Our Center has an impressive legacy dating back to 1889 when Congress provided its first annual appropriation to the USGS for topographic mapping. The NGTOC provides leadership and world-class technical expertise in the acquisition and management of trusted geospatial data, services, and map products for the Nation. As the operational branch of the National Geospatial Program, we maintain The National Map, a collaborative effort among the USGS and other Federal, State, and local partners to improve and deliver topographic information for the Nation.
The NGTOC has office locations in Denver, Colorado and Rolla, Missouri and performs a wide array of functions in support of maintaining seamless, current, nationally consistent coverage of base geospatial data. Our product and service offerings include our Historical Topographic Map Collection (HTMC) comprising over 180,000 historical topographic maps of the Unites States in addition to our current line of over 200,000 modern US Topo digital topographic maps. The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) contains our national inventory of elevation data and the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) provides nationwide data for lakes, river, streams, and other hydrographic features. We also maintain and update national databases including transportation features, structures, and government boundaries.
In support of the U.S. Boards on Geographic Names, we maintain the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) which contains the official names for places features and areas throughout the United States and its territories. NGTOC is home to The National Map Corps, an online crowdsourcing mapping project with volunteers successfully editing structures in all 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To help us fulfill our mission, the NGTOC also oversees several broad-based USGS contract mechanisms for the acquisition of geospatial products and services through the commercial sector.
