Terralocate

Data Sources

Terralocate is built on open data. Every fact, figure, map layer, and image on this site comes from a publicly available dataset or API. Below is the complete list of sources we use, grouped by category, with links to the original publishers and their licensing terms.

Encyclopedic & Reference

  • Wikipedia

    Text excerpts, historical descriptions, and place overviews under CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Wikidata

    Structured facts — population, area, elevation, coordinates, inception — queried via SPARQL under CC0

  • Wikimedia Commons

    Photographs and media, each under its own license (CC BY-SA, CC BY, CC0, or public domain)

Geographic & Mapping

United States Federal

  • US Census Bureau

    ACS, Decennial Census, TIGER/Line, and Population Estimates — public domain

  • CDC PLACES

    Local health indicators — public domain

  • FEMA National Risk Index

    Natural-hazard risk scores — public domain

  • NCES

    Schools and education institutions — public domain

  • USGS

    Earthquakes, stream gauges, elevation — public domain

  • NOAA / National Weather Service

    Climate normals, forecasts, alerts — public domain

  • EPA

    Walkability Index, AirNow, pollution facilities — public domain

Crime & Safety

Weather & Environment

National Statistical Offices

Country-Specific Registries & APIs

Biodiversity & Nature

  • GBIF

    Global Biodiversity Information Facility — species occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-NC)

  • iNaturalist

    Community-contributed species observations and photos — per-contributor license

Health

  • CDC PLACES

    Model-based local health estimates — public domain

Culture & Libraries

Licensing & Attribution

Each dataset remains the property of its original publisher and is used under its own license. Key licenses you will encounter:

  • Public Domain / US Government — Census, NOAA, USGS, CDC, FEMA, NCES, EPA data is public domain and may be reused freely.
  • CC BY-SA 4.0 — Wikipedia text and many Commons images. Downstream reuse must attribute and remain share-alike.
  • ODbL — OpenStreetMap data. Substantial reuse requires attribution to “© OpenStreetMap contributors” and may trigger share-alike.
  • CC0 — Wikidata structured facts and many GBIF records. No attribution required, though credit is appreciated.
  • Per-contributor — iNaturalist photos and some GBIF datasets carry the license chosen by the original contributor.

If you believe a source is improperly attributed or used in error, please contact us.