Tools for the Nation: Maps and

Geographic Information

Governments depend on base geographic

information that describes the Earth's

surface and locates features. They use

this information for economic and

community development, land and

natural resource management, delivery of

health services, and ensuring public

safety. It is also the foundation for

studying and solving geographically

based problems. Geographic information

underpins an increasingly large part of

the Nation's economy. It is an important

part of our national infrastructure in the

same way that the Interstate Highway

System is an essential element of our

transportation network.

Federal, State, and local response and

management personnel must have

current, reliable, and easily accessible

geographic information and maps to

prepare for, respond to, or recover from

emergency situations. In life-threatening

events, such as earthquakes, floods, or

wildland fires, geographic information is

essential for locating critical

infrastructure and carrying out

evacuation and rescue operations.

The National Map Provides the

Starting Point

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is

working with its partners to develop The

National Map to ensure that current,

accurate, and complete base geographic

information is available for the Nation.

The National Map is designed as a

network of digital databases that will

provide a consistent geographic data

framework for the country. This base

geographic information will be the

foundation for integrating, sharing, and

using USGS earthquake epicenter and 

magnitude reports, streamflow

monitoring data, and so on. The

National Map will enable other

government agencies, private industry,

and the public to link and share

additional data that provide even more

information.

The USGS is promoting partnerships to

ensure that base map data are up to date,

readily available, and shareable among

local, State, and national users. These

efforts with State and local governments

will help standardize the data by

reducing data inconsistencies between

neighboring jurisdictions and will help

fill in the gaps for those places where

data are lacking.

Natural Hazards

Hurricanes, wildfires, floods,

earthquakes, and other natural events

affect the Nation's economy,

infrastructure, property, and lives. In

addition to its mapping activities, the

USGS provides critical, up-to-the-minute

(realtime) information. In cooperation

with organizations across the country, the

USGS gathers and disseminates real-time

hazard data to relief workers, conducts

long-term monitoring and forecasting to

help minimize the impacts of future

events, and evaluates conditions in the

aftermath of disasters.

The National Map makes accessible the

base geographic data layers needed in

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet 027-03

March 2003

Hazards, Disasters, and The National Map

Base geographic information from The National Map is combined with wildland fire perimeter reports to

provide fire fighting operations managers with maps that are used to stage personnel and equipment.

(Rodeo-Chediski Fire, Arizona, 2002)
planning and responding to disasters. In 

a flood situation, for example, the

integration of feature attribute data from

the hydrography data layer with realtime

stream gage data allows scientists to

predict the timing and magnitude of

downstream flooding in support of

emergency operations.

For wildland fires, the integrated

elevation, transportation, land cover, and

water feature data from The National

Map are used by emergency operations

specialists to plan the distribution of firefighting equipment and personnel and are

combined with other data, such as wind

direction, speed, and relative humidity, to

model and predict the behavior of a fire.

Other Emergencies 

The events of September 11, 2001, have

emphasized that complete and up-to-date

geographic information and maps must

be immediately available. Most people

either live or work in the metropolitan

areas of the United States. These cities

are also State capitals or major centers

for banking, health care, industry,

transportation, and special activities,

including major conventions and sporting

events. Many heavily populated areas

are subject to natural disasters because

they are located on earthquake faults, on

rivers, and on ocean coasts. These areas

are also vulnerable to human-induced

disasters.

The USGS is focusing efforts to

implement The National Map so that upto-date base geographic information is

available and easily accessible on the

Web for the Nation's urban areas.

The USGS is working with Federal,

State, and local agencies to identify

critical map information needed to

respond effectively to disasters of all 

types. Some of these needs include the

following:

 Current, high-resolution map data and 

information, including true-color 

imagery

 Additional information about critical 

infrastructure, such as power and 

water utilities

 Identification of places that could 

close access or evacuation routes 

 Information linked to mapped features, 

such as details about the capabilities of 

hospitals

 Availability of information through the 

World Wide Web in a form that can be 

used for computer analysis and 

mapping 

The National Map will provide detailed

color imagery, elevation data, and

delineations of transportation and

hydrography networks, geographic

names, structures, boundaries of

jurisdictions, and other essential

infrastructure for the urban areas.

Additional Information

More information about The National

Map is available at

nationalmap.usgs.gov.

For information on other USGS products

and services, call 1 888 ASK USGS or

visit the general interest publications

Web site on mapping, geography, and

related topics at erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/

pubslists/. For additional information,

visit the ask.usgs.gov Web site or the

USGS home page at www.usgs.gov.

The 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake resulted

in 72 deaths and $25 billion in damages. The

National Map is a geographic framework for

specialized earthquake and other natural hazards

data.

America's principal urban areas, State capitals,

and associated watersheds are home to more than

180 million Americans and much of the Nation's

critical transportation, utility, economic, and other

infrastructure. (Anchorage and Juneau, Alaska,

Honolulu, Hawaii, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, are

not shown).

High-resolution orthoimagery combined with road centerlines and names from the USGS - Mecklenburg

County, N.C., partnership. Served over the Web through The National Map viewer, the integrated data

provide information for analysis, modeling, and disaster response and recovery operations.