Cloud-optimized versions of global and US alnd cover data. Currently GLS-LC100 CC-BY-4.0 + NLCD. public-domain
Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD), MRLC/USGS Collection 1.2 (C1V2), conterminous US, 30 m. A single consistent-version time series across 19 map years — 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2010, then annual 2015–2025 — so cross-year change is valid. License: public domain (US Government work). Source: https://www.mrlc.gov/data/project/annual-nlcd.
STAC: https://s3-west.nrp-nautilus.io/public-land-cover/nlcd/stac-collection.json
Native H3 resolution 10, parents 9,8,7,6,5,0. Reprojected from Albers (EPSG:5070)
to WGS84 nearest-neighbor (class codes preserved). The hex grid is identical across
years, so any interval's change is an exact cell-wise diff.
NLCD is categorical, so render each year's COG through a titiler endpoint with a
categorical colormap built from the STAC classification:classes. Swap the url to any
nlcd-<year>-cog.tif to drive a year/versions dropdown:
Annual NLCD is a growing-season composite, so a map year reflects that year's growing-season conditions. For events dated late in the calendar year, the first clean post-event year is the following map year (e.g. an event in Dec 2017 first appears in the 2018 layer, not 2017). Land cover also lags policy by years (lease → permit → visible disturbance), so a single post-event year may show little either way. In shrub-steppe regions most NLCD change is reshuffling among Shrub/Grassland/Forest; well pads, mines, fire scars, and development are the clearest class flips.
16 CONUS classes appear (11 Open Water, 12 Perennial Ice/Snow, 21–24 Developed,
31 Barren, 41 Deciduous / 42 Evergreen / 43 Mixed Forest, 52 Shrub/Scrub, 71 Grassland,
81 Pasture/Hay, 82 Cultivated Crops, 90 Woody Wetlands, 95 Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands).
Full names/colors are in the STAC classification:classes on each COG asset.