The ArcGIS Online US Geological Survey (USGS) topographic map collection now contains over 177,000 historical quadrangle maps dating from 1882 to 2006. The USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer app brings these maps to life through an interface that guides users through the steps for exploring the map collection:

Finding the maps of interest is simple. Users can see a footprint of the map in the map view before they decide to add it to the display, and thumbnails of the maps are shown in pop-ups on the timeline. The timeline also helps users find maps because they can zoom and pan, and maps at select scales can be turned on or off by using the legend boxes to the left of the timeline. Once maps have been added to the display, users can reorder them by dragging them. Users can also download maps as zipped GeoTIFF images. Users can also share the current state of the app through a hyperlink or social media. This ArcWatch article guides you through each of these steps: https://www.esri.com/esri-news/arcwatch/1014/envisioning-the-past.

The National Geologic Map Database (NGMDB) is a Congressionally mandated national archive of geoscience maps, reports, and stratigraphic information. The Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 and its Reauthorizations calls for the U.S. Geological Survey and the Association of American State Geologists (AASG) to cooperatively build this national archive, according to technical and scientific standards whose development is coordinated by the NGMDB. The NGMDB consists of a comprehensive set of publication citations, stratigraphic nomenclature, downloadable content in raster and vector formats, unpublished source information, and guidance on standards development. The NGMDB contains information on more than 110,000 maps and related geoscience reports published from the early 1800s to the present day, by more than 630 agencies, universities, associations, and private companies.

Download US Geological Survey topographic maps in multiple formats, scales, and years, including 1:24,000-scale topo maps, using the USGS topoView web application.Learn how to use topoView: https://youtu.be/UCTIvQqVr4E

Layers of geospatial data include contours, boundaries, land cover, hydrography, roads, transportation, geographic names, structures, and other selected map features.

USGS Structures from The National Map (TNM) consists of data to include the name, function, location, and other core information and characteristics of selected manmade facilities across all US states and territories. The types of structures collected are largely determined by the needs of disaster planning and emergency response, and homeland security organizations. Structures currently included are: School, School:Elementary, School:Middle, School:High, College/University, Technical/Trade School, Ambulance Service, Fire Station/EMS Station, Law Enforcement, Prison/Correctional Facility, Post Office, Hospital/Medical Center, Cabin, Campground, Cemetery, Historic Site/Point of Interest, Picnic Area, Trailhead, Vistor/Information Center, US Capitol, State Capitol, US Supreme Court, State Supreme Court, Court House, Headquarters, Ranger Station, White House, and City/Town Hall. Structures data are designed to be used in general mapping and in the analysis of structure related activities using geographic information system technology. Included is a feature class of preliminary building polygons provided by FEMA, USA Structures. The National Map structures data is commonly combined with other data themes, such as boundaries, elevation, hydrography, and transportation, to produce general reference base maps. The National Map viewer allows free downloads of public domain structures data in either Esri File Geodatabase or Shapefile formats. For additional information on the structures data model, go to https://www.usgs.gov/ngp-standards-and-specifications/national-map-structures-content.

The USGS Topo base map service from The National Map is a combination of contours, shaded relief, woodland and urban tint, along with vector layers, such as geographic names, governmental unit boundaries, hydrography, structures, and transportation, to provide a composite topographic base map. Data sources are the National Atlas for small scales, and The National Map for medium to large scales.

USGS Historical Quadrangle in GeoPDF. The USGS Historical Quadrangle Scanning Project (HQSP) is scanning all scales and all editions of topographic maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) since the inception of the topographic mapping program in 1884.

The 1966 polygons included in this data release represent the main body portion of the 37 named glaciers of Glacier National Park (GNP) and 2 named glaciers on the U.S. Forest Service’s Flathead National Forest land. This is a subset of the original mapping effort derived from 1:24000 scale mapping of named glaciers and permanent snowfields within Glacier National Park, Montana which were digitized by Richard Menicke (Glacier National Park) and Carl Key (U.S. Geological Survey) in 1993. These data are based on USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle mapping published from 1966 through 1968 which were the result of the earliest park-wide aerial surveys of snow and ice features in GNP. Examination of the aerial photographs shows that seasonal snow was present at some of the glaciers, limiting the ability of the 1966-1968 cartographers to see and map the glacier ice margins. This resulted in some smoothed and generalized outlines of the glaciers where the cartographers were likely guessing where the ice margins were under the snow. In addition, some photographs show exposed glacier margin ice with irregular patterns that are not represented by the mapped ice margin. It appeared that the original cartographers used a more generalized outline for the glaciers and were not concerned with small scale ice features even when they were evident in the photographs. Despite the generalized nature of the glacier outlines, which were also limited by mapping technology and standards of the time, the dataset represents the baseline for the glacier margins derived from aerial photography. In several cases, because of the generalized nature of the 1966-1968 mapping, a glacier perimeter did not seem as if it reflected likely location in the basin topography. In these cases the original USGS aerial imagery was referred to for verification and revision if the error seemed significant. Specifics of margin revision are detailed in attribute files for those glaciers that warranted change as part of the time series analysis conducted by Dan Fagre and Lisa McKeon (USGS) in February - August, 2016. For each glacier, determination of what constituted the "main body" was made in accordance with USGS criteria outlined in Supplemental Information section of the xml file and some disconnected patches were eliminated in the interest of keeping this analysis strictly to glacier main bodies.

PLSS Townships and Sections dataset current as of unknown. Public Land Survey Sections - originally created from USGS Topographic Maps.

December 1995, June 2001

Digital line graph (DLG) data are digital representations of cartographic information. DLG's of map features are converted to digital form from maps and related sources. Intermediate-scale DLG data are derived from USGS 1:100,000-scale 30- by 60-minute quadrangle maps. If these maps are not available, Bureau of Land Management planimetric maps at a scale of 1: 100,000 are used. Intermediate-scale DLG's are sold in five categories: (1) Public Land Survey System; (2) boundaries (3) transportation; (4) hydrography; and (5) hypsography. All DLG data distributed by the USGS are DLG - Level 3 (DLG-3), which means the data contain a full range of attribute codes, have full topological structuring, and have passed certain quality-control checks.

Digital line graph (DLG) data are digital representations of cartographic information. DLG's of map features are converted to digital form from maps and related sources. Intermediate-scale DLG data are derived from USGS 1:100,000-scale 30- by 60-minute quadrangle maps. If these maps are not available, Bureau of Land Management planimetric maps at a scale of 1: 100,000 are used. Intermediate-scale DLG's are sold in five categories: (1) Public Land Survey System; (2) boundaries (3) transportation; (4) hydrography; and (5) hypsography. All DLG data distributed by the USGS are DLG - Level 3 (DLG-3), which means the data contain a full range of attribute codes, have full topological structuring, and have passed certain quality-control checks.

U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior - The annual US Topo acquisition plan is to collect topographic map data in the form of US Topo GeoPDF maps over the United States and its territories on a 3-year revision cycle. The FY19 acquisition plan currently anticipates production of 18,500 (or more) US Topo maps this year. Interested parties who wish to become a data acquisition partner with the USGS in FY19 or in future years should contact a USGS Geospatial Liaison - http://liaisons.usgs.gov/geospatial/documents/TNM_Partnership_User_ContactList.pdf.

The Digital Geologic-GIS Map of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and Vicinity, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia is composed of GIS data layers and GIS tables, and is available in the following GRI-supported GIS data formats: 1.) a 10.1 file geodatabase (cuga_geology.gdb), a 2.) Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) geopackage, and 3.) 2.2 KMZ/KML file for use in Google Earth, however, this format version of the map is limited in data layers presented and in access to GRI ancillary table information. The file geodatabase format is supported with a 1.) ArcGIS Pro map file (.mapx) file (cuga_geology.mapx) and individual Pro layer (.lyrx) files (for each GIS data layer), as well as with a 2.) 10.1 ArcMap (.mxd) map document (cuga_geology.mxd) and individual 10.1 layer (.lyr) files (for each GIS data layer). The OGC geopackage is supported with a QGIS project (.qgz) file. Upon request, the GIS data is also available in ESRI 10.1 shapefile format. Contact Stephanie O'Meara (see contact information below) to acquire the GIS data in these GIS data formats. In addition to the GIS data and supporting GIS files, three additional files comprise a GRI digital geologic-GIS dataset or map: 1.) a readme file (cuga_geology_gis_readme.pdf), 2.) the GRI ancillary map information document (.pdf) file (cuga_geology.pdf) which contains geologic unit descriptions, as well as other ancillary map information and graphics from the source map(s) used by the GRI in the production of the GRI digital geologic-GIS data for the park, and 3.) a user-friendly FAQ PDF version of the metadata (cuga_geology_metadata_faq.pdf). Please read the cuga_geology_gis_readme.pdf for information pertaining to the proper extraction of the GIS data and other map files. Google Earth software is available for free at: https://www.google.com/earth/versions/. QGIS software is available for free at: https://www.qgis.org/en/site/. Users are encouraged to only use the Google Earth data for basic visualization, and to use the GIS data for any type of data analysis or investigation. The data were completed as a component of the Geologic Resources Inventory (GRI) program, a National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Division funded program that is administered by the NPS Geologic Resources Division (GRD). For a complete listing of GRI products visit the GRI publications webpage: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/geologic-resources-inventory-products.htm. For more information about the Geologic Resources Inventory Program visit the GRI webpage: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/gri.htm. At the bottom of that webpage is a "Contact Us" link if you need additional information. You may also directly contact the program coordinator, Jason Kenworthy (jason_kenworthy@nps.gov). Source geologic maps and data used to complete this GRI digital dataset were provided by the following: U.S. Geological Survey, Tennessee Division of Geology and Kentucky Geological Survey. Detailed information concerning the sources used and their contribution the GRI product are listed in the Source Citation section(s) of this metadata record (cuga_geology_metadata.txt or cuga_geology_metadata_faq.pdf). Users of this data are cautioned about the locational accuracy of features within this dataset. Based on the source map scale of 1:24,000 and United States National Map Accuracy Standards features are within (horizontally) 12.2 meters or 40 feet of their actual location as presented by this dataset. Users of this data should thus not assume the location of features is exactly where they are portrayed in Google Earth, ArcGIS, QGIS or other software used to display this dataset. All GIS and ancillary tables were produced as per the NPS GRI Geology-GIS Geodatabase Data Model v. 2.3. (available at: https://www.nps.gov/articles/gri-geodatabase-model.htm).

The quadrangle template datalayer contains the boundaries of the 189 1:25,000 USGS 7.5-minute topographic map sheets that cover Massachusetts.See full metadata.

USGS Topo is a topographic tile cache base map that combines the most current data (Boundaries, Names, Transportation, Elevation, Hydrography, Land Cover, and other themes) that make up The National Map. Contours generated for the US Topo product are included and are visible along with other data to the 1:18,000 zoom scale. This product is designed to provide a seamless view of the data, closely resembling The National Map's US Topo (GeoPDF) product at large scales, in a GIS accessible format.

From the site: “A Digital Raster Graphic (DRG) is a scanned image of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) topographic map. An unclipped scanned image includes all marginal information, while a clipped or seamless scanned image clips off the collar information. DRGs may be used as a source or background layer in a geographic information system, as a means to perform quality assurance on other digital products, and as a source for the collection and revision of digital line graph data. The DRGs also can be merged with other digital data (e.g., digital elevation model or digital orthophotoquad data), to produce a hybrid digital file.

The output resolution of a DRG varies from 250 to 500 dots per inch. The horizontal positional accuracy of the DRG matches the accuracy of the published source map. To be consistent with other USGS digital data, the image is cast on the UTM projection, and therefore, will not always be consistent with the credit note on the image collar. Only the area inside the map neatline is georeferenced, so minor distortion of the text may occur in the map collar. Refer to the scanned map collar or online Map List for the currentness of the DRG.”

This map presents land cover and detailed topographic maps for the United States. The map includes the National Park Service (NPS) Natural Earth physical map at 1.24km per pixel for the world at small scales, i-cubed eTOPO 1:250,000-scale maps for the contiguous United States at medium scales, and National Geographic TOPO! 1:100,000 and 1:24,000-scale maps (1:250,000 and 1:63,000 in Alaska) for the United States at large scales. The TOPO! maps are seamless, scanned images of United States Geological Survey (USGS) paper topographic maps. Please reference the metadata for contact information.

The USGS Topographic Base Map from The National Map. This tile cached web map service combines the most current data services (Boundaries, Names, Transportation, Elevation, Hydrography, Land Cover and others) that make up The National Map and displays them in a Topographic view. New contours generated from the National Map US Topo product are included and are visible along with other data down to the 1:18,000 zoom scale.

(Link to Metadata) TOPO24K includes a set of GeoTIFFs created from USGS's US Topo GeoPDF product. US Topo maps are a graphic synthesis of The National Map data files and are produced in the familiar 7.5-minute by 7.5- minute geographic format. Modeled on the printed, legacy USGS topographic maps.