USGS LiDAR progress in Montana 2026-01-30 - more LiDAR point clouds
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Glenn Borkenhagen
Feb 3, 2026, 5:23:02 PMFeb 3
to MAGIP Listserv
Greetings to MAGIP -
The USGS recently released more aerial LiDAR point cloud (LPC) tiles for Montana.
New coverage is of a bit more than 3,700 square miles including portions of Broadwater, Meagher, Wheatland, Golden Valley, and Musselshell counties. Communities covered include Townsend, White Sulphur Springs, Martinsdale, Twodot, Shawmut, Roundup, and Musselshell.
A georeferenced PDF map showing the area of the latest releases is available here.
The blue area on that map was published on Friday 30 January 2026.
The rectangle around Harlowton is covered by Quality Level 1 (QL1) data released in October 2024.
The new LPC coverage areas do not appear on the image currently provided at The National Map Download when you click on "Show" but that should change in the next few days. On Saturday 31 January 2026 the tiles were there ready for free downloading using the various selection methods.
Raster (GeoTIFF) one-meter digital elevation models (DEMs) are not yet available for this new data. Generally USGS delays issuing new DEMs until after all LPCs in a project are completed and released. The USGS refers to this project as "MT Statewide Phase5 D23" and this project is called "2023 USGS Statewide MT Phase 5 QL2 Lidar" on the US Interagency Elevation Inventory webpage.
Finally, a reminder that if the USGS is not yet providing LiDAR point cloud (LPC) or LiDAR-derived DEM data for your area of interest, the Montana_Lidar_Inventory at the Montana State Library has and offers LiDAR coverage not available from USGS. The Montana Lidar Inventory also provides countywide mosaics as well as derived products such as digital surface models (DSMs - including trees, buildings, etc.), tree-canopy-height models, hillshades, contours, and building footprints depending on the area.
Regards,
Glenn Borkenhagen
Cody, Wyoming
307-272-5044
gl...@inlandgps.com
The USGS recently released more aerial LiDAR point cloud (LPC) tiles for Montana.
New coverage is of a bit more than 3,700 square miles including portions of Broadwater, Meagher, Wheatland, Golden Valley, and Musselshell counties. Communities covered include Townsend, White Sulphur Springs, Martinsdale, Twodot, Shawmut, Roundup, and Musselshell.
A georeferenced PDF map showing the area of the latest releases is available here.
The blue area on that map was published on Friday 30 January 2026.
The rectangle around Harlowton is covered by Quality Level 1 (QL1) data released in October 2024.
The new LPC coverage areas do not appear on the image currently provided at The National Map Download when you click on "Show" but that should change in the next few days. On Saturday 31 January 2026 the tiles were there ready for free downloading using the various selection methods.
Raster (GeoTIFF) one-meter digital elevation models (DEMs) are not yet available for this new data. Generally USGS delays issuing new DEMs until after all LPCs in a project are completed and released. The USGS refers to this project as "MT Statewide Phase5 D23" and this project is called "2023 USGS Statewide MT Phase 5 QL2 Lidar" on the US Interagency Elevation Inventory webpage.
Finally, a reminder that if the USGS is not yet providing LiDAR point cloud (LPC) or LiDAR-derived DEM data for your area of interest, the Montana_Lidar_Inventory at the Montana State Library has and offers LiDAR coverage not available from USGS. The Montana Lidar Inventory also provides countywide mosaics as well as derived products such as digital surface models (DSMs - including trees, buildings, etc.), tree-canopy-height models, hillshades, contours, and building footprints depending on the area.
Regards,
Glenn Borkenhagen
Cody, Wyoming
307-272-5044
gl...@inlandgps.com
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages