Printed on recycled paper

Historical Quadrangle Scanning Project

Scanning and Georeferencing Historical USGS Quadrangles

“A government cannot do any scientific work of more value to the people at large 

than by causing the construction of proper topographic maps of the country.”

The USGS Historical Quadrangle Scanning 

Project (HQSP) is scanning all scales and all editions of approximately 250,000 topographic maps 

published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

since the inception of the topographic mapping 

program in 1884. This scanning will provide a 

comprehensive digital repository of USGS topographic maps, available to the public at no cost. 

For more than 125 years, the USGS topographic 

maps have accurately portrayed the complex geography of the Nation. The USGS is the Nation’s 

largest producer of printed topographic maps, 

and, prior to 2006, USGS topographic maps were 

created using traditional cartographic methods and 

printed using a lithographic process.

As the USGS begins release of a new generation of topographic maps (US Topo) in electronic 

form, the topographic map remains an indispensable tool for government, science, industry, land 

management planning, and leisure.

When physical and cultural features change 

over time, maps are updated, revised and new editions printed. Although they are out of date, these 

historic maps are often useful to scientists, historians, environmentalists, genealogists, and others 

researching a particular geographic location or 

area. A series of maps of the same area published 

over a period of time can show how some areas 

looked as early as 1884, before current development, and provide a detailed view of changes 

over time.

Because historical maps are stored in a 

limited number of collections and are not readily 

available, the USGS National Geospatial Program 

has begun a project to convert these historical 

printed topographic quadrangles to an electronic 

format (GeoTIFF and GeoPDF®). This project 

serves the dual purpose of creating a master 

catalog and digital archive copies of the irreplaceable collection of topographic maps in the USGS 

Reston Map Library as well as making the maps 

available for viewing and downloading from the 

USGS Store and The National Map Viewer.

John Wesley Powell to Congress, Dec. 5, 1888

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2011–3009

January 2011

Cartographers in the Field This Depression-era oil painting, created by 

Hal Shelton in 1940, depicts mapping techniques used in the early days of 

cartography, including an alidade and stadia rod for determining distances and 

elevations and a plane-table for sketching contour lines. This 4-by-6 foot painting 

is on display in the USGS library in Menlo Park, California. 

Photographer: Terry Carr , USGS
Historical Quadrangle 

Scanning Goal

The HQSP is accurately cataloging 

and creating metadata (complete information about each map) to accompany highresolution, georeferenced digital files 

representing the lithographic maps. Georeferencing in the digital file allows basic 

map analysis to be done, such as pointing 

and clicking on the map to determine 

distance, area calculation, coordinate 

points, and other information. Each map 

image is scanned “as is” and captures the 

current content and condition of each one. 

The project provides ready access to maps 

that are either no longer available for 

distribution in print or are being replaced 

by the new generation of US Topo maps. 

Georeferencing of the map files—that is, 

tying them to a known earth coordinate 

system—enables them to be imported into 

Geographic Information Systems so that 

they can be overlain with other geospatial 

(map) data from other sources, such as 

from The National Map. The potential for 

research that analyzes change over time 

is becoming increasingly recognized by 

the geospatial community, and this project 

will provide published lithographic USGS 

maps in georeferenced digital formats.

With georeferencing, the historical 

maps can be combined with current data 

from The National Map. The product will 

be delivered as GeoTIFF images with 

embedded metadata.

The scanned historical maps will 

also be available for general reference and 

viewing in a compressed GeoPDF format. 

These files can be viewed and printed 

as PDF documents with a wide range 

of software. Using the geospatial extension requires Adobe Acrobat Reader®

with the no-cost TerraGo Toolbar® for 

Microsoft Windows®. GeoPDF® files 

will be accessible using all browsers for 

downloading at the USGS Store web site 

(store.usgs.gov). These GeoPDF® files 

will be added to the USGS Store as they 

become available beginning in mid-2011.

The USGS Historical Quadrangle 

Scanning Project is:

• developing and publishing specifications for scanning maps;

• creating a catalog and metadata for 

all topographic maps published by the 

USGS;

• scanning historical paper maps to coincide with the release of related new 

generation electronic topographic maps 

(US Topo);

• developing methods to efficiently create accurate, high-resolution scanned 

georeferenced images;

• archiving files with National Archives 

and Records Administration and the 

Library of Congress; and

• providing publicly accessible, downloadable and viewable files of all 

scanned maps with complete FGDCcompliant metadata.

For More Information

To view and download information about The National Map go to 

www.nationalmap.gov. To contact 

the USGS concerning The National 

Map, go to www.usgs.gov/ask or email 

nationalmap@usgs.gov.

For information regarding the Historical 

Quadrangle Scanning Project, go to 

nationalmap.gov/ustopo/index.html

By G.J. Allord and W.J. Carswell, Jr.

Scale 1:62,500

Printed in 1886

1884 map from Massachusetts The first 

State to participate in the cooperative 

topographic mapping program.