In GIS, a network of the managers, producers, and users of data. The US National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse is a means of publishing descriptions of geospatial data from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources, helping users determine their fitness for use, and providing tools to access, visualize, or order data as efficiently as possible. It is neither a central repository where data sets are stored nor a set of websites, but a federated system of compatible geospatial data catalogues that can be searched through a common interface—the geodata.gov portal.

www.fgdc.gov/library/factsheets/documents/chouse.pdf The geodata.gov portal.