Topographic Survey Maps Eft

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Jessia Adachi

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Aug 5, 2024, 12:33:57 AM8/5/24

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1The Historical Topographic Map Collection (HTMC) is the set of scanned images of USGS topographic quadrangle maps originally published as paper documents in the period 1884-2006. Visit Historical Topographic Maps - Preserving the Past for more information.

2. US Topo is the current USGS topographic map series for the Nation. These are modeled on the legacy 7.5-minute maps, but are mass-produced from GIS databases of The National Map and published as digital documents. Please visit US Topo: Maps for America for full details.

US Topo map production is transitioning away from a static 3-year refresh cycle. Nevertheless, maps will continue to be updated and published annually. Areas experiencing significant change since the last published map will be reproduced.

Click here see the most up-to-date US Topo production schedule.

Thank you for your patience as we make this adjustment to better meet the needs of our users. More information will be shared as we finalize our new production cycles. Want the best available National Map data on a custom, on-demand, USGS topographic map?

Click here to learn about topoBuilder and OnDemand Topos.

3. OnDemand Topos are USGS-style topographic maps created using the topoBuilder application. These maps are generated upon request using the best available data from The National Map and offer customizations such as choice of format, area of interest, and National Map content. Learn more at the topoBuilder landing page.

The newest USGS topo map web app gives the public the opportunity to create custom topographic maps on demand. The online application is called topoBuilder and the output maps are known as OnDemand Topos.

topoBuilder is a public web application released by the National Geospatial Program that enables users to request customized USGS-style topographic maps, known as an OnDemand Topo, that utilize the best available data from The National Map.

Historically, USGS topographic maps were made using data from primary sources including direct field observations. Those maps were compiled, drawn, and edited by hand. By today's standards, those traditional methods are very expensive and time-consuming, and the USGS no longer has funding to make maps that way. A new USGS topographic map series was launched in 2009 and branded " US Topo ." Though...

US Topo maps are produced by the National Geospatial Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). First launched in 2009, US Topos combine the familiar look and feel of legacy paper USGS topographic maps with technological advances of the 21st century.

US Topo map data is derived from the geographic information system (GIS) data of The National Map and is continuously updated via National, state, local, and commercial partnerships. Current and historic USGS topographic maps are available for immediate download from The National Map Downloader. Please note that not all features on historical maps appear on US Topos.

Get your topographic maps here! The latest version of topoView includes both current and historical maps and is full of enhancements based on hundreds of your comments and suggestions. Let us know how we can continue to improve access to the USGS topographic map collection.

This interface was created by the National Geologic Map Database project (NGMDB), in support of the topographic mapping program, managed by the USGS National Geospatial Program (NGP). Geologic and topographic mapping have a long tradition together (see 1888 report). The NGMDB project is proud to assist the NGP in bringing these maps to the Web.

US Topo Series added to topoView

We've added the US Topo series to topoView, giving users access to over 3 million downloadable files from 2009 to the present day. The US Topo series is a latest generation of topographic maps modeled on the USGS historical 7.5-minute series (created from 1947-1992). Like the historical topographic mapping collection, we've added a variety of file formats previously unavailable for the US Topo series, including GeoTIFF and KMZ.

New functionality driven by your feedback

The latest version of topoView is full of enhancements based on hundreds of your comments and suggestions. We've added the ability to preview maps within the interface and give you tools to compare any historical map with maps of the present. Filters and searches work seamlessly with the map records table to get you the info you need with fewer clicks. Accessing the information you need is easier and quicker than ever. As always, your feedback is important to us so don't hesitate to let us know what you'd like to see in future releases!

In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but historically using a variety of methods. Traditional definitions require a topographic map to show both natural and artificial features.[1] A topographic survey is typically based upon a systematic observation and published as a map series, made up of two or more map sheets that combine to form the whole map. A topographic map series uses a common specification that includes the range of cartographic symbols employed, as well as a standard geodetic framework that defines the map projection, coordinate system, ellipsoid and geodetic datum. Official topographic maps also adopt a national grid referencing system.

These maps depict in detail ground relief (landforms and terrain), drainage (lakes and rivers), forest cover, administrative areas, populated areas, transportation routes and facilities (including roads and railways), and other man-made features.

Other authors define topographic maps by contrasting them with another type of map; they are distinguished from smaller-scale "chorographic maps" that cover large regions,[3][4] "planimetric maps" that do not show elevations,[5] and "thematic maps" that focus on specific topics.[6]

However, in the vernacular and day to day world, the representation of relief (contours) is popularly held to define the genre, such that even small-scale maps showing relief are commonly (and erroneously, in the technical sense) called "topographic".[4]

The study or discipline of topography is a much broader field of study, which takes into account all natural and human-made features of terrain. Maps were among the first artifacts to record observations about topography.[7]

Topographic maps are based on topographical surveys. Performed at large scales, these surveys are called topographical in the old sense of topography, showing a variety of elevations and landforms.[8] This is in contrast to older cadastral surveys, which primarily show property and governmental boundaries. The first multi-sheet topographic map series of an entire country, the Carte gomtrique de la France, was completed in 1789.[9] The Great Trigonometric Survey of India, started by the East India Company in 1802, then taken over by the British Raj after 1857 was notable as a successful effort on a larger scale and for accurately determining heights of Himalayan peaks from viewpoints over one hundred miles distant.[10]

Topographic surveys were prepared by the military to assist in planning for battle and for defensive emplacements (thus the name and history of the United Kingdom's Ordnance Survey). As such, elevation information was of vital importance.[11]

As they evolved, topographic map series became a national resource in modern nations in planning infrastructure and resource exploitation. In the United States, the national map-making function which had been shared by both the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior migrated to the newly created United States Geological Survey in 1879, where it has remained since.[12][13]