Aerial Photography & Imagery
This research guide lists major guides and collections of aerial photography and satellite imagery, organized by the following geographic areas.
 NASA Imagery--Humboldt Bay, CA |
World Aerial Photography & Imagery
- Guides
- Alexandria Digital Library (University of California, Santa Barbara Map and Imagery Laboratory) Catalog contains metadata for 2 million remote sensing images and 500,000 aerial photographs. Search by geographic location using either an interactive map or direct input of geographic coordinates, keyword, type of resource, and format. Coverage is worldwide but emphasis is on southern California.
- Earth Observing System Data Gateway (NASA) Search for and order data available in NASA's Earth Observation System Data Information System and Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs). Included in the gateway are earth, ocean, and atmospheric science data obtained from EOS instruments such as MODIS and MISR, as well as other satellites such as Landsat and TRMM.
- Government Resources for Earth Observation Satellite Imagery (McCullough)
- NASA Image eXchange (NIX) (NASA) Search engine that simultaneously searches one or more of NASA's databases that contain over 450,00 online images and photos. Search by keyword or browse to find pre-selected images that are considered to be the "best of..." for a specific topic. The NIX site also provides links to 2.6 million online images that are found in other NASA's Imagery Collections that are not indexed with the basic search engine. These collections are grouped by broad topic.
- National Air Photo Library (Natural Resources, Canada) Contains metadata for over 3 million Canadian air photos dating back to 1935. Search by place name, geographical coordinate, National Topographic System map number, or Roll and Photo number. Requires free online registration.
- Photos and Images of the Earth (About.com Guide to Geography)
- Satellite Imagery (Remote Sensing Core Curriculum)
- SIRIUS: SPOT Image Online Catalogue (Spot Image) Catalog of over 8 million images taken by French SPOT satellites. Search by placename, interactive map or geographic coordinates. Limit by date and other technical criteria. Each image include a thumbnail image. Requires free registration to search the catalog.
- Sources of Earth and Planetary Photography (Steinat)
- Sources of Free Orthoimagery (World Wind Central)
- USGS Global Visualization Viewer (USGS National Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) ) Search and order tool for selected satellite data. The viewer allows access to all available browse images from the Landsat 7 ETM+, Landsat 4/5 TM, Landsat 1-5 MSS, EO-1 ALI, EO-1 Hyperion, MRLC, and Landsat Orthorectified data sets, as well as Aster TIR, Aster VNIR and MODIS browse images from the DAAC inventory. Using a graphic map display, one can select any area of interest and immediately view all available browse images within the USGS inventory for the specified location.
- WWW Virtual Library: Remote Sensing: Satellite Data (Technical Research Centre of Finland)
- Collections
ACME
Mapper (AMCE Laboratories) Use a Google Maps interface
to navigate to a location anywhere in the world, or enter an location
name (US street address or zip code, city name anywhere in the world
or latitude/longitude. Display options include a street map, topographic
maps (US only), aerial photography (US only), satellite imagery, and
NEXRAD color imagery.- ArcScene World Tour (ESRI)1996 (G 1046 A4 A73) Contains 14 SPOT satellite images of unique places around the world.
- Earth as Art: A Landsat Perspective (Library of Congress Geography and Map Division) Exhibition that showcases Landsat 7 images which have been selected for aesthetic rather than scientific value.
- Earth
as Art Collection and Earth
as Art Collection 2 (USGS Earth Resource Observation and Science--EROS)
Collection of "beautiful sights or images that stir the imagination."
- EarthSat GeoCover Landsat Thematic Mapper Mosaics (NASA Earth Science Enterprise) Contains 900 full- resolution orthorectified Landsat thematic mapper mosaics for most of the world in MrSid compressed format. Each mosaic covers an area roughly 115 miles by 115 miles. Color mosaics are composed of LandSat 5 spectral bands 2, 4 and 7. Search using a world mosaic grid.
- Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change (US Geological Survey) Landsat imagery and associated descriptive text that shows examples of environmental change over time in the areas of agriculture, forestry, urban change, deserts, human and natural disasters, geology, water and wildlife.
- Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth (NASA) Database containing over 620,000 images of the earth and spaceflight shot by NASA astronauts since 1961. Search using a clickable map, geographic region, mission, photo number and other parameters. Also includes several special collections of outstanding photos of Cities, Mission Highlights and Earth from Space: a Dataset of Selected Astronaut-acquired Imagery of the Earth.
- Geomorphology from Space: a Global View of Regional Landforms (Short and Blair) 1986 (print copy available in Docs NAS 1.21:486) Consists of 237 plates treating geographic regions where particular landform themes are exemplified. Commentary, photographs, and locator maps accompany each plate.
- Global Land Cover Facility (University of Maryland) Includes thousands of free downloadable satellite images of the Earth. Image datasets includes Landsat 7 ETM+; Landsat 4,5 Multispectral Scanner Data (MSS) and many other derived produces such as U.S. coastal marsh imagery and Deforestation Mapping Group (DMG) images. Images can be viewed online in jpeg format and downloaded in geotiff format. The Earth Science Data Interface search page allows you to find images by location using a map interface, Landsat row/path or product attribute.
- GlobeXplorer Aerial Imagery (National Geographic Society Map Machine) Interactive mapper allows one to zoom to any location on the Earth and display imagery from AirPhotoUSA, i-cubed, Digital Globe, Space Imaging, EarthSat, WorldSat and GeoInformation Group, as well as GlobeXplorer Citipix 6 inch resolution data for 65 major metropolitan areas in the United States.
-
Google Earth (Google) Downloadable
program from Google that streams data layers over the Internet.
The base layer is detailed 3-D satellite imagery for most locations
throughout the world. Rural areas tend to have a lower resolution
and major metropolitan areas greater resolution. Data layers for
place names, businesses and other geographic features can be toggled
on and off. A measure tool found under the “Tools” menu
allows for distance measurement. By tilting the image for a 3-D
perspective you can get the impression of flying through the landscape
as you move the cursor. For further information see How
Google Earth Works (HowStuffWorks).
There are many .kml thematic layers developed by individuals that can be added to the basic Google Earth program. See Google Earth Gallery and Google Earth Blog for some of the available thematic layers.
- Google Maps (Google) The basic view includes road maps, satellite imagery and terrain maps for the world. In addition there is detailed street view imagery and traffic information for selected metropolitan areas in the United States. You can create driving driving directions between two points, or search for businesses near a location. The Google Maps Mania blog tracks "mashups" web sites that add additional information to Google Maps. For comparable views in Google Maps and Microsoft Live Earth see this side-by-side comparison.
- Operational Significant Event Imagery (NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service) Contains high-resolution, detailed remote sensing imagery of significant environmental events, including dust storms, fires, floods, volcanoes, severe weather, snow cover, and tropical cyclones,
- Our Earth as Art (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) Art exhibit highlights selected Landsat 7 images on the basis of their aesthetic appeal.
- Satellite Images of the Earth at Night (International Dark-Sky Association)
- SIR-C/X-SAR Space Radar Images of Earth (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Images are organized by broad subject category.
- Space Imaging Gallery (Space Imaging) Contains selected images from Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite, including top 10 downloads, top images of each year, and other selected images.
- TerraFly
(Florida International University High Performance Database Research
Center) Searchable database that contains one-meter resolution USGS
color digital orthophotoquads for the United States. Use the navigation
wheel to "fly over" over the earth's surface as if traveling
in an airplane. Click on a location and retrieve information on demography,
crime, current weather, environmental pollution, natural hazards,
schools, hotels and home sales. Search the database using a placename,
address, or zip code.
- TerraServer
-Contains commercial aerial photography and satellite imagery covering
the entire world. Available resolution varies depending upon location
as well as type of imagery--color, infrared, B/W, and orthophoto.
Highest resolution available for purchase is one foot. Highest resolution
available for free on the Internet is eight meter. Imagery is provided
by GlobeXplorer, DigitalGlobe, LandVoyage, i-cubed, EarthSat, and
Pixxures. Search by geographic coordinates or city for the entire
world; or by zip code, county or address for the United States.
- Visible Earth: A Searchable Directory of Images, Visualizations, and Animations of the Earth (NASA) Provides access to over 1400 different satellite images of the earth. Categories include physical features, human impacts, types of sensors, and geographic locations.
- Microsoft
Live Earth l (Microsoft) For locations in the United States view
detailed maps or digital orthophotos. For selected cities detailed
"Bird's Eye" images are available at two resolutions, each
of which can be viewed from four different directions. Use the interactive
mapper to zoom to a specific location or enter an address or business
name or category. For the rest of the world includes less detailed
maps and satellite imagery. For comparable views in Google Maps and
Windows Live Local see this side-by-side
comparison.
- World City Photo Archive (Breazeal) Contains over 10,000 images of cities and places worldwide.
- World Satellite Map (National Geographic Map Machine) Interactive mapper allows you to zoom to any location on the Earth.
- World
Wind (US National Aeronautics and Space Administration) This free
downloadable program from NASA interacts over the Internet to provide
detailed 3-D satellite images for locations throughout the world.
High resolution Landsat imagery and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
(SRTM) data are the core imagery. NASA Blue Marble, MODIS and GLOBE
imagery; and USGS topographic maps, 1-meter imagery of the US and
.25 meter imagery for major US urban areas are also available. Data
layers for geographic coordinates, place names and country borders
can be toggled on and off. The Key
Chart provides an explanation on using World Wind and introduces
the different data sets available. WorldWind
Central provides useful help, a wiki and interesting images that
users have found. Currently the program is not supported
on the Macintosh OS.
United States Aerial Photography & Imagery
- Guides
- The Aerial Photo Sourcebook (Collins) 1998 (ref TR 810 C64 1998) Directory of federal, state, and commercial sources of aerial photography.
- Aeiral Photography Field Office Imagery Catalogs (US Department of Agriculture) Lists by state and then by county National Agriculture Imagery Program imagery and other imagery coverage used by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS). The catalog includes imagery dating for the 1955 to the present. Earlier photography is available from the National Archives.
- Aerial Photography Summary Record System (APSRS) (US Geological Survey) 1996 (Docs I 19.120:Ae8 cd-rom) Database describing more than 600,000 aerial photography projects covering the United States and its territories. Includes aerial photography from federal, state, and other governmental agencies as well as commercial firms. The "APRS database" sumarizes projects by USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle. Entries are sorted by project date, and describe scale, producing agency, project code, film type, cloud cover, and camera focal length. The "Contributor database" contains the name, address, and phone number of aerial photography contributors. For further information see Aerial Photography Summary Record System.
- EarthExplorer (US Geological Survey) Identify geospatial products available from the US Geological Survey including aerial photography, satellite imagery, digital orthophoto quads, digital line graphs, digital elevation models, digital raster graphics, and other map products. Determine spatial coverage by defining coverage on a map, entering geographic coordinates, or entering a place name.
- Photofinder (US Geological Survey) Index to National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP) photos from 1980 to the present. Search using an interactive map, placename, or zip code.
- Collections
- ACME Mapper (AMCE Laboratories) Uses topographic and imagery data from TerraServer. Search by placename, zip code, UTM coordinate, Lat/Long, or a list of well-known locations. Zoom to different resolutions, pan, or change image size. Connect to Tiger Map Server for road data. A marker shows the actual point specified on both the navigable page and the savable image.
- Airport Photo Gallery (US National Geodetic Survey) Contains "center shot" photos of commerical and general aviation airports that support the production of FAA aeronautical charts. Covers airports that have been surveyed from 1999 to the present.
- Coastal Aerial Photography (US National Geodetic Survey) Contains over 40,000 color aerial photos taken since 1990 at scales of 1:10,000 to 1:50,000 for the coastal regions of the United States. Each location may include several flights.
- Google Maps (Google) Offers a combination of satellite and hi-res aerial imagery, the latter in more urbanized areas. Enter a location or pan and zoom to a desired location. View maps, satellite imagery or a hybrid. For 3-D views see Google Earth.
- High Resolution Orthoimagery (US Geological Survey) Images cover the major metropolitan areas and state capitals of the United States. Orthoimages are natural color, black and white, or color infrared with a resolution of 0.3 meters to 0.75 meters, depending on the source imagery. Many commerical sites use USGS orthoimagery for their data. See the High Resolution Orthoimagery List. Images can be downloaded from the Seamless Data Distribution System.
- ImageAtlas (GlobeXplorer) Searchable database of United States imagery. Search by street address. Pan and zoom. Imagery available--B/W DOQs, color or color infrared--varies by area.
- Satellite Images of US Cities - Landsat GeoCover (Geology.com) Images are compiled using NASA's GeoCover data collected in 1999.
- One Meter Digital Orthoimagery Quarter Quadrangles (DOQQ) (US Geological Survey) These are computer-generated images of an aerial photograph in which the image displacement caused by terrain relief and camera tilt has been removed. DOQQs combine the image characteristics of the original photograph with the georeferenced qualities of a map. Images are black and white, natural color, or color-infrared (CIR) with 1-meter ground resolution. They are frequently used as the underlying data in commercial services. Images can be downloaded from the Seamless Data Distribution System. Coverage is for the United States.
- TerraFly
(Florida International University High Performance Database Research Center)
Searchable database that contains one-meter resolution USGS color digital
orthophotoquads for the United States. Use the navigation wheel to "fly
over" over the earth's surface as if traveling in an airplane. Click
on a location and retrieve information on demography, crime, current weather,
environmental pollution, natural hazards, schools, hotels and home sales.
Search the database using a placename, address, or zip code.
- TerraServer-USA
Contains a complete seamless collection of USGS digital topographic maps
(digital raster graphics) for the United States. The geographic area that
can be displayed on screen has three settings--small, medium, and large.
Resolution of the displayed map can be adjusted from 2 meters to 128 meters.
Maps can be located using four search options--address, placename, geographic
coordinate, or clicking on an image map. Maps can be downloaded in .jpeg
format. There are also links to USGS digital orthophotoquad images and
natural color relief maps which cover the same geographic area.
California Aerial Photography & Imagery
- Guides
- California Aerial Photo Collection (University of California, Davis Map Collection) Lists aerial photography by county that is available at UC Davis.
- Catalog of Aerial Photography (UC Berkeley, Earth Sciences and Map Library) Catalog of 80,000 aerial photographs of Northern California available at the UC Berkeley Earth Sciences and Map Library. Searchable by county and date.
- Catalog of Coastal Aerial Photography (UC Berkeley Water Resources Center Archives) Catalog of aerial photography that dates from th mid-1940's to the mid-1950's. Search by state, county and keyword.
- Fairchild Aerial Photography Collection (Whittier College) General guide to the 500,000 aerial photographs taken by Fairchild Aerial Photos between the period 1927 and 1965. Includes table showing number of flights by California county.
- Map and Aerial Photo Collections by County (California Only): Primary Collection Responsibility (University of California) Lists by county the institutions responsible for collecting aerial photography of that area.
- Northern California Coastal Photography, Beach Profile and Bathymetry Index (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) 1987 (Ref GB 458.8 N67 1987) Inventory of central and northern California coastal aerial photography, bathymetric surveys, beach profiles, and shoreline changes available from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District; and other federal and state agencies. Appendix A reproduces "An Index to Historical Hydrographic and Topographic Charts of the California Coast Located in the Files of the State Lands Commission. Photographs and beach profiles from the corps were compiled to document dimensions and beach characteristics, historic shoreline changes, effects of storms and structures on the beach, and significant beach and inlet changes.
- Southern California Coastal Photography and Beach Profile Index (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) 1986 (TC 224 C2 S685 1986) Inventory of southern California coastal aerial photography, ground photos and beach profile data available from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District. Also includes aerial photography from other agencies available at the district office and an index of historical hydrographic suveys conducted by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. The photographs and beach profiles were compiled to document dimensions and beach characteristics, historic shoreline changes, effects of storms and structures on the beach, and significant beach and inlet changes.
- Collections
- Alexandria Digital Library (University of California, Santa Barbara Map and Imagery Laboratory) Catalog contains metadata for 2 million remote sensing images and 500,000 aerial photographs. Search by geographic location using either an interactive map or direct input of geographic coordinates, keyword, type of resource, and format. Coverage is worldwide but emphasis is on southern California. California online imagery includes DOQQs for much of California and historical aerial photography of southern California.
- Online Aerial Photographs (UC Berkeley Earth Sciences and Map Library) Includes images of San Francisco Bay area and Yosemite Valley aerial photography that range in date from 1928 to 2000.
- Aerial Photograph Archive--Rowe Collection (California State University, San Bernadino Water Resources Institute) Includes images of aerial photographs ranging in date from the 1920's to the 1960's for selected locations in inland southern California.
- California Atlas of Panoramic Aerial Images (California Geographical Survey) Collection of panoramic images that are photorealistic mathematical simulations created from satellite data. Images are arranged by California landform region.
- California Coastal Records Project (Adelman) Contains over 50,000 recent and historical oblique color aerial photographs of the California coastline. Recent flights start in 2002 and continue forward and historic flights cover 1972, 1979, 1987 and 1989. Search using a clickable map, geographic coordinates, or image caption. Compare photographs of the same geographic region taken over time..
- United States-Mexico Border Coler Image Map (US Geological Survey) 1979-1983 (map G 4296 F2 S25 G4) Series of 62 maps at a scale of 1:25,000 that are color photography of the California and Arizona border with Mexico.
Northwestern California Aerial Photography & Imagery
- Guides
- List of Available Photographs by Data, Appendix A in Humboldt Bay, California, Entrance Channel. Report 1: Data Review (Costa and Glatzel) 2002 (print copy available in TC 225 H8 C67 2002 Hum Co Coll). Lists by date (with the earliest imagery being 1931) aerial photography that includes Humboldt Bay. Metadata is included for each flight along with location of availability. The overall report provides an inventory and review of historical and recent data describing Humboldt Bay and the adjacent littoral cell. The review was prepared for the US Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Inlets Research Program (CIRP) study of the Humboldt Bay entrance.
- Northern California Coastal Photography, Beach Profile and Bathymetry Index (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) 1987 (Ref GB 458.8 N67 1987) Inventory of central and northern California coastal aerial photography, bathymetric surveys, beach profiles, and shoreline changes available from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District; and other federal and state agencies. Appendix A reproduces "An Index to Historical Hydrographic and Topographic Charts of the California Coast Located in the Files of the State Lands Commission. Photographs and beach profiles from the corps were compiled to document dimensions and beach characteristics, historic shoreline changes, effects of storms and structures on the beach, and significant beach and inlet changes.
- Collections
- Photo Gallery (North Coast Geographic Information Cooperative) Scanned aerial photography includes flights covering coastal northwestern California, Redwood National Park and Humboldt and Del Norte counties. Humboldt County aerial photography coverage ranges in date from 1941 to 2000 and Del Norte County from 1958 to 1996. See the associated flight line indexes for extent of coverage for each flight. Individual scanned images are in .jpeg format. (NOTE: site is frequently unavailable.)
- Aerial Photography (Humboldt State University
Library). Northwestern California aerial photography is located in the
Humboldt Room. Photography is available for the following dates with
accompanying flight line indexes showing extent of coverage for each
date:
- 1941 Humboldt County--scattered coverage
- 1954 Humboldt County--scattered coverage
- 1958 Humboldt County--scattered coverage
- 1962 Humboldt County--scattered coverage
- 1970 Humboldt County--partial coverage
- 1974 Humboldt County--partial coverage
- 1980 Six Rivers National Forest--complete coverage
- 1983 Humboldt and Del Norte Counties--complete coverage; Siskiyou and Trinity Counties--partial coverage
- 1997 Freshwater Creek Watershed aerial photographs
- Digital Orthophoto Quads (North Coast Geographic Information Cooperative) Includes Mendocino County DOQ's 1993 B/W in MrSid format and selected other DOQ coverage for Humboldt, Del Norte and Mendocino Counties. (Note: unavailable as of 12/03)
- Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth (NASA): Search results page lists images of northwestern California shot by astronauts since 1961.
- Orthophotoquad Maps (U.S. Geological Survey) These are USGS 1:24,000 orthophoto "maps". The HSU Library has in the Humboldt Room coverage for northwestern California dating between 1976 and 1990. Orthophotoquad maps are also available online at both TerraServer and TerraFly which are described in the above section.
- Shuster Aerial Photograph Collection (Humboldt State University Library) Collection of historical oblique aerial photography shot by Merle Shuster from just after WWII until the mid 1950s, with a few images from the 1960s. The 2300 images cover Humboldt County and Del Norte County. The searchable database allows for searching by keyword and one of 22 geographic areas.
- Trinity River Large-scale Orthorectified Color Aerial Photos (Trinity River Information Network) Contains color aerial photography for 42 miles of the Trinity River from Lewiston to the North Fork taken in November 2001. The orthophotos were developed to study the impacts of an increase in flows along the Trinity River.
- Western Air Photograph Collection (Humboldt State University Library) Collection of 58 scanned oblique photographs of various locations in Humboldt County taken from the late 1940's to the mid 1950's.
