Publications

Introduction High-resolution elevation data for Texas inform decision making to improve the State’s economy. Existing elevation data coverage is used to improve resiliency to natural disasters, manage energy infrastructure, and assess natural resources. The expanding availability of current and more accurate elevation data helps better support natural resources conservation, agriculture...

TopoBuilder is a public web application from the National Geospatial Program that enables anyone to create customized digital U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps, called OnDemand Topos, with the best available, most up-to-date data from The National Map (nationalmap.gov). OnDemand Topos can be made at different scales or quadrangles and can cover anywhere within the United...

The goal of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) is to facilitate the acquisition of nationwide lidar data. Although data meet USGS lidar specifications, some point cloud tiles include noisy and incorrectly classified points. The enhanced accuracy of classified point clouds can improve support for many downstream applications such as hydrologic analysis, urban...

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI; also known as the Marshall Islands) is a nation of more than 30 low-lying atolls and islands, most of which are inhabited, dispersed across an Exclusive Economic Zone over 770,000 square miles in the tropical central north Pacific Ocean. The study objectives and methods were originally presented in U.S. Geological Survey Data Report 1181 and are

OnDemand Topo map users now have more map scale options available to them with debut of the 100K Topo or 1:100,000-scale mapping capability within the free topoBuilder application.

High-quality elevation data are proving to be a resource of value in addressing many important economic issues in Michigan. The expanding statewide availability of current and accurate high-resolution elevation data can help support agriculture and precision farming, natural resource conservation, flood risk management, and geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation. Water supply...

Introduction Mississippi has a dispersed population of nearly three million residents in an area of approximately 48,400 square miles and has a favorable climate for agriculture, with abundant precipitation and minimal extreme temperatures. The topography consists mostly of low hills and lowland plains, with the highest elevation about 800 feet above sea level. An exception is the nearly...

The U.S. Geological Survey is initiating the 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP), the first systematic remapping of the Nation’s surface waters since the original 1:24,000-scale topographic mapping program was active from 1947 to 1992. Building on decades of experience maintaining the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), the Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD), and the NHDPlus High Resolution...

Introduction High-quality elevation data are proving to be a resource of great economic value in dealing with many important issues in Ohio. Current and accurate high-resolution elevation data support flood risk management, water quantity and quality assessment, precision farming, conservation planning, impervious-surface modeling, forest and other natural resources management, abandoned...

Introduction Florida has the longest coastline of any State in the contiguous United States, and its coastal resources are one of the main drivers of its economic growth. High-quality elevation data are beneficial for use in emergency management, especially for hurricane response, recovery, and mitigation, as well as for coastal zone management, flood risk management, infrastructure...

Introduction In Minnesota, high-quality elevation data are essential for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, infrastructure and construction management, water supply and quality, coastal zone management, and many other business uses. Critical applications that meet the State’s management needs depend on light detection and ranging...

Introduction Montana, America’s fourth largest State with an area of 147,040 square miles, is defined by its diverse terrain. The western two-fifths of the State falls within the Rocky Mountains and the eastern three-fifths is in the Great Plains. Because of its location along the Continental Divide, the rivers in Montana drain into either the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. Montana...