping area covers about 1,500,000 km2, intersecting 6 different UTM zones. It includes portions of the following 5 countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China and Myanmar. Nepal and Bhutan are fully mapped. Aim of the programme is harmonize the regional land cover database which will allow national institutions and Governments to conduct assessment and monitoring of the land cover dynamics for environmental analysis and planning. The Himalaya land cover mapping was performed at 1:350,000 scale and derives from a combination of visual and automatic interpretation of recent Landsat ETM satellite imageries. For this purpose, the FAO’s MADCAT software was adopted, in order to perform automatic classification. FAO’s GeoVIS interpretation software was also used. The land cover legend, consisting of 35 classes, was set up using the FAO LCCS methodology, a standardized a priori land cover classifications system applied with success in a series of FAO projects. As result, 511,292 polygons were delineated. To refine the interpretation, high resolution images from Google Earth were used. The tabular attributes contains 14 fields with the following meaning: Z007CODE: GIS code of the class. Z007USLB: User label updated with the 2004/2007 images. Z007PERC: Percentage of the class. In case of a single unit the percentage is 100%; in case of mixed unit the percentage is 60/40, meaning that the first term of the mixed unit covers 60% of the polygon’s area while the second term of the mixed unit covers the 40%. HECTARES: Area of the polygon in Hectares. The calculation was made in UTM projection (WGS84), according to the UTM Zone indicated in the field “Zone”. AREA: Area of the polygon in square meters. The calculation was made in UTM projection (WGS84), according to the UTM Zone indicated in the field “Zone”. AGG: Aggregated code used for the Map layout. The aggregation criteria is shown in the attached file “Conversion table for the map_35cl”. ZONE: The UTM zone where the polygon falls. CODE1: The user label either as single unit or as first term of a mixed unit. CODE2: The user label as second term of a mixed unit, when present. BOOLEAN1: The LCCS Boolean formula of Code 1, giving its representation as land cover objects. BOOLEAN2: The LCCS Boolean formula of Code 2, giving its representation as land cover objects. LCCSMAIN1: The LCCS main group containing Code1. LCCSMAIN2: The LCCS main group containing Code2. AUTO_ID: The unique number identifying each polygon. Notice that from the fields “Boolean1”, “Boolean2”, “LCCSMain1”, “LCCSMain2” is possible to derive the objects making up the land cover class covering the polygon(s) wanted.

This is a thematic aggregation of the original full resolution Geomorphology/Landform and Lithology database which has been produced from visual interpretation of digitally enhanced LANDSAT TM images acquired mainly in the year 2000. The landform classes have been developed using the ITC (International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) and SOTER (Soil and Terrain Database) methods. This thematic aggregation groups the lithology codes into three main groupings based on geological origin (i.e. Igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic). The structure of the derived legend follows a specific criteria that allows and easy correlation between these classes and the standardised one listed in LCCS (SOTER classification first and second level). SOTER is a pure Parametric or Morphometric classification. The main origin or process of terrain units is an important descriptive element because it relates to the dominant exogenous or endogenous processes. This aspect in a general classification gives a meaningful grouping and has analytical value. The proposed legend is structured in such a way that it can be read, not only from the Morphometric point of view as in SOTER, but also taking into account the main origin and the age of landforms (mainly derived from the lithology legend). Lithology is linked with the mapping units, but is listed separately. See the full landform/lithology legend in the resource section. This dataset is intended for free public access.

The full resolution dataset of landform and lithology has been produced from visual interpretation of digitally enhanced LANDSAT TM images acquired mainly in the year 1995. The landform classes have been developed using the ITC (International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) and SOTER (Soil and Terrain Database) methods. The structure of the derived legend follows a specific criteria that allows an easy correlation between these classes and the standardised one listed in LCCS (SOTER classification first and second level). SOTER is a pure Parametric or Morphometric classification. The main origin or process of terrain units is an important descriptive element because it realtes to the dominant exogenous or endogenous processes. this aspect in a general classification gives a meaningful grouping and has analytical value. The proposed legend is structured in such a way that it can be read, not only from the Morphometric point of view as in SOTER, but also taking into account the main origin and the age of landforms (mainly derived from the lithology legend). Lithology is linked with the mapping units, but is listed seperately. See the full landform/lithology legend in the resource section.

This is a thematic aggregation of the original full resolution Geomorphology/Landform and Lithology database which has been produced from visual interpretation of digitally enhanced LANDSAT TM images acquired mainly in the year 1999. The landform classes have been developed using the ITC (International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) and SOTER (Soil and Terrain Database) methods. This thematic aggregation groups the lithology codes into three main groupings based on geological origin (i.e. Igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic). The structure of the derived legend follows a specific criteria that allows and easy correlation between these classes and the standardised one listed in LCCS (SOTER classification first and second level). SOTER is a pure Parametric or Morphometric classification. The main origin or process of terrain units is an important descriptive element because it relates to the dominant exogenous or endogenous processes. This aspect in a general classification gives a meaningful grouping and has analytical value. The proposed legend is structured in such a way that it can be read, not only from the Morphometric point of view as in SOTER, but also taking into account the main origin and the age of landforms (mainly derived from the lithology legend). Lithology is linked with the mapping units, but is listed separately. See the full landform/lithology legend in the resource section.

This is a thematic aggregation of the original full resolution Geomorphology/Landform and Lithology database which has been produced from visual interpretation of digitally enhanced LANDSAT TM images acquired mainly in the year 1997. The landform classes have been developed using the ITC (International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) and SOTER (Soil and Terrain Database) methods. This thematic aggregation groups the landform codes into broader landform units. The structure of the derived legend follows a specific criteria that allows and easy correlation between these classes and the standardised one listed in LCCS (SOTER classification first and second level). SOTER is a pure Parametric or Morphometric classification. The main origin or process of terrain units is an important descriptive element because it relates to the dominant exogenous or endogenous processes. This aspect in a general classification gives a meaningful grouping and has analytical value. The proposed legend is structured in such a way that it can be read, not only from the Morphometric point of view as in SOTER, but also taking into account the main origin and the age of landforms (mainly derived from the lithology legend). Lithology is linked with the mapping units, but is listed separately. See the full landform/lithology legend in the resource section.

This is a thematic aggregation of the original full resolution Geomorphology/Landform and Lithology database which has been produced from visual interpretation of digitally enhanced LANDSAT TM images acquired mainly in the year 1995. The landform classes have been developed using the ITC (International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) and SOTER (Soil and Terrain Database) methods. This thematic aggregation groups the lithology codes into three main groupings based on geological origin (i.e. Igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic). The structure of the derived legend follows a specific criteria that allows and easy correlation between these classes and the standardised one listed in LCCS (SOTER classification first and second level). SOTER is a pure Parametric or Morphometric classification. The main origin or process of terrain units is an important descriptive element because it relates to the dominant exogenous or endogenous processes. This aspect in a general classification gives a meaningful grouping and has analytical value. The proposed legend is structured in such a way that it can be read, not only from the Morphometric point of view as in SOTER, but also taking into account the main origin and the age of landforms (mainly derived from the lithology legend). Lithology is linked with the mapping units, but is listed separately. See the full landform/lithology legend in the resource section.