Printed Topographic Maps
The topographic map series have been available in paper form for all of Wisconsin for almost two decades, and have a great variety of uses. They are printed using a special set of ink colors, and features are separated by color. For instance, blue is reserved for water, green for forest, and only contour lines are brown. However, boundaries, text, and geodetic control points are all printed in black.
Where to Purchase?
Our office maintains a list of map dealers that sell USGS topo maps in or near Wisconsin. We are not a map sales outlet but can refer you to places that do sell USGS topo maps. There are also map libraries across the state that have topo maps for viewing purposes. Most federal depository libraries have a collection of the USGS topo maps. GPO maintains a website that let users search for federal depository libraries as well as the documents or maps they have. To find a library nearest you with your need, visit the GPO Federal Depository Library Program.
Other Producers of Topo Maps
Besides the USGS, a number of state, regional and local Wisconsin agenciesproduce topo maps for various areas. These maps are usually designed tosuit the agencies' own particular needs, and tend to be very large-scale.
- State Agencies:
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation produces very large-scale strip topo maps used in the planning and detailed designing of highway and airports.
- Regional Agencies:
The Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission produced large-scale topo maps for the seven counties in its region, and uses them as a base map for constructing overlays depicting property boundaries, soils, wetlands, etc. Each topo map covers approximately 1/4 of a square mile at a scale of 1:2,400 (1 = 200'), and has two foot elevation contours.
- Local Agencies:
Some local governments and private businesses produce very large-scale topo maps, usually of small-area sites. While copies of these maps are not readily available to the public through a single outlet, government offices are required to make their material available under Open Records laws.
Ordering Out-of-Print Topo Maps
The USGS preserves out-of-print maps on microfilm. Using photographic techniques, reasonably legible black-and-white paper reproductions can be reproduced from the microfilm original. Contact the USGS for more information on obtaining out-of-print maps.
Find a Topo Map
The topographic map series have been available in paper form for all of Wisconsin for almost two decades, and have a great variety of uses. To assist in selecting a topographic quad, several options are available.
The WGNHS has produced an updated, free, single sheet Index to USGS Topographic Maps of Wisconsin.
The USGS also publishes an Index and Catalog of Topo Maps for Wisconsin. The state index lists the various map series for Wisconsin produced by the USGS along with the individual topo maps within each map series. The state catalog, which is updated and reissued periodically, lists only those topo maps available for the state of Wisconsin from USGS.
To search for topos on-line, try USGS Map Finder
Revisions
Less than 10% of Wisconsin's coverage of the USGS topo maps have been revised since 1980. None of this work has been full replacement mapping (the most costly alternative) but has involved updates to selected features. A block of 42 quads surrounding Lake Winnebago were updated in the mid-1990s (with federal funds) using a computerized process and a modified symbol scheme.
By state statute, responsibility for administering and coordinating Wisconsin's topographic mapping by federal agencies is assigned to the state geologist who directs the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS).
Most of the USGS topo maps for Wisconsin were funded under 50:50 cost sharing arrangements. Wisconsin's funding for the 1:24,000-scale series, mostly provided by our state departments of transportation (DOT) and natural resources (DNR) in addition to the WGNHS, totaled $4.9 million. Beyond matching that amount, additional federal funds were allocated, bringing the total investment to $11.9 million (not adjusted for inflation).
After the 1:24,000-scale series was completed in 1985 for Wisconsin, the WGNHS maintained a $20,000 annual state program to fund quad revision, but even that modest amount fell victim to budget cuts in 1995.
Although as many as 1,500 7.5-minute quadrangles per year are being revised in the United States, none of these are complete revisions. Very few revisions include contour updates, new control, or field verification of content. Map revision standard and procedures currently in place will be used for at least several more years by the USGS. They also have no specific plans to return to a program of new mapping by collecting new control and doing new field verification. In order to revise a greater number of maps with available funding, topographic map revision will continue to be done with remote and secondary sources for the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately, the level of revision funding in Wisconsin is seriously insufficient, resulting in the updating of less than 1 percent of the map series since its completion in 1985. As of 1992, over 60 percent of the maps in the series are already over 12 years old. At the current rate of funding support, revising each of the 1154 7.5- minute quadrangles, just once each, would require more than 160 years!
Return to Top