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The production of digital cartographic data and graphic maps comprises
the largest component of the USGS
National Mapping Program
(NMP). Cartographic data are compiled from aerial
photographs, other remotely sensed images, historical records, legal documents,
and direct field observations and surveys and comply with standards of content,
geometric accuracy, and presentation. Modern, automated equipment is used in
this process, replacing the labor-intensive processes of the past. The
NMP incorporates the documented needs of 40 Federal agencies
and the 50 States, which are solicited and analyzed as part of a continuous
requirements assessment process.
Printed Maps
- Topographic Quadrangle Maps
- The USGS's most familiar product is the
1:24,000-scale Topographic Quadrangle Map. This is the primary scale of data
produced, and depicts greater detail for a smaller area than intermediate-scale
(1:50,000 and 1:100,000) and small-scale (1:250,000, 1:2,000,000 or smaller)
products, which show selectively less detail for larger areas.
- Orthophotoquads
- Orthophotoquads are distortion-free aerial photographs that are
formatted and printed as standard 7.5 minute, 1:24,000-scale quadrangles
(15-minute in Alaska) or as quarter quadrangles at a scale of 1:12,000.
- Satellite Image Maps
- Experimental multicolored or black-and-white image maps produced
from digital data collected by Land Satellite (Landsat) and Systeme Probatoire
d'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) sensors. Scales range from 1:24,000 (Point
Loma, Calif.) to 1:7,500,000 (conterminous 48 States).
- Thematic Maps
- Maps in which information on special subjects is geographically
displayed on planimetric base maps or overlays registered to planimetric or
topographic base maps. This category includes land use and land cover and
associated maps, geologic and hydrologic studies, and National Atlas maps.
- Other Format Maps
- This category consists of maps in non-quadrangle format. These maps
include: a county map series, State base map series, U.S. base maps, a National
Park series, and outline maps of the world. Scales range from 1:960 to 1:80
million.
- Other Map Products
- Other map products, published to meet the special needs of Federal
agencies, include: selected National Imagery and Mapping
Agency map and chart products, USDA Forest Service
National Forest
and Grasslands Maps, Antarctic map series, shaded relief topographic maps,
topographic-bathymetric maps, and U.S. border maps.
For more specific information and ordering instructions for Printed
Maps, see: USGS Printed Maps
Aerial Photographs
- Aerial Photographs
- Aerial photographs archived and distributed by the
USGS include the repository of multiagency National Aerial
Photography Program (NAPP) photos at 1:40,000 scale in color
infrared or black and white; National High Altitude Aerial Photography Program
(NHAP) photos at 1:58,000 scale for color infrared and
1:80,000 for black and white; and aerial photos at various scales from
USGS mapping projects and other Federal agencies such as the
Bureau of Reclamation, Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers.
- Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles (DOQ)
- Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles (DOQ) are digital
images of aerial photographs in which displacements caused by the camera and
the terrain have been removed. A DOQ combines the image
characteristics of a photograph with the geometric qualities of a map. The
standard digital orhthophoto produced by the USGS is a black-and-white or
color-infrared 1-meter ground resolution quarter quadrangle (3.75-minute)
image.
Space Photography and Satellite-Derived Data and Imagery
Products archived and available through the USGS
with substantial coverage of the United States include:
- Space Acquired Photography
- From NASA manned spaceflight missions.
- Digital Satellite Images
- Products include Advanced Very-High Resolution Radiometer
(AVHRR) images and Land Satellite (Landsat) Thematic Mapper
(TM) and Multispectral Scanner (MSS)
digital data. Also available are color and black-and-white photographic products
generated from various satellite sources.
Digital Geospatial Data
Products archived and available through the USGS
include:
- Digital Line Graphs (DLG)
- DLG's are vector files containing line data,
such as roads and streams, digitized from USGS topographic
maps. DLG's offer a full range of attribute codes, are
highly accurate, and are topologically structured, which makes them ideal for
use in geographic information systems (GIS).
- Digital Raster Graphics
(DRG)
- DRG's are scanned images of
USGS topographic maps. A scanned DRG
image includes all map collar information. The image inside the map neatline is
georeferenced to the Earth's surface. A DRG can be combined
with digital data or images (for example, DOQ's) to aid in
the collection, review, and revision of other types of digital data, especially
DLG's.
- Digital Elevation Models
(DEM)
- DEM's are digital records of terrain elevations
for ground positions at regularly spaced horizontal intervals.
DEM's are developed from stereo models or digital contour
line files derived from USGS topographic quadrangle
maps.
- Land Use and Land Cover
(LULC)
- LULC data are derived from thematic overlays
registered to 1:250,000-scale base maps and a limited number of 1:100,000-scale
base maps. LULC data provide information on urban or
built-up land, agricultural land, rangeland, forest land, water, wetlands,
barren land, tundra, and perennial snow or ice. Associated maps display
information in five data categories: (1) political units, (2) hydrologic units,
(3) census county subdivisions, (4) Federal land ownership, and (5) State land
ownership.
- Upper Mississippi and Lower Missouri Data
Base
- This data base forms an Environmental Information System for the
Upper Mississippi and Missouri River Basins developed in response to the great
flood of 1993. This system includes satellite data, elevation data, digitized
aerial photographs, data on historic river channels, man-made structures,
hazardous/toxic waste sites, spatially referenced information on soils, and
various geologic, biologic, hydrologic, and hydrographic themes. The component
data sets were designed for widely different purposes, and are stored in a
variety of formats and map scales. The majority of data were provided by
Federal agencies and are in the public domain. A small number of data sets have
distribution restrictions due to proprietary agreements or to protect resources
at sensitive locations such as archaeologic sites or endangered species nesting
areas.
Geographic Names Information System
(GNIS)
The GNIS
data base contains information about physical and cultural geographic features
in the United States, including the Federally recognized name and location. The
GNIS is the Nation's official repository of domestic
geographic names information. An online
query of the GNIS data base is also available.
Mapping-Related Earth Science Publications
Mapping-Related Public-Domain Software
The USGS maintains a collection of public-domain
software developed by or for the
USGS, including cartographic, map production and revision,
geospatial metadata, and mapping products access applications.
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