The Center for Land Use Interpretation's Land Use Database is a collection of unusual and exemplary sites throughout the United States. Files, photographs, and other material are kept at the CLUI location in Los Angeles, where visitor's can access this source material, and peruse the Center's in-house computer database, which has a few thousand complete and near-complete entries. A selection from this master version of the database is made available on the internet.

The database is a free public resource, designed to educate and inform the public about the function and form of the national landscape, a terrestrial system that has been altered to accommodate the complex demands of our society.
Some sites included in the database are works by government agencies involved in geo-transformative activities, such as the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Defense.

Also included are industrially altered landscapes, such as especially noteworthy mining sites, features of transportation systems, and field test facilities for a variety of high-impact technologies. The database includes museums and displays related to land use, and one of the most thorough listings of land art sites available.

The database describes these sites, and offers links for more detailed information. In many cases information on how to visit these sites is provided, so that they may be directly experienced.

The database is continuously being updated by increasing the number of sites listed and expanding the information it contains. We encourage input from those interested in helping us improve this resource.

To Suggest a Site use our online Site Characerization Form, or print out a blank form in pdf* format.

* Requires Acrobat Reader