Where can I find metadata for USGS products?

Metadata links are included with all individual files listed in our Science Data Catalog. USGS data that predate 2000 might not have metadata. 

Metadata for Publications 
  Metadata for publications (bibliographic information) authored by USGS scientists are in the USGS Publications Warehouse.

Metadata for The National Map Products and Services

• In The National Map Viewer, click on the "Layer List" icon above the map, then click on the three dots to the right of the layer and select "Description" in the dropdown menu. Most layers in the Viewer are also available as Downloads and/or Services.  
• In The National Map Download Client, after performing a search and generating a list of files, select the "Info/Metadata" or "Vendor Metadata" link on the right side of each file. 
• Product-level metadata is included with data downloaded in The National Map Download Client along with feature-specific metadata describing source citations and processes applied to each individual feature or collections of features. 
• Metadata links are included with individual files listed in the Sciencebase catalog. 

Metadata for USGS topographic maps

• GeoPDF versions of  Historical Topographic maps, US Topo maps, and OnDemand Topo maps come with an XML metadata file attached to the file. Download the GeoPDF file, open it in Acrobat Reader, click on the paperclip icon, then select a file from the list. 
• US Topo maps (only) downloaded through TopoView (only) or OnDemand Topos downloaded through topoBuilder that are in GeoTIFF format come with two metadata XML documents—one for the map and one for the orthoimage.
• For Historical Topographic maps and US Topo maps, do a search on the map name and date in ScienceBase (example: Mammoth WV 2014). The entry for each map includes a link to the metadata.

Metadata for satellite data

• In the Search Results tab of EarthExplorer, click on the “Show Metadata and Browse” icon.
• When the metadata window opens, click on “Open New Window” and scroll to the bottom for more viewing options.

Learn more: 

• 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) Product Metadata 
• USGS Data Management: Metadata 
• Fundamental Science Practices: Metadata for USGS Scientific Information Products