Home > About TNRIS

Your Source for Geographic Information of Texas

Uses for Geographic Information

TNRIS was established by the Legislature in 1968 as the Texas Water-Oriented Data Bank. In 1972, after four years of growth and diversification, it was renamed the Texas Natural Resources Information System. The mission of TNRIS is to provide a "centralized information system incorporating all Texas natural resource data, socioeconomic data related to natural resources, and indexes related to that data that are collected by state agencies or other entities." (Texas Water Code, 16.021).

The staff includes individuals trained in the natural, computer and library sciences. TNRIS supplies data to government, academia, private sector, and to the public.

The TNRIS offices are located in the the Stephen F. Austin Building, 1700 North Congress Avenue, in Austin, Texas.

The TNRIS Data Catalog - By the Numbers

  • Over 1,000,000 frames of Aerial Photography
  • Over 50 unique datasets equal to 500 gigabytes.
  • An average of 10,000 data downloads a month.

Texas Water Development Board & Texas Geographic Information Council

TWDB logo and link

TNRIS is a part of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) under the Water Resources Planning & Information division.

The TWDB receives advice on the operation of TNRIS from the Texas Geographic Information Council (TGIC), a geographic data planning and coordination group serving state and regional government agencies in the State of Texas.  TGIC also advises the Executive Director of the Department of Information Resources on statewide rules and guidelines for agency use of geographic information technologies.

Layer Spotlight

Layer Spotlight is a new way to showcase the rich, extensive geographic data housed at TNRIS. It is a chance to view and explore a data layer before downloading.

It is part of the implementation of a new data viewing application incorporating Microsoft Virtual Earth® software. In the future, as TNRIS further develops its data dissemination tools, keep an eye out for even more robust and dynamic applications.

Close