USGS Products
The USGS, through the National Mapping Program and other mandated functions, provides geographic, cartographic, and remote sensing information, maps, and technical assistance, and conducts related research responsive to national needs. As a USGS business partner, Orbis is a reseller of all geospatical products that are produced by the USGS. Orbis can assist in determining which USGS product best suites your current data needs, schedule, and budget. Please review the following USGS products and contact us directly to answer any questions.
Aerial Photographs
Aerial photographs archived and distributed by the USGS include the repository of multiagency National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP) photos at 1:40,000 scale in color infrared or black and white; National High Altitude Aerial Photography Program (NHAP) photos at 1:58,000 scale for color infrared and 1:80,000 for black and white; and aerial photos at various scales from USGS mapping projects and other Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Reclamation, Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles (DOQ)
Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles are digital images of aerial photographs in which displacements caused by the camera and the terrain have been removed. A DOQ combines the image characteristics of a photograph with the geometric qualities of a map. The standard digital orthophoto produced by the USGS is a black-and-white or color-infrared 1-meter ground resolution quarter quadrangle (3.75-minute) image.
Airborne and Satellite Sensor Data
These include color and black-and-white photographic products generated from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR), Land Satellite (LANDSAT), and Systeme Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre (SPOT) imagery digital data.
Digital Raster Graphics (DRG)
Digital raster graphics (DRG) were produced from 1995 to 1998 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The objective of the program was to scan all USGS standard quadrangle maps quickly and at low cost. More than 60,000 maps were scanned during the original program. The series includes DRGs of USGS standard quadrangle maps of the United States and its trusts and territories. Since 1999 about 1,000 new DRGs have been made per year. In May 2001 a complete revision to the Standards For Digital Raster Graphics was approved. Starting in October 2001, all new DRGs are produced to the revised standard. The new standard is backwardly compatible with the original standard: all original coverage DRGs also conform to the revised standard. The most noticeable change in the new "second generation" DRGs is an increase in scan resolution from 250 dots per inch (dpi) to 500 dpi. The best known USGS maps are the 7.5 minute 1:24,000 topographic quadrangles. This is the primary scale of data produced, and depicts greater detail for a smaller area than intermediate-scale (1:50,000 and 1:100,000) and small-scale (1:250,000, 1:2,000,000 or smaller) products, which show selectively less detail for larger areas. The sheet size is approximately 22x27 inches. Each map covers an area from 49 to 64 square miles.
Digital Line Graphics (DLG)
The USGS digital line graph (DLG) files are digital vector representations of cartographic information. Data files of topographic and planimetric map features are derived from either aerial photographs or from cartographic source materials using manual and automated digitizing methods.
Digital Elevation Models (DEM)
The USGS Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data files are digital representations of cartographic information in a raster form. DEMs consist of a sampled array of elevations for a number of ground positions at regularly spaced intervals. These digital cartographic/geographic data files are produced by the USGS as part of the National Mapping Program and are sold in 7.5-minute, 15-minute, 2-arc-second (also known as 30-minute), and 1-degree units. The 7.5- and 15-minute DEMs are included in the large scale category while 2-arc-second DEMs fall within the intermediate scale category and 1-degree DEMs fall within the small scale category.
