USGS EROS Archive - Aerial Photography - National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP)
Aerial imagery acquired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) during agricultural growing seasons in the conterminous United States. (2003-present)
The National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Production & Conservation Business Center (FPAC-BC) Geospatial Enterprise Operations (GEO) Branch in Salt Lake, Utah. NAIP acquired aerial imagery at a resolution of 1-meter ground sample distance (GSD) for the United States from 2003– 2017 during the agricultural growing season, or “leaf on” conditions. The images are orthorectified which combines the image characteristics of an aerial photograph with the georeferenced qualities of a map. In 2018, the ground resolution standard changed to .6 meter with the option for .3 meter data was added for consideration over coastal states. The repeat flying cycle was also changed to no longer than a 3-year cycle from its 5-year cycle back in 2003 – 2009. 2009 to present coverage provide a refresh of every 3-years & less responding to user needs across the United States.
Each individual image tile is based on a 3.75-minute longitude by 3.75-minute latitude quarter quadrangle plus a 300-meter buffer on all four sides. Tiles in the NAIP collection are natural color (red, green, and blue bands) or color near infra-red (red, green, blue, and near infrared bands) and may contain as much as 10 percent cloud cover per tile.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center distributes NAIP products in GeoTIFF and JPEG2000 format. The JPEG2000 format is a compressed file with embedded georeferencing information. The 10:1 lossy compression makes the file size smaller by reorganizing the data, but it also slightly degrades the imagery.
NAIP quarter quads are projected to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system and referenced to NAD83. Compressed data in the JPEG 2000 format acquired after 2013 are referenced to WGS84 and utilize the WGS 1984 Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere projection.
APFO has stringent imagery compliance guidelines, and all deliverables are inspected using automated and visual methods to ensure accuracy and compliance with specifications. NAIP transitioned to an absolute accuracy specification beginning in 2006, which tied the imagery to ground control points rather than existing orthorectified imagery. Contracts mandate that all well-defined points tested shall fall within 6 meters of true ground at a 95% confidence level. Beginning in 2009, all states flown adhered to this specification.
Coverage Maps
Coverage Map indicating the availability of NAIP products for download.
Additional Information
- USDA FSA - NAIP Imagery
- USDA - NAIP Information Sheet
- USDA Image Compression - Information Sheet
- USDA Four Band Digital Imagery - Information Sheet
Access Data
EarthExplorer can be used to search, preview, and download NAIP GeoTIFF or NAIP JPEG2000 data. The collections are located under the Aerial Photography category.
Contact APFO Customer Service Section at 801-844-2922 or apfo.sales@slc.usda.gov for NAIP imagery that has been acquired, but is not yet available through EarthExplorer.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Below are other science projects associated with this product.
USGS EROS Archive - Aerial Photography - South Dakota Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Section Photography
USGS EROS Archive - Aerial Photography - High Resolution Orthoimagery (HRO)
Aerial imagery acquired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) during agricultural growing seasons in the conterminous United States. (2003-present)
The National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Production & Conservation Business Center (FPAC-BC) Geospatial Enterprise Operations (GEO) Branch in Salt Lake, Utah. NAIP acquired aerial imagery at a resolution of 1-meter ground sample distance (GSD) for the United States from 2003– 2017 during the agricultural growing season, or “leaf on” conditions. The images are orthorectified which combines the image characteristics of an aerial photograph with the georeferenced qualities of a map. In 2018, the ground resolution standard changed to .6 meter with the option for .3 meter data was added for consideration over coastal states. The repeat flying cycle was also changed to no longer than a 3-year cycle from its 5-year cycle back in 2003 – 2009. 2009 to present coverage provide a refresh of every 3-years & less responding to user needs across the United States.
Each individual image tile is based on a 3.75-minute longitude by 3.75-minute latitude quarter quadrangle plus a 300-meter buffer on all four sides. Tiles in the NAIP collection are natural color (red, green, and blue bands) or color near infra-red (red, green, blue, and near infrared bands) and may contain as much as 10 percent cloud cover per tile.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center distributes NAIP products in GeoTIFF and JPEG2000 format. The JPEG2000 format is a compressed file with embedded georeferencing information. The 10:1 lossy compression makes the file size smaller by reorganizing the data, but it also slightly degrades the imagery.
NAIP quarter quads are projected to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system and referenced to NAD83. Compressed data in the JPEG 2000 format acquired after 2013 are referenced to WGS84 and utilize the WGS 1984 Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere projection.
APFO has stringent imagery compliance guidelines, and all deliverables are inspected using automated and visual methods to ensure accuracy and compliance with specifications. NAIP transitioned to an absolute accuracy specification beginning in 2006, which tied the imagery to ground control points rather than existing orthorectified imagery. Contracts mandate that all well-defined points tested shall fall within 6 meters of true ground at a 95% confidence level. Beginning in 2009, all states flown adhered to this specification.
Coverage Maps
Coverage Map indicating the availability of NAIP products for download.
Additional Information
- USDA FSA - NAIP Imagery
- USDA - NAIP Information Sheet
- USDA Image Compression - Information Sheet
- USDA Four Band Digital Imagery - Information Sheet
Access Data
EarthExplorer can be used to search, preview, and download NAIP GeoTIFF or NAIP JPEG2000 data. The collections are located under the Aerial Photography category.
Contact APFO Customer Service Section at 801-844-2922 or apfo.sales@slc.usda.gov for NAIP imagery that has been acquired, but is not yet available through EarthExplorer.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Below are other science projects associated with this product.