2016-03-03-what-coordinate-system-do-our-shapefiles-use.html

---
layout: post
title: What coordinate system do our shapefiles use?
date: '2016-03-03T17:37:04-06:00'
author: Open Data Portal Team
categories:
- Open Data
- Data Portal
tags:
- shapefiles
- faq
- tip
- data explanation

---
<p>We frequently get questions about what coordinate system our <a href="https://data.cityofchicago.org/browse?tags=shapefiles">shapefile datasets</a> use.  The answer is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Plane_Coordinate_System">State Plane Illinois East NAD 1983</a>.</p><p>It is important to note that this answer applies to the files we upload &ndash; those of view type <a href="https://data.cityofchicago.org/browse?limitTo=blob&amp;tags=shapefiles">Files and Documents</a> and “Original” exports of our <a href="https://data.cityofchicago.org/browse?tags=map_layer">newer map format</a>.  The “Shapefile” exports are created by the Data Portal software, even if the original file was also a shapefile, and use <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Geodetic_System">WGS84</a>.</p>