The Nation Needs The National

Map

Governments depend on a common set

of geographic base information as a tool

for economic and community development, land and natural resource management, and health and safety services.

Emergency management and defense

operations rely on this information.

Private industry, nongovernmental

organizations, and individual citizens use

the same geographic data. Geographic

information underpins an increasingly

large part of the Nation's economy.

Available geographic data often have the

following problems:

They do not align with each other 

because layers are frequently created 

or revised separately,

They do not match across administrative boundaries because each 

producing organization uses different 

methods and standards, and

They are not up to date because of the 

complexity and cost of revision.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is

developing The National Map to be a

seamless, continuously maintained, and

nationally consistent set of online, public

domain, geographic base information to

address these issues. The National Map

will serve as a foundation for integrating,

sharing, and using other data easily and

consistently.

In collaboration with other government

agencies, the private sector, academia,

and volunteer groups, the USGS will

coordinate, integrate, and, where needed,

produce and maintain base geographic

data.

The National Map will include digital

orthorectified imagery; elevation data;

vector data for hydrography, transportation, boundary, and structure features;

geographic names; and land cover

information. The data will be the source

of revised paper topographic maps.

Many technical and institutional issues

must be resolved as The National Map

is implemented. To begin the refinement

of this new paradigm, pilot projects are

being designed to identify and

investigate these issues. The pilots are

the foundation upon which future

partnerships for data sharing and

maintenance will be built.

The Missouri Pilot Project

Managers in both the public and private

sectors need access to USGS data in

order to plan and respond effectively

when communities are threatened or

affected by a hazard or disaster. Current,

accurate, consistent, and readily available

base geographic data are crucial in

reducing injuries, saving lives, and

protecting critical infrastructure and are

the backbone for mitigation, response,

and recovery.

The National Map Missouri pilot is a

collaborative effort between the USGS

Cooperative Topographic Mapping

Program and National Cooperative

Geologic Mapping Program to provide

geospatial and geologic data to support

multihazards risk assessment, mitigation,

and emergency planning in the Cape

Girardeau community in southeast

Missouri. The City of Cape Girardeau is

located within the New Madrid seismic

zone and is designated as a Project

Impact community by the Federal

Emergency Management Agency. The

primary objective of the Missouri pilot is

to collaborate on the integration of

geologic data with updated data themes

from The National Map in the pilot area

and to investigate methods to disseminate geospatial and geologic data in

electronic formats over the Internet to

scientists, managers, government policymakers, emergency planners, and the

general public. These data will allow

managers to evaluate options and make

informed management and policy

decisions. In conjunction with computer

technologies, these data will provide

managers with the capability to develop

strategies and evaluate operational and

emergency scenarios that help reduce the

human safety and economic risks

associated with both human-induced and

natural disasters and hazards.

The City of Cape Girardeau is of

significant interest to several

organizations within the central United

States and is a focal point of ongoing

projects with the Missouri State

Emergency Management Agency,

Missouri Department of Transportation,

Missouri Geological Survey, Central

U.S. Earthquake Consortium, Center for

Earthquake Research and Information,

and USGS. Seismic activity, flooding,

and other natural disaster applications in

the Cape Girardeau area would be

supported by The National Map data

themes through this pilot. The pilot will

initially focus on four 7.5-minute

quadrangles that are part of an ongoing

National Cooperative Geologic Mapping

Program effort. During The National

Map pilot phase, new mapping

techniques will be investigated and the

best available geospatial data will be

acquired or collected for all data themes

identified as part of The National Map.

Other data will be included where

appropriate so that all relevant data will

be available through one Internet portal,

thus minimizing the level of effort

normally associated with the data

collection activities required for research,

planning, and response.

The Cape Girardeau pilot goals are:

 Promote The National Map vision 

and Cooperative Topographic 

Mapping Program.

The National Map - Missouri Pilot Project

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey USGS Fact Sheet 115-01

November 2001
 Increase public awareness of USGS 

geospatial and geologic data and their 

applicability to support requirements 

for geologic and seismic hazard 

mapping, decision support systems, 

and risk assessment and management 

models.

 Increase the public's understanding of 

the USGS capacity and capabilities to 

address hazard and disaster issues.

 Build partnerships with local, county, 

State, and other Federal agencies and 

groups to incorporate the best 

available data within the Cape 

Girardeau area into the pilot project.

 Provide broader access to currently 

available USGS geospatial data 

through the Internet.

 Increase Web-based mapping 

capabilities.

More Information About The

Missouri Pilot Project

Rick Bradford

1400 Independence Road

Rolla, MO 65401

Phone: 573-308-3765

Email: rbradford@usgs.gov

More Information About The

National Map

We welcome your comments on The

National Map mission and strategies.

You can view and download the full

report at nationalmap.usgs.gov. Please

share your thoughts about the vision 

with the USGS by e-mail at 

nationalmap@usgs.gov or by mail to

USGS-National Map, MS 511

National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley

Drive, Reston, VA 20192.

Digital elevation data rendered as a shaded relief map with State and county boundaries with the outline of

the four quadrangles that are in the pilot area.