Topographic Maps

Topographic maps use contour lines to show the shape of the earth's surface.

• 7.5-Minute Quadrangle Maps
• Obtaining Topographic Maps in Paper
• Obtaining Topographic Maps Online
• Topographic Map Web Sites

7.5-Minute Quadrangle Maps

The United States Geological Survey began mapping the country in 1879 and has been the primary civilian mapping agency of the United States ever since.

The best known USGS maps are the 1:24,000-scale topographic maps, also known as 7.5-minute quadrangles. In addition to elevation, they show such features as streets, buildings, streams, and woods. This is the only uniform map series that covers the entire area of the United States in considerable detail.

The 7.5-minute map series was officially completed in 1992, and in 2001 the program was replaced by The National Map, which is a nationwide collection of integrated data from local, State, Federal, and other sources.

Obtaining Topographic Maps in Paper

The UNT Libraries' Government Documents Department has 7.5-minute topographic maps in hardcopy for most of Texas, as well as for Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and New Mexico. If you would like to see a topographic map for a particular area, ask for the map by quadrangle name at the Government Documents Service Desk.

An index map for identifying quadrangle names is also available at the Service Desk, or you can use the U.S. Geological Survey's State Topographic Map Lists.

To obtain free map indexes and catalogs, and to order topographic maps or any of the wide variety of thematic maps available from the USGS, contact:

USGS Information Services
Box 25286
Denver CO 80225
1-888-ASK-USGS or 303-202-4700
Fax: 303-202-4693
Web site: Ask USGS

Visit the USGS home page at www.usgs.gov/

Obtaining Topographic Maps Online

US Topo

The next generation of digital topographic maps from the U.S. Geological Survey. Arranged in the traditional 7.5-minute quadrangle format, digital US Topo maps are designed to look and feel like the traditional paper topographic maps for which the USGS is so well known. At the same time, US Topo maps provide modern technical advantages that support wider and faster public distribution and enable basic, on-screen geographic analysis for all users. US Topo users can turn geographic data layers on and off as needed; zoom in and out to highlight specific features or see a broader context; and print the maps, in their entirety or in customized sections, on a wide variety of printing devices. See current US Topo map coverage.

Texas Topographic Maps

Many of the USGS 7.5-minute topographic maps for Texas have been scanned and can be downloaded from this Perry-Castañeda Map Collection site.

USGS Topographic Map Collection

Maps covering Texas and the border areas, provided by The Portal to Texas History at UNT.

The National Map: Historical Topographic Map Collection

Contains many historic maps. The United States Geological Survey is in the process of scanning all editions and all scales of topographic maps produced since the inception of the topographic mapping program in 1884. To find out when a particular map is scheduled to become available, see http://nationalmap.gov/historical/status/.

Topographic Map Web Sites

The following Web sites also provide topographic maps or information about them:

USGS Topographic Map Collection

Between 1995 and 1998, more than 60,000 of the USGS topographic maps were scanned to make them available in a digital format, though not every state was represented in the digitization project. The original maps were created over the previous three to four decades on paper before being scanned. Since then, newer maps have been created as "born-digital" objects at higher standards than the previous ones. Each of the Digital Raster Graphic (DRG) maps in this collection was scanned by USGS from a standard topographic map depicting a specific quadrant. This collection is also limited to just over 4200 maps covering Texas and border areas (though most of the United States and territories are online at the USGS site).

Map Locator and Downloader

Search USGS topographic maps by address, place, or map name, and download the entire map in digital format.

MyTopo Maptech MapServer

The largest online mapping resource for U.S. topographic maps and charts for land, sea, and air. Browse, view, print, and E-mail the maps for free.

Microsoft Research Maps

The Microsoft Research Maps (formerly TerraServer-USA) Web site is one of the world's largest online databases, providing free public access to a vast data store of maps and aerial photographs of the United States. MRS Maps is designed to work with commonly available computer systems and Web browsers over slow speed communications links. Enter a street and city or a latitude and longitude to get a 1:24,000-scale topographic map of any location in the United States.

Finding and Ordering USGS Topographic Maps

Price lists, order forms, and other information on how to purchase a topographic map.

Libre Map Project

This project makes maps and related GIS data available online for free. It currently contains 7.5-minute, 1:24,000 detailed topographic maps for all 50 states.

Shuttle Radar Topography Mission

The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), a specially modified radar system that flew onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour during an 11-day mission in February of 2000, obtained elevation data on a near-global scale to generate the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of Earth.

Topographic Map Symbols

A guide to interpreting the symbols on USGS topographic maps.

Topographic Mapping

Describes the topographic map, its use, its history, its production, and—in light of new technology and the digital mapping revolution—its potential.

TopoZone

This interactive database of USGS topographic maps of the entire United States used to be free until it was bought by trails.com. Now it requires payment of a subscription fee to view the maps.