Compiling geospatial information for your surrounding area

[alienb1212]

So I see that the USGS has great PDF's for download and print for just about everywhere in the country, and while this is great, they tend to have a ton of layers to them, and run like crap on my "Survival" Panasonic Toughbook laptop...

Does anyone have a beeline for a full set of topo maps, satellite imagery and navigation aid software in an interface similar to Google Earth that can be used exclusively offline? I realize there is simply no substitute for printed hard-copy maps, but having access to some overhead imagery can be a huge aid for navigation, planning and otherwise.

[rkba01]

I am assuming that you have access to and are familiar with a GIS of some sort. Not sure if it is compatible with Google Earth.

This has all the data you want and more, for free. There are several ways to choose your data boundaries and the process is a little cumbersome, but it gives you all you want. The limit on downloads is fairly high, around 1.5GB or so.

Download is via FTP and they have a good server behind it, it's fast.

http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/GDGOrder.aspx

[SeriousStudent]

rkba01: Thanks for that link, it's very helpful.

[Abraxas]

Tagged.

[docsherm]

Very good find. I have looked at the USGS site but never thought of the USDA site. Nice.

[pmarc]

there is also the Global Land Cover Facility

They have several satellite images and also SRTM which is a good enough bases to derive DEMs.

However, you might have to process some of that imagery.

It might be worth to look for some aerial photos. They are taken close to ground and usually have very high resolution.

Also, Quickbird and Ikonos images are not that much expensive. It might make some sense in buying the images to print on suitable paper.

One might even think of fabric printing them.

[RIDE]

Nice links!!! Thank you!