High Sierra Topix

Hope it was okay to ask this question on this forum...I was not sure which one would be the best.

I have been trying to find a very easy and simple website to order 7.5 topo maps on line....all the ones I have gone to, I have not been able to get anywhere with them. The USGS one takes me to a page that does not even have anything to do with maps. If anyone could pretty please let me know of one I sure would appreciate it. Thanks everyone

Took me less than a minute to go from the http://www.usgs.gov top level home page to the page that had a check box to add the Yosemite Falls 7.5 minute topo to the cart for 6 bucks. There are of course a lot of diversion labyrinths on that site to get lost in. ...David

http://store.usgs.gov/scripts/wgate/ZWW ... CODE=START

I have a CD with all National Forest Visitor Maps for California and all topos for Lassen and Plumas NF's in a .pdf format. The topos are 1:63,360 scale (1" = 1 mile) and will fit on a 8.5x11 page. Print on photo paper for a real clean map. The visitor maps are big jpegs and take some manipulating to display in graphics programs.

Too big to email, but if you give me an ftp site I will copy it to there.

There's a not hugely easy to use site that has ALL California USGS topo maps in digital form. They are also geocoded (XY coordinates in related files) for use on GIS programs such as ArcMap. They come in NAD 27 and NAD 83, both clipped (map only without the other information you see on the borders of a topo map) and not clipped (the full map you'd buy).

The glitch is although there's a pretty good map interface, the maps are ultimately listed by a code and not by quad name. Anyway, some people might find it useful, especially if you have a high-end mapping program (though I don't think Topo! will work).

Here's the Map Interface. You'll want the DRG maps and DRG Boundaries checked. Keep zooming in to the area you want; use the Information symbol when you're in the area to show you what the quad is and which to download; then download the TIF file (unless you're mapping, you won't need the TFW file).

http://casil.ucdavis.edu/mapsurfer/

Here's their home site with some more information:

http://gis.ca.gov/index.epl

Good luck,

George

Good luck

George, thanks for the heads-up! I know the USGS is arguably the best we have, but darn if the site isn't a serious pain to maneuver! More than once I've just given up and walked away. I'll have to persevere and try again!

Here is another source for downloadable topo maps:


http://svinetfc2.fs.fed.us/rastergateway/index.htm

An interactive map lets you point an click to the map you want.

Downside: They are in tar format, so you must unpack them. Winzip will do it. Second, these are the full size maps and not too many people have a printer/plotter at home for that size of paper. Some manipulation of the whole image in a graphics or photo software is necessary to extract an 8.5x11 sheet at a readable scale. Also, as a Forest Service web site, they have the topos for National Forests only. Quads in the center of SEKI or YOSE that do not overlay and NF land are not available here.

On the plus side the entire country is represented. So for your trip to the Bob Marshall Wilderness next summer...

Howdy MIT, I know this isn't exactly what you asked, but just to let you know, I noticed that REI had the California National Geographic TOPO CD's in their clearance bin! I didn't check the price since I already paid full price a few years ago , but I'm guessing a pretty goiod deal!

Thank you all so very much for the help...Still no luck getting to that page to order, im probably doing something wrong :retard: I will keep trying different things.
Dave54 & George...thank you for posting those sites, I will try those and see if I have any luck.

Hi Wanderer!! How are you doing? So nice to see you...that CD sounds great..I will look for it on line at the REI site, they may have it available on line.

Beautiful pictures of your work SSSDave...I sure enjoyed looking at all your photos!

Thanks again everyone

Here are three more that I use from time to time: http://www.sierrapacktrip.com/topo_maps.html

...and best of all, you help support this site by clicking through that link.

Thanks Madeintahoe. My home looks like an art gallery with large prints everywhere. After last night's storm, I wish I was ski-intahoe but I'm stuck here at home since my midweek season pass has black out days all this holiday week. Wahhhhhhhhh!

When I'm working, I do electronic test engineering and often write test procedures for people to follow. So the following is the way to get to the correct page I gave above starting at the USGS home page:

http://www.usgs.gov

At the top of their home page select field: "Maps, Products & Publications"

That changes to window:

http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/

Select the second item in main window body, "USGS Store"

That changes to window:

http://store.usgs.gov/

On the left side of the main window select field "Enter USGS Store"

That changes to window:

http://store.usgs.gov/scripts/wgate/ZWW ... CODE=START

This is the page I linked in my above post. There are multiple ways to select individual maps. One method uses the Search for USGS products function which is a graphic map selection process. An easier method if one knows the formal map name, ie "Yosemite Falls", is to select the By Type frame. For instance "1:24,000- 7.5 Minute Quadrangle Maps". That will change to a window to select by state that will bring up another alphabetical listing that is an index of first two letters of maps. Within each index are the map names.

...David