New US TOPOs & historic topo quads now available for Oregon

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
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CampinCarl
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New US TOPOs & historic topo quads now available for Oregon

Post by CampinCarl » September 21st, 2011, 6:16 am

This announcement came through the USGS today, I thought it would be of interest to this forum:

"US Topo is the next generation of digital topographic maps from the U. S Geological Survey and have just been completed for Oregon. More information at: http://nationalmap.gov/ustopo/index.html

Oregon's historic topographic quadrangles are also now available. Learn more at:
http://nationalmap.gov/historical/index.html

Download both for free at either the USGS Store http://store.usgs.gov or The National Map viewer http://viewer.nationalmap.gov"

Happy hiking,
Carl

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geographics
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Re: New US TOPOs & historic topo quads now available for Ore

Post by geographics » September 21st, 2011, 9:26 am

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Last edited by geographics on February 23rd, 2012, 11:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Martell
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Re: New US TOPOs & historic topo quads now available for Ore

Post by Martell » September 21st, 2011, 11:43 am

I downloaded one of the new US topo pdfs. Are these supposed to have layers in the PDF? It looks like a satellite image with topography overlaid, but Adobe Reader doesn't show any layers.
-Dan
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CampinCarl
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Re: New US TOPOs & historic topo quads now available for Ore

Post by CampinCarl » September 21st, 2011, 12:44 pm

Huh. I just took a look at one and noticed the lack of hiking trails :shock: I am not sure why trails were not included in the US TOPO data model. I couldn't seem to find anything in the FAQ's about trails either. I commented to this end on the "comments and suggestions" link on the main US TOPO page, we'll see what their reply is. Consider me stumped.

I see layers using Adobe Reader X, "Map Collar", "Map Frame", and "Images" are the main folder names for the layers.

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Martell
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Re: New US TOPOs & historic topo quads now available for Ore

Post by Martell » September 21st, 2011, 2:15 pm

There is something called the TerraGo Toolbar which allows you to "do more" with these GeoPDFs. I'm on a mac right now though, and it is only for windows.

It's odd that I don't see the layers at all in Adobe Reader. I can see them render, but when I open the layers tool, it is blank. Maybe because I'm on a mac?

Also, Adobe Reader is a super annoying way to view these...

Edit: I downloaded another one and it had layers, so must have been a bug with the first map. You're right though- no trails.
-Dan
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justpeachy
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Re: New US TOPOs & historic topo quads now available for Ore

Post by justpeachy » September 21st, 2011, 3:00 pm

Yeah, I don't see trails on the pdf maps either. I tried the online National Map Viewer and that thing needs some serious playing-around time to get the hang of. The only thing of use that I've discovered so far is that one of the available layers is a scanned topo map (of poor quality).

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Crusak
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Re: New US TOPOs & historic topo quads now available for Ore

Post by Crusak » September 21st, 2011, 4:39 pm

I think that to fully utilize all the features of these maps, you need the TerraGo plugin installed. There's a link to it on the map download page. I recently installed that (when downloading some maps that have extra features) and it works.
Jim's Hikes

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geographics
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Re: New US TOPOs & historic topo quads now available for Ore

Post by geographics » September 21st, 2011, 11:33 pm

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Last edited by geographics on February 23rd, 2012, 11:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Crusak
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Re: New US TOPOs & historic topo quads now available for Ore

Post by Crusak » September 22nd, 2011, 5:18 am

geographics wrote:
to fully utilize all the features of these maps, you need the ______ installed
if true, that is so wrong i can't can't count the ways.
Yeah, that is a bit odd.

The plugin is for Adobe Reader. It adds a toolbar and some additional tools that you can use with the maps. Honestly I haven't played with that feature much (since I only have 4 or 5 of the enhanced maps). I'd suggest that anyone interested in the plugin read up on it at their website.
Jim's Hikes

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CampinCarl
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Re: New US TOPOs & historic topo quads now available for Ore

Post by CampinCarl » September 22nd, 2011, 8:50 am

I received an answer to my question, thanks to Larry Moore with USGS:

"The original USGS topographic map series (1945-1992) included several
feature classes that are not yet shown on US Topos. Examples include
railroads, recreational trails, pipelines, power lines, survey markers,
PLSS, and many types of buildings. In all cases, the problem is that
there are no national data sources suitable for general-purpose,
1:24,000-scale maps. For many of these feature classes, USGS is working
with other agencies to develop data or adapt existing data. Over time as
these data become available and included in The National Map they will be
added to US Topo. For an overview of the philosophy of US Topo content,
see the article at
http://www.directionsmag.com/articles/u ... ies/178707

Trails on National Forest lands are a relatively high priority for both
USGS and US Forest Service, and we hope to start adding USFS trails
sometime in 2012. We are also talking to the National Park Service about
trails. Unfortunately, even these federal agencies do not have complete
trails databases that they are currently comfortable showing on a 1:24,000
national map series.

-------------------------
Larry Moore
[email protected]"

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