The Minnesota Geospatial Image Service provides versatile access to the USGS Topographic Map Series layers (DRG format) using a Web Map Service (WMS). Using this service eliminates the need to download and store these background layers locally. Three scales of USGS topographic maps are available through this service: 1:250,000, 1:100,000, and 1:24,000. The maps are 1949-1994 vintage.
For more information:
- How to use a WMS: https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/chouse/wms/how_to_use_wms.html
- Technical specifications for using this service: https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/chouse/wms/wms_image_server_specs.html
- About topo maps: https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/chouse/elevation/topo_maps.html
- USGS services providing access to current topo maps: https://apps.nationalmap.gov/services/
NCED is currently involved in researching the effectiveness of anaglyph maps in the classroom and are working with educators and scientists to interpret various Earth-surface processes. Based on the findings of the research, various activities and interpretive information will be developed and available for educators to use in their classrooms. Keep checking back with this website because activities and maps are always being updated. We believe that anaglyph maps are an important tool in helping students see the world and are working to further develop materials and activities to support educators in their use of the maps.
This website has various 3-D maps and supporting materials that are available for download. Maps can be printed, viewed on computer monitors, or projected on to screens for larger audiences. Keep an eye on our website for more maps, activities and new information. Let us know how you use anaglyph maps in your classroom. Email any ideas or activities you have to ncedmaps@umn.edu
Anaglyph paper maps are a cost effective offshoot of the GeoWall Project. Geowall is a high end visualization tool developed for use in the University of Minnesota's Geology and Geophysics Department. Because of its effectiveness it has been expanded to 300 institutions across the United States. GeoWall projects 3-D images and allows students to see 3-D representations but is limited because of the technology. Paper maps are a cost effective solution that allows anaglyph technology to be used in classroom and field-based applications.
Maps are best when viewed with RED/CYAN anaglyph glasses!
A note on downloading: "viewable" maps are .jpg files; "high-quality downloads" are .tif files. While it is possible to view the latter in a web-browser in most cases, the download may be slow. As an alternative, try right-clicking on the link to the high-quality download and choosing "save" from the pop-up menu that results. Save the file to your own machine, then try opening the saved copy. This may be faster than clicking directly on the link to open it in the browser.
World Map: 3-D map that highlights oceanic bathymetry and plate boundaries.
Continental United States: 3-D grayscale map of the Lower 48.
Western United States: 3-D grayscale map of the Western United States with state boundaries.
Regional Map: 3-D greyscale map stretching from Hudson Bay to the Central Great Plains. This map includes the Western Great Lakes and the Canadian Shield.
Minnesota Map: 3-D greyscale map of Minnesota with county and state boundaries.
Twin Cities: 3-D map extending beyond Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Twin Cities Confluence Map: 3-D map highlighting the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. This map includes most of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Minneapolis, MN: 3-D topographical map of South Minneapolis.
Bassets Creek, Minneapolis: 3-D topographical map of the Bassets Creek watershed.
North Minneapolis: 3-D topographical map highlighting North Minneapolis and the Mississippi River.
St. Paul, MN: 3-D topographical map of St. Paul.
Western Suburbs, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Minnetonka area.
Minnesota River Valley Suburbs, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of Bloomington, Eden Prairie and Edina area.
Southern Suburbs, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of Burnsville, Lakeville and Prior Lake area.
Southeast Suburbs, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of South St. Paul, Mendota Heights, Apple Valley and Eagan area.
Northeast Suburbs, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of White Bear Lake, Maplewood and Roseville area.
Northwest Suburbs, Mississippi River, Twin Cities: 3-D topographical map of North Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center and Maple Grove area.
Blaine, MN: 3-D map of Blaine and the Mississippi River.
White Bear Lake, MN: 3-D topographical map of White Bear Lake and the surrounding area.
Maple Grove, MN: 3-D topographical mmap of the NW suburbs of the Twin Cities.
Map Catalog is powered by the Memento Server software and provides a continuous view across multiple geospatial PDFs. The PDF maps currently available are 1K USNG (topo and aerial) maps from four metro counties(Anoka, Carver, Dakota and Ramsey), 1K USNG Topo of cities and state parks in Minnesota, 10K USNG Aerial maps for Minnesota, US Topo for the metro and Dakota County Park maps, City Street maps and Half Section maps. Map update frequency varies.
Layered GeoPDF 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map. Layers of geospatial data include orthoimagery, roads, grids, geographic names, elevation contours, hydrography, and other selected map features.
2-foot and 10-foot elevation contours derived from the Spring 2012 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) LiDAR dataset.
Layered GeoPDF 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map. Layers of geospatial data include orthoimagery, roads, grids, geographic names, elevation contours, hydrography, and other selected map features.
A digital raster graphic (DRG) is a scanned image of an U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) standard series topographic map, including all map collar information. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Universal Transverse Mercator projection. The horizontal positional accuracy and datum of the DRG matches the accuracy and datum of the source map. The map is scanned at a minimum resolution of 250 dots per inch.
DRG's are created by scanning published paper maps on high-resolution scanners. The raster image is georeferenced and fit to the UTM projection. Colors are standardized to remove scanner limitations and artifacts. The average data set size is about 6 megabytes in Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) with PackBits compression. DRG's can be easily combined with other digital cartographic products such as digital elevation models (DEM) and digital orthophoto quadrangles (DOQ).
DRG's are stored as rectified TIFF files in geoTIFF format. GeoTIFF is a relatively new TIFF image storage format that incorporates georeferencing information in the header. This allows software, such as ArcView, ARC/INFO, or EPPL7 to reference the image without an additional header or world file.
Within the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Core GIS data set the DRG's have been processed to be in compliance with departmental data standards (UTM Extended Zone 15, NAD83 datum) and the map collar information has been removed to facilitate the display of the DRG's in a seamless fashion.
These DRG's were clipped and transformed to UTM Zone 15 using EPPL7 Raster GIS.
The Minnesota Geospatial Image Service provides versatile access to Minnesota air photos, hillshades, and scanned topographic maps using a Web Map Service (WMS). Using this service means you don't need to download and store these very large files on your own computer.
For a list of imagery data sets available through this service, see https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/chouse/wms/wms_image_server_layers.html.
For technical specifications for using this service, see https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/chouse/wms/wms_image_server_specs.html.
For information on how to use a Web Map Service (WMS), see https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/chouse/wms/how_to_use_wms.html.
Link to the ScienceBase Item Summary page for the item described by this metadata record. Service Protocol: Link to the ScienceBase Item Summary page for the item described by this metadata record. Application Profile: Web Browser. Link Function: information
Link to the ScienceBase Item Summary page for the item described by this metadata record. Service Protocol: Link to the ScienceBase Item Summary page for the item described by this metadata record. Application Profile: Web Browser. Link Function: information
Layered GeoPDF 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map. Layers of geospatial data include orthoimagery, roads, grids, geographic names, elevation contours, hydrography, and other selected map features.
This location is part of the Arizona Mineral Industry Location System (AzMILS), an inventory of mineral occurences, prospects and mine locations in Arizona. SantaCruz164A is located in T23S R16E Sec 31 NW in the Nogales - 15 Min quad. This collection consists of various reports, maps, records and related materials acquired by the Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources regarding mining properties in Arizona. Information was obtained by various means, including the property owners, exploration companies, consultants, verbal interviews, field visits, newspapers and publications. Some sections may be redacted for copyright. Please see the access statement.
Layered GeoPDF 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map. Layers of geospatial data include orthoimagery, roads, grids, geographic names, elevation contours, hydrography, and other selected map features.
Layered GeoPDF 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map. Layers of geospatial data include orthoimagery, roads, grids, geographic names, elevation contours, hydrography, and other selected map features.
Layered GeoPDF 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map. Layers of geospatial data include orthoimagery, roads, grids, geographic names, elevation contours, hydrography, and other selected map features.
Layered GeoPDF 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map. Layers of geospatial data include orthoimagery, roads, grids, geographic names, elevation contours, hydrography, and other selected map features.
Layered GeoPDF 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map. Layers of geospatial data include orthoimagery, roads, grids, geographic names, elevation contours, hydrography, and other selected map features.
Layered GeoPDF 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map. Layers of geospatial data include orthoimagery, roads, grids, geographic names, elevation contours, hydrography, and other selected map features.
Layered GeoPDF 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Map. Layers of geospatial data include orthoimagery, roads, grids, geographic names, elevation contours, hydrography, and other selected map features.
Fugro Horizons Inc. acquired highly accurate Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) elevation data for the Twin Cities metropolitan region in east-central Minnesota in Spring and Fall 2011, with some reflights in Spring 2012. The data cover Anoka, Benton, Carver, Dakota, Goodhue, Hennepin, Isanti, Kanabec, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne and Washington counties.
Most of the data was collected at 1.5 points/square meter. Smaller areas were collected with 2 points/square meter and with 8 points/square meter:
1. 1.5 points/square meter covers Morrison, Mille Lacs, Benton, Isanti, Sherburne, Anoka, Meeker, Hennepin, Washington, Carver, Scott, and Goodhue counties.
2. 2 points/square meter covers the Dakota Block (southern 2/3 of Dakota County)
3. 8 points/square meter covers portions of Minneapolis/St. Paul and the City of Maple Grove
See map of block boundaries: https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/chouse/elevation/metro_data_delivery_dates.pdf
Data are in the UTM Zone 15 coordinate system, NAD83 (HARN), NAVD88 Geoid09, meters. The tiling scheme is 16th USGS 1:24,000 quadrangle tiles.
The vendor delivered the data to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in several formats:
1. One-meter digital elevation model
2. Edge-of-water breaklines
3. Classified LAS formatted point cloud data
DNR staff quality-checked the data and created three additional products: two-foot contours, building outlines and hillshades.
This metadata record was created at the Minnesota Geospatial Information Office using information supplied by the vendor and by DNR.
The Minnesota Geospatial Image Service provides versatile access to the USGS Topographic Map Series layers (DRG format) using a Web Map Service (WMS). Using this service eliminates the need to download and store these background layers locally. Three scales of USGS topographic maps are available through this service: 1:250,000, 1:100,000, and 1:24,000. The maps are 1949-1994 vintage.
For more information:
- How to use a WMS: https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/chouse/wms/how_to_use_wms.html
- Technical specifications for using this service: https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/chouse/wms/wms_image_server_specs.html
- About topo maps: https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/chouse/elevation/topo_maps.html
- USGS services providing access to current topo maps: https://apps.nationalmap.gov/services/