Foresters Like Topo USA

Several foresters bragged so much on a mapping package called TopoUSA that I had to get a copy. They insisted this digital topographic mapping package is the best available for the money.

So, I picked up Topo USA from DeLorme and have been pleasantly impressed. I've not only used it to find my way along the Appalachian Trail (it provides 300,000 miles of trail information) but I've also used the search feature to get latitude/longitude and street level information on forestry industry mill locations for a current industrial survey project.

The Topo USA mapping package not only has "user friendly" content, it produces great quality digital maps. Maps can then be reproduced to paper hard copy in a dozen different scales and customized formats (including drawing property boundary lines).

As a matter of fact, it produces the best printed color copies of any package I've ever used. Most foresters still like carrying their maps into the woods - but not their laptops. This package helps you avoid the laptop while using a map the size of a piece of computer paper. If the map tears or gets soiled, print another one.

Even better news is you can get the complete package for under one hundred dollars! I compare this to the hundreds of dollars I have spent on traditional USGS topographical maps.

I was a little disappointed with the 3-D engine. It just did not help me much and was hard to interpret. My little Acer laptop struggled with it but it worked fine on my office Dell Dimension XPS T600. I may have given up too early on working with 3-D but found 2-D suited my mapping needs just fine.

So What's In The Package?

This 7-CD package contains mapping data at 20-foot contour intervals for the entire United States. These maps are based on the new U.S. Geological Survey's DEM (digital elevation model) database. Each CD contains regional data to include the Northeast, Southwest, Great Lakes and Plains, Southeast, Mountain States, and the Pacific West plus Alaska.

Delorme says "Topo USA has the latest in vector-based mapping for quick searching and great detail using traditional USGS topo map data; plus new USGS National Elevation Data (NED); plus updated DeLorme national street and trail data. Compare Topo USA 3.0 to other mapping software."

All this simply means you can quickly find just the right information and customize the rip out of any map you make with the latest in mapping technology. This includes:

•  Search by placename, geographic feature, or coordinate
•  Upload to popular GPS receivers from DeLorme, GARMIN, Magellan or others
•  Take advantage of the drawing tool package to customize each map

The minimum system requirements to run Topo USA are:

•  Microsoft® Windows® 95a or higher, Windows 98/Me/2000. Windows NT® 4.04
•  A PC with Intel Pentium 150 or higher
•  32 MB RAM and 300 MB of available hard-disk space
•  A CD-ROM drive with 650+ MB read-capacity
•  16-bit color monitor with Microsoft Windows-compatible Super VGA graphics