ISO Topic Categories

A brief list of the Topic Categories and Codes from ISO 19115:2003 is provided. For complete Topic Category definitions please refer to the published standard ISO 19115:2003.

ISO 19115:2003 Topic Category Code List

Farming, 001

rearing of animals and/or cultivation of plants

e.g., agriculture, crops, livestock

Biota, 002

flora and/or fauna in natural environments

e.g., flora and fauna, ecology, wetlands, habitat

Boundaries, 003

legal land descriptions

e.g., political and administrative boundaries

ClimatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere, 004

processes and phenomena of the atmosphere

e.g., processes and phenomena of the atmosphere

Economy, 005

economic activities, conditions, and employment

e.g., business and economics

Elevation, 006

height above or below the earth’s surface

e.g., altitude, bathymetry, dem’s, slope, derived products

Environment, 007

environmental resources, protection, and conservation

e.g., natural resources, pollution, impact assessment, monitoring, land analysis

GeoscientificInformation, 008

information pertaining to the earth sciences

e.g., geology, minerals, earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes, soils, gravity, permafrost, hydrogeology, erosion

Health, 009

health, health services, human ecology, and safety

e.g., disease, illness, factors affecting health, hygiene, substance abuse

ImageryBaseMapsEarthCover, 010

base maps

e.g., land cover, topographic maps, imagery, annotations

IntelligenceMilitary, 011

military bases, structures, activities

e.g., military bases, structures, activities

Inland Waters, 012

inland water features, drainage systems and characteristics

e.g., rivers, glaciers, lakes, water use plans, dams, currents, floods, water quality, hydrographic charts

Location, 013

positional information and services

e.g., addresses, geodetic networks, control points, postal zones, place names

Oceans, 014

features and characteristics of salt water bodies

e.g., tides, tidal waves, coastal information, reefs

PlanningCadastre, 015

information used for appropriate actions for future use of the land

e.g., land use maps, zoning maps, cadastral surveys, land ownership

Society, 016

characteristics of society and culture

e.g., anthropology, archaeology, religion, demographics, crime and justice

Structure, 017

man-made construction

e.g., architecture, buildings, museums, churches, factories, housing, monuments, shops, towers

Transportation, 018

means and aids for conveying persons and/or goods

e.g., roads, airports, airstrips, shipping routes, tunnels, nautical charts, vehicle and vessel locations, aeronautical charts, railways, trails

UtilitiesCommunication, 019

energy, water and waste systems, and communications infrastructure

e.g., hydroelectricity, geothermal, solar, and nuclear sources of energy, water purification and distribution, sewage collection and disposal, electrical and gas distribution, data communication, telecommunication, radio, communication networks

Example of Use in FGDC Metadata

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus:

None

Theme_Keyword:

sea surface height

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus:

ISO 19115:2003 MD_TopicCategoryCode

Theme_Keyword:

oceans

Theme_Keyword:

014

Theme_Keyword:

climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere

Theme_Keyword:

004

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus:

None

Place_Keyword:

Gulf of Mexico

Place_Keyword:

Caribbean Sea