Cadastral GIS data is data that contains information about land ownership. Parcel datasets are one form of cadastral GIS data. For example, United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maintains a Cadastral Survey Program that tracks the boundaries and subdivisions of the public lands of the United States. Cadastral GIS datasets contain information about the geography of individual parcels or properties. Cadastral GIS data, unlike a surveyors map, are datasets that can provide a definitive legal interpretation of property lines. Cadastral GIS data contains descriptive information about properties such as the parcel linework showing the geography of individual properties, information about the perimeter and area of those parcels. GIS cadastral data may contain other attribute information such as the parcel number (e.g. AIN or APN), property owner, and assessment of the properties value, and tax assessment.
What is the Difference Between Cadastral and Cadastre?
The term cadastral is an adjective to describe the type of GIS dataset or map that contains property line information. For example, a cadastral map is a map showing the parcels and ownership information for a given area. The term cadastre is a noun that refers to a dataset that contains the property information such as metes and bounds, dimensions, and property owner details. A cadastre, therefore, is a registry of all property for a given area. The word cadastre stems from the late Greek katastikhon (κατάστιχον) meaning a list or register.
