Locating and downloading United States Geological Survey Topographic Maps Use this document when searching for digital editions of USGS topo quads.

Begin by entering the URL for the USGS Map Store: http://store.usgs.gov/ 

Next, click on “Map Locator & Downloader”

Using either the Search box or by clicking and dragging a selection box on the map, you can locate the region that you wish to include on a topographic map. In the above example, Cimarron, New Mexico is the feature being searched.

If you are using the map search, then click and drag a box that surrounds the region needed.

The search results will take you to the place name requested. In the above example, the place name that was searched appears under the red marker. The names that are highlighted in yellow are topo quad map titles. This search system is a good search tool for finding paper maps as well.

Double click on the red marker and a pop-up menu appears. On this menu are options to purchase a paper copy, the scale of the map (7.5 = 1,24,000—the standard topo quad). Date of publication is the third colum; the fourth allows you to “view” a map online, and the fifteen

column has the download links. Clicking on this column begins the download feature. In the example above, the map sheet needed is “Cimarron, NM.

The file is a TerraGo pdf. TerraGo makes pdfs that contain individual layers that can be turned on or off as needed.

The same map with some features turned off.

This close-up shows a corner of the same map, with only several layers turned on.

USGS-topo-maps-locating-and-downloading.docx20 September 2011

David J. Bertuca, Map Librariandbertuca@buffalo.edu