How often is orthoimagery in The National Map updated and what are the acquisition dates?
Orthoimagery (georectified aerial photography) available through The National Map Downloader and The National Map Services is from the USDA Farm Service Agency's National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP), which is 1-meter resolution. Generally, NAIP imagery is refreshed on a 3-year cycle with approximately one third of the continental U.S. flown each year.
The month and year of imagery acquisition can be found in the "Info/Metadata" links in the product search. The acquisition date is also part of the file name.
Learn more: USGS National Geospatial Program Imagery
Related Content
How can I download orthoimagery in bulk?
Download orthoimagery in bulk through a Bulk Download Application (BDA). Free registration is required. Start by clicking on the Help link in EarthExplorer and selecting the Bulk Download Tutorial . To receive bulk data via external hard drive, you must supply the hard drive(s) within our specifications, pay for shipping the drive(s), and provide a paid return label or a carrier account number...
How do I download orthoimagery products and what are the available formats?
Download orthoimagery (georectified aerial photographs) using EarthExplorer , which has the full catalog of USGS orthoimagery and aerial photography, or The National Map downloader, which has NAIP orthoimagery only. EarthExplorer : Products Overview Format varies by type of orthoimagery: Native format, Georeferenced Tagged Image File Format (GeoTIFF), or compressed 10:1 JPEG2000 The National Map...
Why does my orthoimagery search on The National Map return multiple tiles for downloading?
Orthoimagery is usually very large in file size, so we stage the data in "tiles" that can be reasonably transported over the Internet. Orthoimagery from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) that is distributed via The National Map Data Download is in compressed 10:1, JPEG2000 format in 3.75 minute x 3.75 minute tile extents. A larger catalog of orthoimagery can also be downloaded using...
What is a digital orthophoto quadrangle (DOQ) or orthoimage?
A digital orthophoto quadrangle (DOQ)--or any orthoimage--is a computer-generated image of an aerial photograph in which displacements (distortions) caused by terrain relief and camera tilts have been removed. It combines the image characteristics of a photograph with the geometric qualities of a map. Unlike an aerial photograph, an orthoimage has a uniform scale, so it can be used as a base map...
How much area does an aerial photograph cover?
The area covered by an aerial photograph (air photo) depends on the scale of the imagery. Most air photos were taken on 9 x 9 inch film. The chart below reflects coverage for a variety of photographic scales. Scale 1 inch = feet 1 side (miles) Area (square miles) 1:12,000 1000 1.70 2.9 1:20,000 1667 2.84 8.1 1:24,000 2000 3.41 11.6 1:40,000 3333 5.68 32.3 1:58,000 4833 8.23 67.73 1:63,360 5280 9...
Are the scanned aerial photographic images georectified?
Scans of traditional aerial photography film products (air photos) are not georectified . The USGS does, however, offer several orthoimagery (georectified aerial photograph) products: Digital Orthophoto Quadrangle (DOQ) High Resolution Orthoimagery (HRO) National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP, NAIP Plus) NAIP orthoimagery has been collected for the entire conterminous United States every 3...
Related Content
- FAQ
How can I download orthoimagery in bulk?
Download orthoimagery in bulk through a Bulk Download Application (BDA). Free registration is required. Start by clicking on the Help link in EarthExplorer and selecting the Bulk Download Tutorial . To receive bulk data via external hard drive, you must supply the hard drive(s) within our specifications, pay for shipping the drive(s), and provide a paid return label or a carrier account number...
How do I download orthoimagery products and what are the available formats?
Download orthoimagery (georectified aerial photographs) using EarthExplorer , which has the full catalog of USGS orthoimagery and aerial photography, or The National Map downloader, which has NAIP orthoimagery only. EarthExplorer : Products Overview Format varies by type of orthoimagery: Native format, Georeferenced Tagged Image File Format (GeoTIFF), or compressed 10:1 JPEG2000 The National Map...
Why does my orthoimagery search on The National Map return multiple tiles for downloading?
Orthoimagery is usually very large in file size, so we stage the data in "tiles" that can be reasonably transported over the Internet. Orthoimagery from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) that is distributed via The National Map Data Download is in compressed 10:1, JPEG2000 format in 3.75 minute x 3.75 minute tile extents. A larger catalog of orthoimagery can also be downloaded using...
What is a digital orthophoto quadrangle (DOQ) or orthoimage?
A digital orthophoto quadrangle (DOQ)--or any orthoimage--is a computer-generated image of an aerial photograph in which displacements (distortions) caused by terrain relief and camera tilts have been removed. It combines the image characteristics of a photograph with the geometric qualities of a map. Unlike an aerial photograph, an orthoimage has a uniform scale, so it can be used as a base map...
How much area does an aerial photograph cover?
The area covered by an aerial photograph (air photo) depends on the scale of the imagery. Most air photos were taken on 9 x 9 inch film. The chart below reflects coverage for a variety of photographic scales. Scale 1 inch = feet 1 side (miles) Area (square miles) 1:12,000 1000 1.70 2.9 1:20,000 1667 2.84 8.1 1:24,000 2000 3.41 11.6 1:40,000 3333 5.68 32.3 1:58,000 4833 8.23 67.73 1:63,360 5280 9...
Are the scanned aerial photographic images georectified?
Scans of traditional aerial photography film products (air photos) are not georectified . The USGS does, however, offer several orthoimagery (georectified aerial photograph) products: Digital Orthophoto Quadrangle (DOQ) High Resolution Orthoimagery (HRO) National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP, NAIP Plus) NAIP orthoimagery has been collected for the entire conterminous United States every 3...
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