Where to go for topographic maps of Texas?

December 23, 2008 2:01 PM

Where can I find good topographic maps of Texas?

I'm trying to find a cool map for my brother, who'se very interested in the watersheds and waterways around San Antonio. I've found some okay prospects on the USGS website, but I'm wondering what else is out there. Know any other good resources for maps of this area? Would making a poster of a GoogleEarth image be a good route? Got other ideas? Thanks, MeFi!

posted by aka burlap to science & nature (13 comments total)

here is a lengthy list of all the USGS maps of Texas, free for the downloading. If I were you I'd print one of them and then give him a key drive or something else with all the other maps on them. These maps are in the public domain but until the last few years if you wanted them you had to order them from the government and they cost some money. More on the Free the Maps project here.
posted by jessamyn at 2:05 PM on December 23, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

You may also be able to find something here.
posted by gordie at 2:06 PM on December 23, 2008

While not exactly a topo, and it may not have as much detail of the San Antonio area as you're interested in, this is definitely a cool map of Texas (and also quite large at 46x50").
posted by masher at 2:21 PM on December 23, 2008

For my money, the best relief map is a raised relief map — it's got the geographical features molded in 3-D. Such as these two.
posted by exphysicist345 at 2:46 PM on December 23, 2008

You can't really give him this, but you could point him to it. Google maps has topo contour overlays built by Hey What's That. I have wasted hours playing with the settings and browsing the continent. It's not quite as personal as a physical map, but he can explore the whole nation.
posted by Science! at 2:57 PM on December 23, 2008

ooh, awesome, guys! Thanks for all the great suggestions! I think I'll probably end up giving him a big printout of one of the USGS maps jessamyn pointed me to, b/c you can pinpoint such specific areas. But then again, those raised relief maps are pretty cool too. Thanks!
posted by aka burlap at 3:58 PM on December 23, 2008

Does Texas even have topology?

But, seriously, I love the National Geographic TOPO! software. For about $100, you get 5 levels of topo map coverage for the entire state. It also has lots of neat features like converting the elevation contours to a 3D representation of the terrain. Very, very cool.
posted by Netzapper at 4:24 PM on December 23, 2008

Also fun - because Texas has a lot of land, we have the Texas General Land Office. Buy local!
posted by Pants! at 7:22 PM on December 23, 2008

The USGS maps that jessamyn pointed out are cool, but don't appear very up to date (the one I checked said 'edited 1992'). Do more recent topo maps of the whole country exist?
posted by lukemeister at 8:34 PM on December 23, 2008

lukemeister: Not of the whole country. The USGS surveys aren't like the census; as far as I know, there's no schedule for them at all. In fact, for some parts of the country, depending on the scale you're looking at, the most recent maps are from the 50's. If I recall, the data for most of the country's maps is from a 1972(?) survey. The "edited in 1992" is actually just when it was last revised, so they still may hold errata from the earlier survey.

All that said, unless your area has severe erosion or active volcanoes or earthquakes, the older data is probably just fine. And, unless a private cartographer has a competing map for a given area, the USGS maps are your only option--indeed, I believe most private backcountry cartography is based on the USGS maps.
posted by Netzapper at 1:25 AM on December 24, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Raven Maps has a beautiful topo-type poster of Texas. (mr. epersonae has been wanting one of WA for aeons now.)
posted by epersonae at 12:06 PM on December 24, 2008

Update: Ended up getting a nice poster print of this (the link only shows a preview).

I think he'll love it; thanks everybody! And thanks for the info about the USGS, Netzapper...we were also wondering about the old dates on those maps.
posted by aka burlap at 12:35 PM on December 24, 2008

Netzapper,

Right, unless Mt. St. Helens is in your zone, the older data are fine for topography. However, I was looking at San Antonio. The buildings have changed quite a bit since the map was made.
posted by lukemeister at 8:26 PM on December 24, 2008