National Map

National Map
Name	National Map
Country	United States
Established	1998
Managing authority	United States Geological Survey
Type	Topographic mapping system

National Map is a collaborative spatial data platform maintained to provide seamless access to topographic, hydrographic, transportation, and geospatial datasets for the United States. It aggregates authoritative map layers from federal agencies such as the United States Geological Survey, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States Census Bureau, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and United States Forest Service to support planning for agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Users from the United States Geological Survey research community to local planning offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston rely on it alongside tools from Esri, Google, Microsoft, and OpenStreetMap contributors.

Overview

The platform consolidates vector and raster products such as elevation, hydrography, transportation networks, land cover, and orthoimagery used by entities like the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and United States Forest Service. It supports interoperability with standards from the Open Geospatial Consortium, metadata profiles like Federal Geographic Data Committee, and catalog services used by the Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institution. Integration enables workflows spanning the National Aeronautics and Space Administration lidar missions, United States Geological Survey mapping programs, and situational awareness during events such as Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, and California wildfires.

History

Origins trace to initiatives by the United States Geological Survey and the Office of Management and Budget in the 1990s that sought to modernize mapping after projects like the National Mapping Program and advances from the Landsat program. Early collaborations included the United States Census Bureau TIGER data modernization and partnerships with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Earth Science Division. Milestones align with federal efforts such as the E-Government Act of 2002 and the establishment of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure and standards advanced by the Federal Geographic Data Committee. Program expansions responded to disasters like Hurricane Maria and policy drivers from the Department of Homeland Security and guidance from the Office of the Secretary of the Interior.

Data and Features

Core datasets encompass elevation derived from Lidar acquisitions and the SRTM mission, hydrography based on the National Hydrography Dataset, transportation layers informed by TIGER and state transportation departments, and land cover from the National Land Cover Database. Orthoimagery is sourced from the National Agriculture Imagery Program and contributions from state geological surveys, while place names reference the Board on Geographic Names. Cartographic products include topographic maps, digital elevation models, contour data, and shaded relief used by conservation groups such as The Nature Conservancy and research centers at University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University. The map supports coordinate systems like North American Datum of 1983 and projections employed by the National Geodetic Survey.

Technology and Methodology

The infrastructure builds on GIS platforms from vendors such as Esri and open-source stacks leveraging GeoServer, PostGIS, and GDAL. Data ingestion pipelines incorporate standards from the Open Geospatial Consortium (WMS, WFS), metadata schemas from the Federal Geographic Data Committee, and cataloging practices from the National Information Exchange Model. Processing workflows use tools and research from NASA, computational resources influenced by Amazon Web Services, and visualization libraries similar to those used by Google Maps Platform and Leaflet. Quality assurance involves vertical control tied to the National Spatial Reference System and validation protocols aligned with the American Society for Testing and Materials specifications and state spatial data infrastructures.

Applications and Uses

Practitioners in agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Transportation apply the platform for hazard mitigation, floodplain mapping, corridor planning, and infrastructure resilience following incidents such as Hurricane Katrina and I-35W bridge collapse. Researchers at institutions including Columbia University, University of Washington, and University of Colorado Boulder use datasets for hydrologic modeling, wildfire risk assessment, and urban growth studies that inform policy from the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Housing and Urban Development. Private sector firms such as Bechtel, AECOM, and startups in the geospatial sector integrate layers for asset management, site selection, and logistics planning, while non-profits like the Sierra Club leverage data for conservation campaigns.

Governance and Partnerships

Governance is led by the United States Geological Survey in partnership with the Federal Geographic Data Committee and interagency collaborators including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Geological Survey science centers, state geospatial offices, and tribal mapping programs. Cooperative agreements exist with academic partners such as University of Minnesota, Pennsylvania State University, and Oregon State University and private entities like Esri and cloud providers. International coordination involves exchange with organizations such as the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management and bilateral data sharing with agencies like Natural Resources Canada.

Accessibility and Updates

Distribution channels include web services, REST APIs, downloadable GeoTIFFs, and map tiles compatible with clients like QGIS, ArcGIS Online, and mobile SDKs used by Apple and Google-based applications. Update cycles combine continuous edits from state stewardship programs with systematic releases influenced by campaigns like the 3DEP initiative and emergency response mapping coordinated with Federal Emergency Management Agency and state emergency management agencies. Training and outreach occur through workshops hosted at institutions such as the National Academy of Sciences and conferences like the Esri User Conference and GIS-Pro.

Category:United States Geological Survey Category:Geographic information systems Category:Topography