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. The

National Map will serve as a

foundation for integrating, sharing,

and using other government and

private sector data easily and

consistently.

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.

Partnerships between Federal, State,

and local government agencies and

the private sector are the key to

implementation of The National

Map. The USGS will guarantee the

national completeness and

availability of base geographic

information and will organize

nationwide efforts to create and

sustain partnerships to build The

National Map from the best available

data from government and

commercial sources. When no other

source exists, the USGS will provide

data through contract and limited inhouse production.

Many technical and institutional

issues must be resolved as The

National Map is implemented. Pilot

projects are being conducted to

identify issues and develop business

processes and technical solutions to

refine the vision of a national

synthesis of base geographic

information. These pilots are the

foundation upon which future

partnerships for data sharing and

maintenance will be built.

Delaware

The Delaware pilot will provide

current, seamless base geographic

datasets for the entire State through

partnerships with multiple Delaware

agencies. The project has

implemented a Web-based mapping

site (www.datamil.udel.edu/

nationalmappilot/) to address data

integration issues for combining data,

including geographic names, from

multiple sources and to incorporate

the graphic product-generation

functionality developed within the

USGS-ESRI Cooperative Research

and Development Agreement.

Capabilities will include selection of

geographic area and content defined

by the user and provision for

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet 062-02

June 2002

The National Map Pilot Projects
obtaining user feedback to help

maintain data currentness.

Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada,

Area

The Lake Tahoe Area pilot involves

the challenges and opportunities of

integrating data across two States,

eight counties, and several cities. The

pilot builds on the Federal

coordination and research being done

under an Executive Order following

the 1997 Lake Tahoe Presidential

Forum. Issues to be explored include

the integration of Federal and local

data, the use of volunteer groups for

updating datasets, the establishment

of data stewards, and collaboration

with California on its statewide

vision for framework data

development and distribution. The

USGS is working with the Tahoe

Regional Planning Agency to apply

the pilot as the geographic

underpinning to the Tahoe Integrated

Information Management System,

which will provide public access to a

range of area environmental

information. This project will

demonstrate the application of The

National Map as a foundation for

integrating, sharing, and using other

data easily and consistently.

Missouri

The Missouri pilot is a collaborative

effort between the USGS's

Cooperative Topographic Mapping

and National Cooperative Geologic

Mapping Programs to provide

geospatial and geologic data for

multihazards risk assessment,

mitigation, and emergency planning

in southeast Missouri. The primary

objective is to investigate methods

for the dissemination of geospatial

and geologic data over the Web to

scientists, managers, policy makers,

emergency planners, and the general

public. Activities include working

with local agencies and groups to

incorporate the best available data in

the Cape Girardeau area into The

National Map and to integrate

geologic data with The National

Map content. 

Pennsylvania

This pilot uses high-resolution county

source data for orthoimagery and

elevation data. The frequency of

updates for orthoimagery at the

county level will demonstrate data

currentness, archive, and

maintenance functions for The

National Map and the utility of

legacy data for large-scale land use

applications. 

Hydrography information using

National Hydrography Dataset

enhancements that provide greater

feature centerline and coastline detail

is being coordinated with local

sources. These data will be used to

update the SPARROW regression

model to identify nutrient (nitrogen,

phosphorus) source areas for the

USGS Chesapeake Bay Focus Area,

they will be used by the Susquehanna

River Basin Commission to monitor

and report water quality and water

quantity changes. Land cover data

are also being coordinated with

county and State agencies. 

Texas

This pilot expands on the USGS

relationship with the Texas Natural

Resource Information System

(TNRIS) to use its statewide

geographic database, StratMap, as the

primary data source for The National

Map in Texas. Specific pilot

activities include an innovative

partnership with TNRIS in the

Brownsville area, in which the USGS

will develop a Web interface between

StratMap and The National Map to

serve prototype output digital and

map products for The National Map.

The pilot also includes an interagency agreement with the

Department of Housing and Urban

Development in the Eagle Pass area

for monitoring colonias, in which the

USGS will refine local data linkage

and integration techniques in

cooperation with TNRIS. Future pilot

developments will focus on

automated updating techniques using

local datasets.

Utah

The Utah project will test USGS

capabilities to support critical

transportation data needed in

emergency response, census

requirements, and other Federal,

State, and local government functions

for an urban county and a rural

county. Pilot objectives are to

develop and integrate transportation

datasets, develop and test a process

for updating and maintaining

transportation data, and develop and

test software for interfacing and

serving transportation information

over the Web, including the

development of derivative products

and capabilities. This pilot project

will directly benefit Utah by fostering

improvements in the accuracy of

census data, improving the quantity

and quality of USGS data, encouraging the use of locally

generated data that are the best

available, and providing a model that

relies on increased coordination

between Federal and local agencies.

Washington-Idaho

This pilot covers Spokane and Pend

Oreille Counties in Washington State

and Kootenai and Bonner Counties in

Idaho. The population and commerce

corridor between Spokane and Coeur

d'Alene is important to the overall

economic health of this region and

provides a solid test platform for The

National Map. Relationships that the

USGS has established over time with

other Federal, State, and local

agencies in this region will be

enhanced by the pilot effort,

providing a model for advancing The
National Map model across the

Pacific Northwest. The pilot also is

an opportunity to create new

partnerships in rural areas

traditionally lacking solid geospatial

information. Representatives from

Pend Oreille and Bonner Counties

are anxious to work with the USGS

to fill data gaps. All pilot work will

be coordinated with GIS councils

from the three Pacific Northwest

States to promote long-term

partnerships.

U.S. Landsat 

The U.S. Landsat pilot project will

provide access to Landsat satellite

imagery as a reference layer for The

National Map. Landsat can provide

multispectral orthoimagery at a

resolution of 30 meters, with a revisit

cycle of as few as 8 days (using

Landsat 5 and Landsat 7). As the

Landsat scenes are acquired and

loaded into a "seamless database,"

they will provide a full-coverage

orthoimagery layer for the entire

United States. As scenes are replaced,

they will not be deleted but will be

relegated to a near-line archive or be

returned to the long-term Landsat

archive. Over time, the archive will

provide a valuable historical

reference to determine landscape

baseline conditions and to measure

change.

Information

Further information about each pilot

project is available from the USGS

pilot project lead:

Delaware

Robert Rinehart

US Geological Survey

1400 Independence Road

Rolla, MO 65401

Phone: 573-308-3663

Email: rrinehart@usgs.gov

Lake Tahoe Area

Vicki Lukas

U.S. Geological Survey

7801 Folsom Blvd., #101

Sacramento, CA 95826

Phone: 650-329-4288

Email: vlukas@usgs.gov

Missouri

Rick Bradford

1400 Independence Road

Rolla, MO 65401

Phone: 573-308-3765

Email: rbradford@usgs.gov

Pennsylvania

Roger Barlow

U.S. Geological Survey

MS-559

Reston, VA 20192

Phone: 703-648-5189

Email: rbarlow@usgs.gov

Texas

Bill Flynn

U.S. Geological Survey

8027 Exchange Drive

Austin, TX 78754

Phone: 512-927-3582

Email: wtflynn@usgs.gov

U.S. Landsat

Dave Greenlee

U.S. Geological Survey

EROS Data Center

Sioux Falls, SD 57198

Phone: 605-594-6017

Email: greenlee@usgs.gov

Utah

Dave Vincent

U.S. Geological Survey

2222 West 2300 South

Salt Lake City, UT 84119

Phone: 801-975-3435

Email: dmvincent@usgs.gov

Washington-Idaho

Tracy Fuller

U.S. Geological Survey

230 Collins Road

Boise, ID 83702

Phone: 208-387-1351

Email: tfuller@usgs.gov

We welcome your comments on The

National Map mission and strategies.

You can view and download further

information at nationalmap.usgs.gov.

Please share your thoughts with the

USGS by e-mail at

nationalmap@usgs.gov or by mail to

USGS-The National Map, MS-511

National Center, 12201 Sunrise

Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192.

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 mac.usgs.gov/mac/isb/

pubs/pubslists/.

For additional information, visit the

ask.usgs.gov Web site or the USGS

home page at www.usgs.gov.