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The National Map |
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United
States Geological Survey (USGS)
The
National Map
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Geographic information
is one of the most valuable tools for science studies at USGS,
and is an indispensable component of its mission. As the Nation's
lead Federal civil mapping organization, it is the responsibility
of the USGS to ensure the availability of complete, consistent, and
current base geographic information that provides a common starting
point of geographic knowledge for government, industry, and the public.
Rooted in a rich history, the national mapping mission of the USGS
remains as vital as ever to the American people in the 21st century. |
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USGS |
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Portion of an early topographic map from
the JW Powell expedition.
Source: Library of Congress
In the years following the Civil War, rivalries among the four
separate Great Surveys of the American West surveys led Congress
in 1878 to ask the National Academy of Sciences recommend a plan
for surveying and mapping the Territories of the United States on
a system that would "secure the best possible results at the
least possible cost." The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) came
into being with the Organic Act of March 3, 1879, when the 45th
Congress and President Rutherford B. Hayes enacted a major portion
of the reforms recommended by the National Academy.
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The National Map |
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The idea of The
National Map, to provide geographic information that is basic
yet versatile, comprehensive and still detailed, is not new. Rather,
it is a response to a continuing, critical need for the Nation.
The second Director of the USGS, John Wesley Powell, aggressively
pursued topographic mapping by promoting a nationally consistent
map series with completion targeted for 1900. It was a monumental
undertaking. The present 7.5 minute series of USGS topographic maps
is an outgrowth of Powell's initiative. Once-over national coverage,
mostly at 1:24,000 scale for all of the United States (except Alaska,
was completed in 1991.
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USGS topographic maps are the only border-to-border
collection of integrated information about the Nation's landscape.
Source: Park City East, UT. 1:24000 scale
topographic map, USGS.
During the first 100 years of USGS, the thousands of surveyors,
photogrammetrists, cartographers, and others who labored for more
than 33 million hours, using primarily manual processes, to complete
the more than 55,000 USGS topographic maps covering the United States
could not have foreseen the rapid acceleration of computer technology
that has transformed the mapping profession today. Advances in digital
cartography and geographic analysis, combined with coalescing technologies
including portable computers and the Internet, now offer dramatic
possibilities for meeting the increasingly sophisticated geospatial
information demands of government, private industry, scientists,
and the public.
The reliable and readily accessible geographic framework provided
by The National Map makes it possible to pursue placebased
analyses of diverse types of information, to monitor changes and
detect trends, and to discover relationships between otherwise seemingly
independent phenomena and processes. Publicly available geographic
information from The National Map can be used for a multitude of
purposes in science, business, and education, and in the delivery
of government services. Enhanced and extended, geographic information
from The National Map forms the basis for a wealth of commercial
products.
The National Map viewer.
Source:USGS
The National Map builds on the rich foundation of traditional topographic
mapping of the USGS, using new tools and methods. Based on partnership
relationship strategies that support sharing and ensured availability
of up–to–date base geographic information, The National
Map is designed to serve as a foundation for common geographic understanding
among our citizens and to enable advanced applications of geographic
science.
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More information about
The National
Map. |
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