I (Mike Polk) am finally getting back to the list about the results of our
search for downloadable and/or disk copy USGS Maps that are available. One
of my staff members, Tim King, pursued this issue for us and here are his
results:
In CRM, USGS Topographic maps are as indispensable as soft-money is to
politicians. If you have ever worked on a project covering a wide area, you
know the expense involved in purchasing multiple copies of these maps. The
recent increase in price of these maps, from $2.00 to $5.00 in some cases,
has created a need for a less expensive means of obtaining these vital
documents. The more sophisticated manipulation of graphic data has also
created a need for digital USGS map information. Recently, Sagebrush
Consultants discovered an alternative to purchasing these necessary, yet
expensive items.
The USGS is in the process of converting the country's topographic maps
into Digital Raster Images (DRG's). Once converted these maps are encoded
onto CD-ROM's. Each CD holds 64 7.5 minute maps, two 1:100,000 scale maps,
and one 1:250,000 scale maps covering one degree latitude by one degree
longitude. They are available from the USGS for $32.00 a piece. It should be
noted that these maps are not vector images and cannot be manipulated
effectively within CAD or GIS applications.
These maps can be manipulated in programs such as Corel Draw, Adobe
Photoshop and other desktop publishing programs. In these programs, one can
add relevant data such as project area limitations, site locations, and north
arrows. Small sections can be enlarged and printed in full color to aid in
field work. We have all experienced the disappearing forest, or the
ever-present smudge that looks just like a hot spring on a Xerox copy.
Instead of taking original hard copies into the field, one would only need to
reprint the area they needed.
I recently spoke to Chuck Peterson of the USGS to find out what areas were
available on CD. Unfortunately for those of us out West only a minimal
number of areas have been converted to CD. As for you east coasters there
are quite a few areas already covered. The states that are completely
covered are Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusettes. Florida and
Kentucky have 6 CD's each with Georgia having only 3 CD's. In the West,
western Colorado and western North Dakota are covered, California has six,
Nevada-4, Oklahoma-3 and New Mexico-1. When asked why certain areas have a
greater amount of areas covered, Mr. Peterson stated that partnerships are
formed between government agencies to get certain areas done before others.
No private industry is involved, though areas with a large amount of
development seem to have a higher percentage of CD coverage. Since CRM deals
with governmental agencies there may be a possibility of having state SHPO's
combine any excess funds at the end of the year to be ear-marked for the
converting of more areas onto CD's.
Before you get your hopes up, Chuck told me that a problem has been found
in the CD's which has caused a moratorium on their sale until the problem is
fixed. He said that should take a month or so. If you are interested, the
USGS has a site on the web at http://www.usgs.gov/ from which you can obtain
a list of the individual addresses for your specific needs. By the way, all
1:100,000 and 1:250,000 USGS maps for the United States are free to download
from the USGS web page. The maps are listed by state and map title and
download software is available in the same location as the maps. First go to
http://www.usgs.gov/ then click on MAPPING, then click on ONLINE DATA. That
takes you to the FTP files where you can download various types of maps.
Timothy E. King
Assistant Archaeologist
Sagebrush Consultants, L.L.C.
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