This data collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) consists of Lidar Point Cloud (LPC) projects as provided to the USGS. These point cloud files contain all the original lidar points collected, with the original spatial reference and units preserved. These data may have been used as the source of updates to the 1/3-arcsecond, 1-arcsecond, and 2-arcsecond seamless 3DEP Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Lidar (Light detection and ranging) discrete-return point cloud data are available in LAZ format. The LAZ format is a lossless compressed version of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) LAS format. Point Cloud data can be converted from LAZ to LAS or LAS to LAZ without the loss of any information. Either format stores 3-dimensional point cloud data and point ...

This data collection consists of Lidar Point Cloud (LPC) projects as provided to the USGS. These point cloud files contain all the original lidar points collected, with the original spatial reference and units preserved. These data may have been used as the source of updates to the National Elevation Dataset (NED), which serves as the elevation layer of the National Map. Lidar (Light detection and ranging) discrete-return point cloud data are available in the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) LAS format. The LAS format is a standardized binary format for storing 3-dimensional point cloud data and point attributes along with header information and variable length records specific to the data. Millions of data points are stored as a 3-dimensional data cloud as a series of geo-referenced x, y coordiniates and z (elevation), as well as other attributes for each point. A few older projects in this collection are in ASCII format. Please refer to http://www.asprs.org/Committee-General/LASer-LAS-File-Format-Exchange-Activities.html for additional information on the .LAS file format.

This data collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) consists of Lidar Point Cloud (LPC) projects as provided to the USGS. These point cloud files contain all the original lidar points collected, with the original spatial reference and units preserved. These data may have been used as the source of updates to the 1/3-arcsecond, 1-arcsecond, and 2-arcsecond seamless 3DEP Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Lidar (Light detection and ranging) discrete-return point cloud data are available in LAZ format. The LAZ format is a lossless compressed version of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) LAS format. Point Cloud data can be converted from LAZ to LAS or LAS to LAZ without the loss of any information. Either format stores 3-dimensional point cloud data and point attributes along with header information and variable length records specific to the data. Millions of data points are stored as a 3-dimensional data cloud as a series of geo-referenced x, y coordinates and z (elevation), as well as other attributes for each point. Please refer to https://www.asprs.org/Committee-General/LASer-LAS-File-Format-Exchange-Activities.html for additional information on the .LAS file format. All 3DEP products are public domain.