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U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Techniques and Methods 11–B2

Version 2.0, February 2019

National Geospatial Program 

The National Map

US Topo Product Standard

Chapter 2 of

Section B, U.S. Geological Survey Standards

Book 11, Collection and Delineation of Spatial Data
Cover. Selected layers from the 2017 Arch Mesa Quadrangle US Topo map.
US Topo Product Standard

By Larry R. Davis, Kristin A. Fishburn, Helmut Lestinsky, Laurence R. Moore, 

and Jennifer L. Walter

Chapter 2 of

Section B, U.S. Geological Survey Standards

Book 11, Collection and Delineation of Spatial Data

National Geospatial Program

The National Map

Techniques and Methods 11–B2

Version 2.0, February 2019

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

DAVID BERNHARDT, Acting Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

James F. Reilly II, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

First release: 2011

Revised: February 2019 (ver. 2.0)

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living 

resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit https://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS.

For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, 

visit https://store.usgs.gov.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the 

U.S. Government.

Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials 

as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation:

Davis, L.R., Fishburn, K.A., Lestinsky, Helmut, Moore, L.R., and Walter, J.L., 2019, US Topo Product Standard (ver. 2.0, 

February 2019): U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods book 11, chap. B2, 20 p., 3 plates, scales 1:24,000, 

1:25,000, and 1:20,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/tm11b2.

ISSN 2328-7055 (online)
iii

Contents

Abbreviations.................................................................................................................................................vi

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1

Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................1

Applicability ...........................................................................................................................................1

Maintenance..........................................................................................................................................1

Background.....................................................................................................................................................2

Product Overview ..........................................................................................................................................2

Files and Formats...........................................................................................................................................7

Scale, Extent, Projection, Datum, Coordinate System, and Grids .........................................................7

Data Quality.....................................................................................................................................................8

Projection-Line Orientation and Page Size ......................................................................................8

Off-Grid and Oversized Maps .............................................................................................................8

Map Collar..............................................................................................................................................8

Map Interior—Data Sources, File Size, and Resolution ................................................................8

Interpreted Cartographic Features...........................................................................................9

Orthoimage and Shaded Relief..................................................................................................9

File Size and Resolution..............................................................................................................9

Digital File Organization................................................................................................................................9

Startup Conditions ..............................................................................................................................12

Layers....................................................................................................................................................12

Open File Format .................................................................................................................................13

Metadata Files.....................................................................................................................................13

Map Symbol Key .................................................................................................................................13

File Names............................................................................................................................................14

Geospatial PDF Files..................................................................................................................14

Transfer or Distribution Files....................................................................................................14

Metadata Files............................................................................................................................14

Map Symbol Key File.................................................................................................................15

References Cited..........................................................................................................................................15

Glossary.........................................................................................................................................................16

Useful Websites ...........................................................................................................................................17

Appendix 1. Notes and Discussion Issues...........................................................................................18

Datums—North American Datum 1983 and World Geodetic System of 1984 ..........................18

Off-Grid and Oversized Maps ...........................................................................................................18

Image Ground Sample Distance, Bit Depth, Resolution, and Compression .............................19

Geographic and Cultural Features and Their Names and Labels...............................................19

Appendix 2. 1:24,000-Scale US Topo Style Sheet................................................................................20

Appendix 3. 1:25,000-Scale US Topo Style Sheet................................................................................20

Appendix 4. 1:20,000-Scale US Topo Style Sheet................................................................................20
iv

Figures

1. Image of a US Topo geospatial PDF with all layers on...........................................................3

2. Image of a US Topo geospatial PDF with the contour layer off ............................................4

3. Image of a US Topo geospatial PDF with the contour and orthoimage 

layers off.........................................................................................................................................5

4. Image of a US Topo geospatial PDF with the orthoimage and shaded relief 

layers off.........................................................................................................................................6

5. Northwest corner of a US Topo geospatial PDF showing correct style for 

geographic and U.S. National Grid (USNG) coordinate values ............................... 7

6. Image of a US Topo map depicting folders and layers. Images folder, Shaded 

Relief layer, and PLSS (Public Land Survey System) layer off by default .........................12

7. Metadata and map symbol key attachments to the Craig C-2 SW, 

Alaska US Topo map...................................................................................................................13

8. Subset of content included in the US Topo map symbol key attachment.........................14

Tables

1. US Topo map page size, by scale...............................................................................................8

2. Description and image of information included in the US Topo map collar .....................10

Plates

Appendix 2. 1:24,000-Scale US Topo Style Sheet................................................................ link

Appendix 3. 1:25,000-Scale US Topo Style Sheet................................................................ link

Appendix 4. 1:20,000-Scale US Topo Style Sheet................................................................ link
v

Conversion Factors

U.S. customary units to International System of Units

Multiply By To obtain

Length

inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter (cm)

inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter (mm)

International System of Units to U.S. customary units

Multiply By To obtain

Length

meter (m) 1.094 yard (yd) 

Datum

Vertical coordinate information is referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 

(NAVD 88).

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).
vi

Abbreviations

BGN U.S. Board on Geographic Names

BIH Bureau International de l’Heure 

DEM digital elevation model

DLA Defense Logistics Agency

DLG digital line graph

DMA Defense Mapping Agency

DOD U.S. Department of Defense

FGDC Federal Geographic Data Committee

FGCS Federal Geodetic Control Subcommittee

GCNDB geographic cell names database (part of GNIS)

GIS geographic information system

GNIS Geographic Names Information System

GRS 80 Geodetic Reference System of 1980

GSD ground sample distance

ISO International Organization for Standardization

ITRF International Terrestrial Reference Frame

MB megabyte

MXD Esri ArcGIS map document format

NAD 83 North American Datum of 1983

NAIP National Agriculture Imagery Program

NAVD 88 North American Vertical Datum of 1988

NGP National Geospatial Program

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NWI National Wetlands Inventory

OGC Open Geospatial Consortium

PDF Portable Document Format

PLSS Public Land Survey System

PPI pixels per inch

RGB red green blue (image color channels)

SPCS State Plane Coordinate System 

URL Uniform Resource Locator (or internet address)

USGS U.S. Geological Survey

USNG United States National Grid

UTM Universal Transverse Mercator

WGS 84 World Geodetic System of 1984

XML Extensible Markup Language
US Topo Product Standard

By Larry R. Davis, Kristin A. Fishburn, Helmut Lestinsky, Laurence R. Moore, and Jennifer L. Walter

Introduction

Purpose and Scope

This document defines a U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS) digital topographic map. This map product series, 

named “US Topo,” is modeled on the now historical USGS 

7.5-minute (1:24,000 scale) topographic map series produced 

and printed by the USGS from 1947 to 2006. US Topo maps 

have the same extent, scale, and general layout as the 

historical topographic maps. US Topo maps incorporate an 

orthorectified image (hereinafter referred to as “orthoimage”) 

and shaded relief image along with a selection of data that 

were included in the historical 7.5-minute topographic maps. 

Between June and September of 2017, the USGS transitioned 

the format of US Topo maps to be published, by using a 

geospatial extension, in an International Organization for 

Standardization (ISO) 32000-compliant Adobe® portable 

document format (PDF) that is called a “geospatial PDF.” 

Previously, US Topo maps were published, by using geospatial extensions patented by TerraGo® Technologies, in PDF 

in a format called a “GeoPDF®.” The geospatial PDF design 

allows a user to zoom in and out in a georeferenced environment, turn layers on and off, view or print any combination of 

layers, and print any portion of the map at the published scale.

US Topo maps are intended to serve conventional map 

users by providing geographic information system (GIS) 

information in symbolized form in the customary topographic 

map layout. The maps are not intended for advanced GIS 

analysis applications. These products are built on standard 

coordinate systems and include full U.S. National Grid 

(USNG) lines, making US Topo maps particularly useful for 

emergency first-response operations. These maps are also 

used by traditional topographic map users, such as resource 

managers, planners, and recreational users who continue to 

have a need for the symbolized feature data contained in the 

7.5-minute quadrangle maps.

Full-size style sheet templates in PDF defining the 

placement of map elements, marginalia, and font sizes 

and styles accompany this standard. US Topo maps published as geospatial PDFs are fashioned to conform to 

these style sheets so that a user can print out a map at the 

1:24,000, 1:25,000, or 1:20,000 scale using the dimensions 

of the traditional standard 7.5-minute quadrangle. Symbology 

and type specifications for feature content and detailed requirements for geospatial content will be published separately.

Applicability

This document is an update of the US Topo Product 

Standard published in 2011 (Cooley and others, 2011). It 

is applicable to all US Topo maps. Updates in this version 

include

• the introduction of an ISO 32000-compliant geospatial PDF as a new file format for published maps;

• new style sheet templates for 1:24,000-scale maps (conterminous United States and Hawaii), 1:25,000-scale 

maps (Alaska), and 1:20,000-scale maps (Puerto Rico 

and U.S. Virgin Islands);

• an updated US Topo Map Symbol attachment;

• minor updates to text, including changes to the features 

and layers included in the US Topo product and the 

sheet size of the US Topo maps;

• updated figures demonstrating the US Topo product; 

and

• an updated metadata file containing map-specific 

information.

Maintenance

The National Geospatial Program (NGP) of the USGS 

maintains standards for The National Map (TNM; https://

nationalmap.gov/), including map standards for US Topo products, and Historical Topographic Map Collection products. 

Submit questions and comments concerning this document 

to the U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program 

Standards group at nmpstds@usgs.gov.
2 US Topo Product Standard

Background

When the USGS topographic mapping program (https://

nationalmap.gov/ustopo/) was redefined in late 2008, the end 

product, the US Topo, was specifically defined as a GeoPDF, a 

PDF with geospatial extensions patented by TerraGo Technologies. The PDF was chosen as the electronic format because it 

is accessible to computer users who are not GIS specialists and 

because it is relatively easy to print. The geospatial PDF provides the end user with a PDF map that is georeferenced (tied to 

a known Earth coordinate system) and that is built with multiple 

data layers that can be turned on and off to support different 

views of the map. Publishing topographic maps in an electronic 

format also supports a faster and wider public distribution than 

publishing topographic maps in a print format.

The first maps under the new US Topo program were created by the USGS in 2009. About 13,000 maps were created, 

consisting of a map collar; projection line and grids; orthoimage; and limited cartographic feature detail that includes roads, 

geographic names, and limited annotation. Contour lines, 

hydrography, and other standard topographic-map content were 

not included on those first maps. These early map products are 

branded as “Digital Map – Beta” (always specified with quotes).

Later in 2009, the USGS added contours and hydrographic features to the maps and the product was rebranded as 

“US Topo.” US Topo map content is composed of an orthoimage and significant features and layers from the following 

geographic themes: transportation, geographic names, elevation, hydrography, boundaries, structures, and land cover. It 

is the objective of the USGS to expand the content of the US 

Topo maps over time to include additional features and layers 

from these themes. This will result in a product that becomes 

progressively more robust to support emerging consumer 

requirements.

In 2013, the US Topo map was redesigned to improve the 

readability of map features displayed on top of an orthoimage 

and shaded-relief background. Additionally, the US Topo redesign adopted a widely distributed typeface for feature labels 

and for text in the map margin.

Between June and September of 2017, the USGS transitioned the production of US Topo maps to a cloud-based 

production system, enabling the change in format to an ISO 

32000-compliant geospatial PDF.

The US Topo maps are updated on a three-year production cycle. Newly published maps as well as previously 

published, noncurrent, US Topo maps are freely available for 

download from The National Map (https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/

how-do-i-find-and-download-us-topo-maps-and-historicaltopographic-maps).

Product Overview

The philosophy guiding the US Topo product design is as 

follows:

• The basic layout of the traditional USGS 7.5-minute 

topographic maps has value. Maps with standard cell 

extent, full map collars, and standard grids are useful, 

in part, because of their standardized format and layout. 

For these advantages to persist, the layout and design of 

the US Topo products must conform to editorial standards that echo the traditional USGS 7.5-minute maps.

• In the emergency response and national security communities, there is a need for general purpose maps that 

can be easily printed at a standard map scale.

• Similarly, there is need for a national map series that can 

be used without specialized GIS software and expertise.

• A topographic line map with the addition of an orthoimage and shaded relief is a valuable tool, particularly 

when provided in a digital format that allows the user 

to turn features and layers on and off, zoom in and out, 

and print the entire map or portions of the map at a 

standard map scale.

The utility of turning layers on and off is demonstrated by 

figures 1 through 4.
Product Overview 3

Figure 1. Image of a US Topo geospatial PDF with all layers on.
4 US Topo Product Standard

Figure 2. Image of a US Topo geospatial PDF with the contour layer off.
Product Overview 5

Figure 3. Image of a US Topo geospatial PDF with the contour and orthoimage layers off.
6 US Topo Product Standard

Figure 4. Image of a US Topo geospatial PDF with the orthoimage and shaded relief layers off.
Scale, Extent, Projection, Datum, Coordinate System, and Grids 7

Files and Formats

The product defined by this standard contains a layered 

geospatial PDF, an associated metadata file in Extensible 

Markup Language (XML) format conforming to the Federal 

Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Content Standard for 

Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC, 1998) and a map symbol 

key (legend) file in PDF. Metadata and symbol key files are 

bundled with the geospatial PDF as file attachments.

Full-sized style sheets in PDF accompany this standard 

and define the placement of map elements, marginalia, and font 

sizes and styles for the 1:24,000-, 1:25,000- and 1:20,000-scale 

7.5-minute series topographic maps.

From 2009 through as late as September 2017, the US 

Topo map file format was a GeoPDF; a PDF with TerraGo 

Technologies’ patented georeferencing extension. The Open 

Geospatial Consortium (OGC) published a best practices 

specification, “PDF Geo-registration Encoding Best Practice 

Version 2.2” (Demmy and Reed, 2011) that documents the 

PDF geo-registration technique. Between June and September 

of 2017, the USGS transitioned the file format of the US Topo 

product to a geospatial PDF, an ISO 32000-compliant Adobe 

PDF file with a geospatial extension. Adobe released the PDF 

specifications to be published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The document is now available 

as “ISO 32000-1” (ISO, 2008a).

To take advantage of the geospatial extensions, TerraGo provides a plug-in (TerraGo Toolbar®) for either Adobe Reader® or 

Adobe Acrobat® software. This plug-in works only with GeoPDF 

files. The plug-in is available for free and may be downloaded 

from http://info.terragotech.com/download/terrago-toolbar. There 

is not a free plug-in analogous to the TerraGo Toolbar for the 

geospatial PDF. However, Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat 

have a few built-in geospatial functions that work with the 

new geospatial PDF format, which are explained in the US 

Topo Map Users Guide (USGS, 2017).

Both GeoPDF and geospatial PDF US Topo maps can be 

viewed and printed with Adobe Reader, Adobe Acrobat, or any 

comparable PDF viewing software.

Scale, Extent, Projection, Datum, 

Coordinate System, and Grids

This standard defines the US Topo product at scales 

of 1:24,000, 1:25,000, and 1:20,000. The USGS has in the 

past produced maps at other scales (for example, 1:48,000, 

1:50,000 1:62,500, 1:63,360, and 1:100,000). This standard 

does not prohibit other scales, but it does not completely 

define maps at other scales. 

All maps are georeferenced to the North American Datum 

of 1983 (NAD 83) or to the World Geodetic System of 1984 

(WGS 84). The two datums are virtually equivalent at US 

Topo map scales. See appendix 1 for further discussion of the 

relationship between NAD 83 and WGS 84. Vertical control 

used for elevation data is the North American Vertical Datum 

of 1988 (NAVD 88). All US Topo maps are projected to the 

Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection and coordinate system.

Geographic coordinate labels are shown outside the 

projection line. The full latitude and longitude values in 

decimal degree format are shown at the corners of the projection. Fonts, type sizes, and placement guidelines are defined in 

detail in the style sheets (appendixes 2, 3, and 4).

All maps include a 1,000-meter UTM grid drawn and 

labeled in conformance with the U.S. National Grid standard 

(FGDC, 2001), including a USNG grid reference box in the 

map collar. As specified by the USNG standard, full UTM 

values are shown for the grid lines nearest the northwest and 

southeast corners of the projection and principal digits are 

shown for all remaining grid lines. The USNG standard has 

several options for representing the 1,000-meter grid labels. 

US Topo maps use the following options:

• Except for the corner coordinates that show full UTM 

values, grid lines are labeled with the USNG principal 

digits in Trebuchet MS 12-point font (for example, 263 

or 3902) (see figure 5 and the style sheet appendixes 2, 

3, and 4).

• If the map includes more than one 100,000-meter 

National Grid zones, the zone letters are printed in the 

margins.

State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS) tic marks and 

labels, though shown on most historic maps and on the first 

6 years of US Topo maps, were phased out of US Topo maps 

beginning in 2014.

Figure 5. Northwest corner of a US Topo geospatial PDF showing 

correct style for geographic and U.S. National Grid (USNG) 

coordinate values.
8 US Topo Product Standard

Data Quality

Components of data quality include currency, consistency, completeness, and accuracy. The US Topo program 

uses interpreted cartographic point, line, and area features 

taken from databases maintained or approved by the USGS. 

These source databases are multipurpose GIS databases and 

are not necessarily complete or consistent in the same sense 

that is represented on historical topographic map series. The 

databases are often compiled from multiple primary and secondary sources and have no single currency date. US Topo 

maps therefore have different characteristics regarding currency, consistency, and completeness compared to historical 

USGS topographic maps. The data tend to be more current 

than on a legacy map but may be less consistent between 

maps and between regions because of variations in data collection between different sources.

Accuracy, both positional accuracy and attribute 

accuracy, of the data is the responsibility of the organization that produced the source data. The overall quality of 

the cartographic data depends directly on the quality of the 

source GIS databases. US Topo maps produced to date do 

not include a traditional accuracy statement in the map collar 

because of the variety of data sources used in creating them. 

The USGS cartographically adjusts and generalizes the data 

used in US Topo maps where necessary. The XML metadata 

file attached to each map includes data-quality statements in 

the Data Quality, Accuracy Information, Data Source, and 

Process Information sections for each individual data layer.

Projection-Line Orientation and Page Size

The orientation of the projection line to the internal 

coordinate system of the US Topo image space is equivalent 

to those traditionally used on traditional USGS topographic 

maps. The central meridian of the quadrangle (not to be confused with the central meridian of the projection zone) is set 

parallel to the left and right edges of the image file (or to the 

edges of the paper on a rectangular paper plot).

The page sizes for US Topo maps at various scales are 

detailed in table 1.

For two reasons, this standard does not define a constant page size for trimming US Topo maps printed at their 

full size. First, the width of 7.5-minute quadrangles vary 

with latitude. Second, while quadrangle height does not vary 

with latitude, the text in the map collar may vary in content. 

The geospatial PDF is constructed so that the width of the 

margins is always nearly equal. Because the geospatial PDF 

provides for custom printing, the user may trim the printed 

map as required.

Off-Grid and Oversized Maps

Approximately 400 of the historical USGS 7.5-minute 

topographic maps do not precisely match the domain of a standard 7.5-minute cell. For example, for some maps the projection 

line was extended to show all of a land mass or water feature or 

to match a state boundary. In a few cases, the entire projection 

line was shifted to center the map over an island.

USGS cell-based digital products, such as digital line 

graphs (DLG) and digital elevation models (DEM), did not 

allow for such exceptions. These products are restricted to the 

geographic domain of an on-grid 7.5-minute cell.

US Topo maps conform to the latter convention, and all 

maps precisely fit the standard 7.5-minute cell grid. See appendix 1 

for further discussion of oversized and off-grid maps.

Map Collar

The map collar (or map margin) is defined as the area 

outside the projection line, including all text, diagrams, and other 

information that appears in this area, except for data related to 

cartographic coordinate systems, which are logically associated 

with the projection line and grids.

The general layout of the US Topo map collar is similar to 

that of historical 7.5-minute topographic maps. Precise content, 

positions, colors, fonts, and line weights for the US Topo map 

collar information are defined by the style sheets that accompany 

this standard (appendixes 2, 3, and 4). The information in table 2 

is shown in the US Topo map collar (see appendixes 2, 3, and 4):

Map Interior—Data Sources, File Size, 

and Resolution

All geospatial content on US Topo products is derived 

from national geospatial databases under the stewardship of 

USGS data programs. Normally, these datasets are owned and 

hosted by the USGS, but they also include data sources owned 

and hosted by other organizations, provided that these sources 

Table 1. US Topo map page size, by scale. 

[US Topo map page sizes have varied throughout the course of the project. 

The page sizes in this table represent the US Topo map page sizes at the time 

of the 2018 US Topo Standard publication]

Map scale US Topo page size

(inches)

1:24,000 24×29

1:25,000 24×29

1:20,000 29×33.5
Digital File Organization 9

have been approved for use by the USGS. The US Topo product is freely distributable, but this does not necessarily mean 

that all the data in the product are in the public domain, as this 

standard does not preclude the use of licensed data. All source 

information and any relevant license information is documented 

in the product metadata and listed in the map collar.

Geospatial PDFs produced by the US Topo map program 

must support high-quality printing yet have a manageable file 

size for storage, viewing, and manipulation in their native 

digital format. These requirements have to take into account 

the size of the data sources that are integrated, ground sample 

distance (GSD), image bit depth, spatial resolution, and file 

compression. See appendix 1 for a more detailed discussion of 

these concepts. The following sections discuss the goals and 

requirements for the data sources used in the US Topo product 

and for the file size and resolution of the geospatial PDF.

Interpreted Cartographic Features

Each US Topo map is assembled as a layered geospatial 

PDF and includes significant features and layers that were 

included in the historical USGS 7.5-minute maps, such as 

transportation, geographic names, elevation, hydrography, 

boundaries, land cover, and structures. The USGS intends to 

continue to expand the content of the US Topo products in the 

future. The following list provides examples of features that 

are included in the US Topo maps, though it is a sample and is 

not intended to be all inclusive:

• Roads

• Airports

• National, State, and county boundaries

• Contours

• Coastlines

• Lakes and ponds

• Streams and rivers

• Schools

• Woodlands 

• Geographic names

• Public Land Survey System (PLSS) boundaries

• Railroads

• Trails

• Hospitals

• Wetlands (from the National Wetlands Inventory [NWI])

The details of content, symbology, and labeling are outside 

the scope of this standard and will be published separately.

The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN, 

https://geonames.usgs.gov/) is the official Federal Government 

body established in 1947 by Public Law 80-242 to maintain uniform geographic name usage throughout the Federal 

Government. In support of the BGS, the USGS developed 

the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS, https://

geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/index.html) as the official repository of domestic geographic names data. GNIS is the primary 

source for applying geographic names to Federal electronic 

and printed products. Because not all features on US Topo 

maps are included in GNIS (for example, roads and highways 

are not in GNIS), GNIS names comprise a subset of all feature 

names that might be shown on the US Topo maps. See appendix 1 for further discussion of geographic names.

Orthoimage and Shaded Relief

Each US Topo map includes an orthoimage layer and, 

beginning in 2013, a shaded relief layer, two layers that were 

not included in the historical USGS 7.5-minute maps. Both 

the orthoimage and shaded relief are required layers in every 

US Topo product. Details of the content of these layers will be 

published separately.

File Size and Resolution

The National Geospatial Program’s objective is to produce each US Topo product as a geospatial PDF with a file 

size of approximately 30 megabytes (MB). This is an ideal 

rather than a hard requirement because the data sources 

and orthoimage character vary between quadrangles. A file 

size of 30 MB is small enough for optimal performance and 

large enough to maintain visual quality. For example, at 

1:24,000 scale, an orthoimage ground sample distance (GSD) 

of 1.5 meters and a spatial resolution of 400 pixels per inch 

(PPI) typically result in a file size of 30 MB.

Digital File Organization

Historical 7.5-minute topographic maps were designed 

for ease of use by a person viewing a paper map. US Topo 

maps are still intended primarily for viewing (not for advanced 

GIS analysis), but the geospatial PDF allows the user to view 

a map in softcopy and to print it out at the default scales of 

1:24,000, 1:25,000, or 1:20,000 as well as any desired scale 

for viewing on paper.
10 US Topo Product Standard

Table 2. Description and image of information included in the US Topo map collar.—Continued

Description of US Topo map collar information Image of US Topo map collar information

USGS visual identity logo

U.S. Department of the Interior and bureau identifier

The National Map visual identity logo

U.S. Forest Service logo, for maps containing national 

forest land

Title block, upper right

Title block, lower right

Map generation date, lower right 

(This is the year the map product was created, not 

the date of any source material.)

Road symbology legend

Map credit legend, consisting of the following:

The note “Produced by the United States 

Geological Survey.”

Map projection, horizontal datum, Universal 

Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid spacing, and 

UTM zone

A list of the core data layers with sources and 

currency dates

Quadrangle location diagram
Digital File Organization 11

Table 2. Description and image of information included in the US Topo map collar.—Continued

Description of US Topo map collar information Image of US Topo map collar information

Adjoining quadrangle diagram

Map scale note, with scale expressed as a 

representative fraction

Bar scales

Contour interval and vertical datum notes

US Topo standard version statement

Metadata version statement

North arrow and declination diagram

U.S. National Grid reference box

Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) bar code 

(The DLA bar code is a Department of Defense 

(DOD) inventory number for use within 

the DOD)
12 US Topo Product Standard

Startup Conditions

Specifying software behavior is unusual for a USGS product 

standard but is necessary in this case because of the tight coupling 

between the geospatial PDF file format, the commercial software 

tools that can read a geospatial PDF, and this product standard. The 

following startup behaviors depend on viewing software that correctly implements the PDF specification, including PDF layers.

When the geospatial PDF file opens in a current version of 

Adobe Reader or Acrobat, the following actions are displayed:

• Only the map is displayed upon opening the PDF.

• The folder structure is hidden.

• The images folder, shaded relief layer, and PLSS layer (if 

applicable) are turned off.

Layers

The geospatial PDF file contains, at a minimum, the 

following folders and layers:

• Map Collar

• Map Elements (this layer includes all information 

outside of the map neatline, except for data related to 

cartographic coordinate systems, including the map 

title, scale bar, map credit notes, USGS and cooperator 

logos, and more)

• Map Frame

• Projection and Grids (this layer includes projection coordinate values, geographic and grid ticks, and grid lines)

• Terrain

• Images

• Orthoimage

• Barcode

“Map Collar,” “Map Frame,” and “Images” must be 

folders and must minimally contain the listed subfolders and 

layers. The folders and layers listed above are present in every 

geospatial PDF file and use the precise names given in the 

preceding list.

The “Map Frame” folder also contains other folders and 

layers for the cartographic features included in the US Topo 

map, as depicted in figure 6. These other folders and layers are 

only shown if the cartographic features are present in the particular US Topo map. For example, the “Trails” layer is present 

in the “Transportation” folder for the map shown in figure 6.

Figure 6. Image of a US Topo map depicting folders and layers. Images folder, Shaded Relief layer, and PLSS 

(Public Land Survey System) layer off by default.
Digital File Organization 13

Compliant with this standard, other data folders and 

layers may be added as the product develops. Each type of 

cartographic data in the geospatial PDF file is assigned to a 

folder or layer. Each folder or layer may be turned on or off 

by the user.

Open File Format

The geospatial PDF is an open file format, a PDF 

conforming to ISO 32000-1 (ISO, 2008b) encoded with 

Adobe’s geospatial extensions to ISO 32000-1, which are 

published as ISO 32000-2 (ISO, 2017).

Metadata Files

An FGDC-compliant metadata file in XML format is 

attached to each US Topo product (fig. 7). The XML metadata 

file attached to each geospatial PDF contains standardized language that is determined by the source data used. Beginning in 

June 2017, the content of the XML metadata file is specifically 

tailored to each map.

The metadata file contains the same information as the 

map collar, plus additional information as required by the 

FGDC metadata content standard. The benefit of duplicating collar information is that the XML file can be parsed by a 

web-based search engine, making the map and its contents more 

widely discoverable. (See Data Quality section for US Topo 

map collar content.)

Metadata file versions are maintained for internal USGS 

use and the content of these files is not defined by this standard.

Map Symbol Key

A map symbol key (legend) is attached to each individual US Topo map as a PDF (fig. 7). The symbol key 

is not tailored to the individual content of each map, but 

rather includes the graphic representation of all features 

that could potentially be included in a US Topo map 

(fig. 8). The symbol key also includes a page of text that 

describes the US Topo product and the general background of the program.

Figure 7. Metadata and map symbol key attachments to the Craig C-2 SW, Alaska US Topo map.
14 US Topo Product Standard

File Names

Geospatial PDF Files

There are no file-naming-convention requirements for US 

Topo geospatial PDF files. File names are determined by the 

respective download websites.

Transfer or Distribution Files

A naming convention is also not dictated for transfer 

or distribution files. For example, a *.zip file of one or more 

US Topo files need not conform to any particular naming 

convention.

Metadata Files

US Topo metadata files are named using the following 

convention:

state_cellname_datestamp_XX_geo.yyy (for example, 

CO_Golden_20101005_TM_geo.xml).

• state is the two-letter abbreviation, in capital letters, of 

the primary U.S. State or U.S. Territory where the map 

is located.

• cellname is the name for this standard cell. If the cell 

name consists of multiple words, words are delimited 

with the underbar (_) character, not spaces, and the first 

letter of each word is capitalized.

• datestamp is the system-generated date of PDF file creation. 

Its primary purpose is to make each file name unique, 

regardless of how many instances of the same product are 

created for one cell. The timestamp string is a concatenaTRANSPORTATION

Airport Runway

Airport Features

Railroad

Railroad Features

Road Features

Secondary Hwy

Expressway

PLSS 

Township/Range T 34 N R 79 W

Section 1 — 36

Township/Range (protracted) T 34 N R 79 W

Section (protracted) 1 — 36

Land Grants

Rock X

Spring E'

Well

HYDROGRAPHY 

Gate |

Dam |

Swimming Pool

Gaging Station (

Earthen Dam

Nonearthen Dam

Perennial Stream

Intermittent Stream

Submerged Stream

STRUCTURES

Oil/Gas Pipeline* 

State Capitol

Trailhead F

Campground 9

School (K-12) n

Fire Station F

Hospital H

Police ^

Prison ^

Cemetery "!

Post Office &PO

Trade/Technical School â@T

T

@ College/University ÞÞ

Visitor Center V

Figure 8. Subset of content included in the US Topo map symbol key attachment
References Cited 15

tion of year-month-day, where year has four digits and the 

other two fields have exactly two digits (padded with zeros 

as necessary). No delimiters are used in the timestamp. For 

example, December 4, 2009, is expressed as 20091204.

• XX is a text string that indicates the map type. OM (Ortho 

Map) was used for maps published without contours in 

2009. Publication of maps with contours began in 2010, 

and the type was changed to TM (Topographic Map). No 

domain of values for this string is specified by this standard.

• geo is a text string that indicates the PDF is georeferenced.

• yyy is the filename extension associated with the file 

type. A text string of “xml” indicates an Extensible 

Markup Language (XML) file and a text string of 

“pdf” indicates a Portable Document Format (PDF).

No requirements are specified for letter case; file names 

may use any combination of uppercase and lowercase letters.

Map Symbol Key File

Because the map symbol key file is the same file for all 

US Topo maps, a naming convention for the map symbol key 

file is not dictated. At the time of this publication, the map 

symbol key file is named “US Topo Map Symbols.pdf.”

References Cited

Cooley, M.J., Davis, L.R., Fishburn, K.A., Lestinsky, H., 

and Moore, L.R., 2011, US Topo product standard: U.S. 

Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 11–B2, 18 p. 

pamphlet, 1 sheet, scale 1:24,000, accessed February 2018 

at https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/tm11b2/.

Demmy, G., and Reed, C., eds., 2011, PDF geo-registration encoding best practice version 2.2: Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc., 

Project Document OGC 08–139r3, version 2.2, accessed February 2018 at http://www.opengeospatial.org/docs/bp.

Federal Geographic Data Committee, 1998, Content standard for 

digital geospatial metadata version 2.0: Federal Geographic 

Data Committee FGDC–STD–001–1998, accessed February 

2018 at https://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/

FGDC-standards-projects/metadata/base-metadata/v2_0698.pdf.

Federal Geographic Data Committee, 2001, United States 

National Grid (USNG): Federal Geographic Data Committee 

FGDC–STD–011–2001, accessed February 2018 at https://

www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standards-projects/

usng/fgdc_std_011_2001_usng.pdf.

Federal Register, 1995, Use of the NAD 83/WGS 84 datum tag 

on mapping products: Government Printing Office, Federal 

Register, v. 60, no. 157, accessed February 2018 at https://

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1995-08-15/pdf/95-19408.pdf.

International Organization for Standardization [ISO], 2008a, 

PDF format becomes ISO standard: International Organization for Standardization News and Media, accessed February 

2018 at https://www.iso.org/news/2008/07/Ref1141.html.

International Organization for Standardization [ISO], 

2008b, Document management—Portable document 

format—Part 1—PDF 1.7: International Organization for 

Standardization ISO 32000–1, accessed February 2018 at 

https://www.iso.org/standard/51502.html.

International Organization for Standardization [ISO], 2017, 

Document management—Portable document format—

Part 2—PDF 2.0: International Organization for Standardization ISO 32000–2, accessed February 2018 at 

https://www.iso.org/standard/63534.html.

National Geodetic Survey, 2010, Frequently asked questions: 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, accessed 

February 2018 at https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/faq.shtml.

TerraGo Technologies Inc., 2011, Latest version of TerraGo 

publisher extends ESRI ArcGIS 10 and offers enhancements 

for creating GeoPDF maps and imagery: Atlanta, TerraGo 

Technologies Inc., accessed February 2018 at

http://www.terragotech.com/documents/

terragopr_terragopublisher_030711.pdf.

U.S. Board on Geographic Names, 2016, Principles, policies, and procedures—Domestic geographic names: 

Reston, Va., Domestic Names Committee, version 1.0, 

accessed February 2018 at https://geonames.usgs.gov/

docs/DNC_PPP_DEC_2016_V.1.0.pdf.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2017, US Topo map users guide: 

U.S. Geological Survey, accessed March 2018 at https://

nationalmap.gov/ustopo/quickstart.pdf.
16 US Topo Product Standard

GeoPDF® Portable Document Format (PDF) 

with TerraGo Technologies’ patented georeferencing extension.

geospatial PDF Portable Document Format 

(PDF) with a non-patented georeferencing 

extension.

National Geospatial Program (NGP, https://

www2.usgs.gov/ngpo/) An administrative 

unit of the U.S. Geological Survey responsible for mapping and geographic information 

system (GIS) activities. The NGP is under the 

USGS Core Science Systems Mission Area.

Metadata information (https://geology.usgs.

gov/tools/metadata/) An information set 

about a map or other geospatial product that 

describes how the product was made and 

gives the sources of data and other relevant 

information. The Federal Geographic Data 

Committee’s (FGDC) Content Standard for 

Digital Geospatial Metadata (version 2.0), 

FGDC–STD–001–1998, defines content and 

organization of metadata files.

Glossary

USGS Mapping Program An umbrella term 

that encompasses most of the activities of the 

NGP, including all aspects of The National 

Map, US Topo, and the Historical Topgraphic 

Map Collection.

U.S. National Grid (USNG) The official grid 

coordinate system of the U.S. Government. 

See https://www.fgdc.gov/usng/ for information and specifications.

7.5-minute standard cell Geographic 

quadrangle that aligns with 7.5-minute increments of latitude and longitude. These cells, 

their official names, and other attributes are 

stored in the geographic cell names database 

(GCNDB), a part of the Geographic Names 

Information System (GNIS).
Useful Websites 17

Useful Websites

https://geology.usgs.gov/tools/metadata/ This site provides useful information about how to implement the FGDC metadata standard.

https://geonames.usgs.gov/ The USGS home page for the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

https://get.adobe.com/reader/ Free Adobe Reader software may be downloaded from this site.

https://nationalmap.gov/ USGS home page for The National Map.

https://nationalmap.gov/ustopo/ USGS home page for the US Topo maps.

https://nationalmap.gov/ustopo/ustopo_feedback.html Submit feedback for the US Topo 

project at this site.

https://store.usgs.gov/ USGS products may be downloaded from this site.

http://info.terragotech.com/download/terrago-toolbar Free TerraGo toolbar extension may be 

downloaded from this site.

https://www.fsa.usda.gov/ Home page for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.

https://www.fgdc.gov/ Home page for the Federal Geographic Data Committee.

https://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standards-projects/metadata/ The FGDC 

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata may be downloaded from this site.

https://www.fgdc.gov/usng/ FGDC site for the United States National Grid standard.

https://www.iso.org/ Home page for the International Organization for Standardization.

https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/ Home page for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geodetic Survey.

http://www.opengeospatial.org/ Home page for the Open Geospatial Consortium.

http://www2.usgs.gov/ngpo/ Home page for the USGS National Geospatial Program.

https://archive.usgs.gov/archive/sites/www.usgs.gov/pubprod/index.html Home page for USGS 

Maps, Imagery, and Publications.

http://communities.usgs.gov/blogs/vis/usgs-identifier/ Home page for USGS Identifier information.

https://internal.usgs.gov/ngp/branding/artwork.html The National Map logo library.
18 US Topo Product Standard

Appendix 1. Notes and Discussion Issues

This appendix contains additional discussion about several 

of the design decisions for the US Topo product.

Datums—North American Datum 1983 and 

World Geodetic System of 1984

The following is from the Federal Register: August 15, 

1995 (v. 60, no.157), “Use of the NAD 83/WGS 84 Datum 

Tag on Mapping Products” (Federal Register, 1995).

“SUMMARY: The Office of National Geodetic 

Survey, redefined and readjusted the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27), creating the North 

American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). The World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 84) was defined by the 

Defense Mapping Agency (DMA). The interagency 

Federal Geodetic Control Subcommittee (FGCS) at 

its meeting on December 7, 1994, recommended that

‘All maps and charts produced for North America, at 

scales of 1:5,000 or smaller, that are based on either 

the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) or the 

World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 84), should 

have the horizontal datum labeled as NAD 83/WGS 84.’

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following supplementary information was reviewed 

by FGCS membership. A Federal Register notice 

published on June 29, 1979 (44 FR 37969), by the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA) provided notification of the establishment 

of a new Datum (NAD 83) to which the geographic 

and plane coordinate values for the National Network 

of Horizontal Geodetic Control would be referenced. 

A Federal Register notice published on June 14, 

1989 (54 FR 25318), by NOAA affirmed NAD 83 as 

the official horizontal datum for all future U.S. surveying and mapping activities performed or financed 

by the Federal Government. Furthermore, this notice 

said that to the extent practicable and feasible, all 

Federal agencies using coordinate information should 

provide for an orderly transition to NAD 83. Both 

NAD 83 and WGS 84 were originally defined (in 

words) to be geocentric and oriented as the Bureau 

International de l’Heure (BIH) Terrestrial System. 

In principle, the three-dimensional coordinates of a 

single physical point should therefore be the same 

in both NAD 83 and WGS 84 systems; in practice, 

small differences are sometimes found. The original 

intent was that both systems would use the Geodetic 

Reference System of 1980 (GRS 80) as a reference 

ellipsoid. As it happened, the WGS84 ellipsoid 

differs very slightly from GRS 80. The difference 

is 0.0001 meters in the semi-minor axis. Effective 

January 2, 1994, the WGS 84 reference system was 

realigned to be compatible with the International 

Earth Rotation Service’s International Terrestrial 

Reference Frame (ITRF).”

Off-Grid and Oversized Maps 

The National Geospatial Program policy of not allowing 

oversize or off-grid maps has several implications:

• The development and maintenance of map-production 

software and procedures is simpler. This is the primary reason the current standard dictates only on-grid, 

standard-size products. Building production systems to 

accommodate the special cases of off-grid products is 

difficult and the number of cells involved is small.

• Softcopy map users will probably not be significantly 

inconvenienced by this policy and may consider the higher 

level of regularity and standardization to be a benefit.

• The primary effect of this policy is to users who rely on 

paper maps. There will be some instances of maps that 

are covered almost completely by water and instances of 

small island chains broken up into several pieces. In these 

cases, users who print their own maps will use more ink 

and paper to print very little additional information.
Appendix 1 19

Image Ground Sample Distance, Bit Depth, 

Resolution, and Compression

The goal in US Topo map production is to construct a 

geospatial PDF that strikes a balance between manageable file 

size and visual quality.

The orthoimage has the greatest effect on file size. 

Government-procured orthoimagery is typically collected at a 

ground sample distance (GSD) between 6 inches and 1 meter. 

Though source orthoimagery may be collected at higher 

resolution, the US Topo product calls for an orthoimage with 

a GSD of approximately 1.5 meters. This imagery resolution 

was chosen for the US Topo product because a 1.5-meter GSD 

at 1:24,000 scale corresponds to a file size of approximately 

30 MB, the target file size for US Topo maps. This imagery 

resolution also results in a map resolution of 400 pixels per 

inch (PPI), which is an appropriate resolution for visual quality 

and printing at scales as large as 1:10,000.

Bit depth represents the precision with which colors are 

specified in an image. For example, a RGB (red green blue) 

image is a 3-band image, with each band an 8-bit image, stores 

a total of 24 bits of color intensity values per pixel. An 24-bit 

true-color image is deemed to be of appropriate visual quality 

for viewing and printing.

A 7.5-minute orthoimage cell at 300 PPI contains approximately 35 million pixels, equating to over 100 megabytes (MB) 

of RGB image data. The same tile at 400 PPI (1.5 meter GSD) 

is almost twice as large. Given this hefty potential file size, 

lossy compression (elimination of data) is required to produce 

a 7.5-minute geospatial PDF containing 1.5-meter orthoimagery 

with a file size of approximately 30 MB. Compression is a 

tradeoff between quality and file size, as higher compression 

ratios result in smaller file sizes but lower quality images. The 

30 MB file size is considered optimal for maintaining high 

quality for printing and is a manageable file size for storage, 

viewing, and manipulation of the geospatial PDF.

Note that compression is achieved with built-in features 

of commercial software for which precise algorithms are 

proprietary. The geospatial PDF compression settings for 

US Topo products are a quality setting of 75 percent and an 

adaptive image compression setting. Displaying and printing 

requires decompressing the data, which is done automatically 

by the Adobe Reader software, but the memory management 

of decompression is implementation dependent.

Geographic and Cultural Features and Their 

Names and Labels

The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) 

publication “Principles, Policies, and Procedures—Domestic Geographic Names” (U.S. Board on Geographic Names, 

2016), states (page 4):

“In accordance with Public Law 80-242, only 

official geographic names are to be used on Federal 

maps, publications, and other conventional and 

digital products, including websites. An official 

name is one in which the written form of that name 

and its application to the appropriate place, feature, 

or area are approved by the BGN or the appropriate administrative agency. By law, the BGN is 

responsible for all geographic names except those 

applying to offices or establishments of Federal 

agencies *** As a practical matter, the Board of 

Geographic Names (BGN) focuses on the names 

of natural features, as well as canals, channels and 

reservoirs, in the United States, and its territories 

and outlying areas ***”

Principle IV (p. 8–9) explains that names falling within 

the scope of other authorities (Federal agencies, State and 

local governments and associated entities, Native American 

Tribes, and structures on private property) are only the subject 

of BGN decisions when the Board decides that it is necessary 

to settle a conflict between the different authorities. 

The document continues on page 4:

“The Geographic Names Information System 

(GNIS) represents the Federal Government’s only 

official repository for identifying official placenames *** All names in GNIS other than variant 

names are considered official for Federal use ***”
20 US Topo Product Standard

Appendix 2. 1:24,000-Scale US Topo Style Sheet

The US Topo style sheet for 1:24,000-scale maps is part 

of this US Topo Product Standard, and is published as an 

oversized map sheet included with this publication.

Appendix 3. 1:25,000-Scale US Topo Style Sheet

The US Topo style sheet for 1:25,000-scale maps is part 

of this US Topo Product Standard, and is published as an 

oversized map sheet included with this publication.

Appendix 4. 1:20,000-Scale US Topo Style Sheet

The US Topo style sheet for 1:20,000-scale maps is part 

of this US Topo Product Standard, and is published as an 

oversized map sheet included with this publication.
National Geospatial Technical Operations Center

U.S. Geological Survey

Box 25046, Mail Stop 510

Denver Federal Center

Denver, Colorado 80225-0046

Or visit the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center website at

https://ngtoc.usgs.gov/
Davis and others—US Topo Product Standard—Techniques and Methods 11–B2 Version 2.0, February 2019

ISSN 2328-7055 (online)

https://doi.org/10.3133/tm11b2