Why are there no powerlines, pipelines, libraries, trails, etc. on US Topo maps?
The original USGS 7.5-minute topographic map series (1945-1992) included feature classes that are not yet shown on US Topo maps. Examples include recreational trails, pipelines, power lines, survey markers, many types of boundaries, and many types of buildings. The USGS no longer does field verification or other primary data collection for these feature classes, and there are no national data sources suitable for general-purpose, 1:24,000-scale maps. For many of these feature classes, USGS is working with other agencies to develop data. Over time, as these data become available and are included in The National Map, that content will be added to the US Topos.
Because US Topo maps are mass produced from GIS databases, some features shown on traditional maps may never be included on US Topo. For example, it is doubtful a national database of isolated ranch windmills and water tanks will ever be built.
Information about specific feature classes:
- Recreational trails -- Trails are problematic due to a lack of national data sources, but the major federal land management agencies and other organizations are providing data to USGS, and more trails are shown on US Topo each year. As of 2018, major sources include U.S. Forest Service (USFS), National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA), a non-government volunteer organization. We expect the number of recreational trails on the maps to steadily increase in the coming years, particularly on federal lands. Trails on state and local government lands are a bigger problem that will take longer to solve.
- PLSS -- Absence of Public Land Survey System (PLSS) information was a major problem during the first 3-year production cycle (2010-12), but has since been largely solved. As of May 2018, PLSS has been published on US Topo maps in 28 of the 29 CONUS PLSS states. Oklahoma is the only remaining PLSS state without data on US Topo maps, and will be done in 2019. PLSS is also included on Alaska maps. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) provides these data, often in cooperation with state agencies, and has published data for all PLSS states. When a US Topo map is opened in Acrobat Reader, the PLSS layer is turned off by default and must be clicked on by the user; the reason is that displaying the PLSS network and the U.S. National Grid together leads to confusing visual clutter. US Topo PLSS lines are not legally authoritative.
- Wetlands were added as a new US Topo layer in late 2015, using data from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory. A wetlands layer is present if the US Topo map date is 2016 or later, or if the map date is 2015 and the primary state is WI, IA, or KS. Wetlands data are not cartographically integrated with other layers, and in some cases may appear inconsistent with other hydrography features.
- Buildings and structures -- Traditional topographic maps locate and label a variety of public buildings and structures, such as courthouses, libraries, visitor centers, transportation terminals, stadiums, towers, and bridges. National public domain datasets of these feature classes do not currently exist. Although these kinds of features are not generally within USGS scope, we are developing a strategy for maintaining selected structures data. These efforts depend on cooperation with other government agencies, and also a project of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI).
- Railroads -- The earliest US Topo maps did not show any railroads. In 2012 we began publishing railroad data provided by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). This dataset, though positionally accurate, was known to be incomplete. In 2014 we changed data sources, to a dataset provided by a Department of Defense contractor. Responsibility for maintaining this dataset was transferred to FRA in 2016, which is now the source of railroads on US Topo maps.
- Powerlines, oil and gas pipelines, other energy infrastructure -- Except for a few unusual instances, such as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, these features are not shown on US Topo. National public domain datasets do not exist, and even if they did, adapting them to general-purpose maps would be difficult. In some cases there are also security reasons for not publishing these data.
- Landmarks -- Unique landmark features may include buildings, natural features, isolated monuments, and points of interest. No national GIS database of landmark features exists, and constructing one is problematic. Nevertheless, not having such a dataset leads to cartographic oddities, such as not labeling the White House. The US Topo project hopes to eventually address this problem as part of the buildings and structures issue discussed above.
- Remote roads -- Traditional topographic maps were compiled in part from direct field observation, and were therefore a unique source of information for remote and unimproved roads. Building a national public domain road dataset that can rival the traditional topographic map series for overall completeness and accuracy is a long-term problem, but is being discussed by USGS, USFS, Census Bureau, and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Road data sources for US Topo maps have changed several times during the project; see this FAQ for more detail.
- Recreational features (campgrounds, boat docks, swimming pools, golf courses, etc) -- These are basically the same problem as recreational trails or structures, discussed above, and some may eventually be addressed in the same ways. There are many of these feature types, and most will never be high priorities for USGS mapping. In 2017 US Topo maps began showing selected campgrounds, picnic areas, and cabins provided by USFS and NPS, though it will take several years for this set of features to approach completeness.