Why it matters
The USGS works with many partners to provide objective and impartial science to resource managers, emergency responders, and the public. Our products and data are necessary to understand, monitor, and detect changes that affect the Nation’s natural and agricultural resources, the economy, public safety, and security.
A glimpse into the past
Although the historical maps may not show the current landscape, they are often useful to scientists, historians, environmentalists, genealogists, and many others as a snapshot of the nation's physical and cultural features at a particular time. A series of maps of the same area may show how it looked as early as the 1880s and provide a detailed view of changes in that area over time.
Scaled paper topographic maps
Did you ever hunt, fish, hike, bike, or cross-country ski using a paper topographic "quad" map for guidance? Chances are it was USGS 7.5-minute (1:24,000 scale) topographic map series produced and printed by the USGS since 1947.
These maps showed latitude and longitude lines, roads, railroads, tunnels, and mines. They showed federal land boundaries, telephone lines, pipelines, and land surveys. They showed vegetation types, water bodies, coastal features, and contours. They showed cities, towns, buildings, schools, picnic areas, campgrounds, and cemeteries.
All of this (and more!) was available to the public for use.
US Topo: Maps for America
Launched in 2009, US Topos combine the familiar look and feel of legacy paper USGS topographic maps with technological advances of the 21st century. US Topo maps offer consistent and complete coverage of the Nation, including Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Alaska (completed 2021).
US Topos are refreshed using GIS data from The National Map and published as free geospatial PDF documents. Please visit US Topo: Maps for America for full details.
OnDemand Topos from topoBuilder
With the release of topoBuilder in early 2022, a third variety of USGS topographic map was born. This public application enables users to build USGS-style topographic maps with customizations such as choice of format, area of interest, and National Map content. These next-generation maps, known as OnDemand Topos, are produced upon request using the best available data from The National Map. Learn more at the topoBuilder landing page.
