TopoZone bit the dust

[te_wa]

I just logged into Topozone, where I would take advantage of browsing all the maps I needed to plan trips, maps that were easily printed at home for free... until tonight, it seems that Topozone has been assimilated by Trails, the pay-for-membership info site. No more free maps? Is there another way to get maps free without buying NG topo or cd-roms and the like?
I feel like an old friend just died. Somebody burn me a disc, quick!

[joebartels]

Perhaps

Iron Mountain on TOPO! is 1948

Here's one of the trails in 2005
http://hikearizona.com/phoZOOM.php?ZIP=13606
http://hikearizona.com/phoZOOM.php?ZIP=13605

[chumley]

Are those maps from the lib-map project stuff the most recent cause i downloaded the iron mountin quad and it says the date produced 1942 if i order a paper one will it be more recent?

The most recent quads from Arizona that I have are from 1984 photographs, and edited in 1991. But I also have some from the 1955-56 photographs, so I don't know what the USGS schedule of updating is. I'd actually be surprised if they continue to print them for much longer.

Of course, how much does it really matter? While there are some changes regarding roads and trails, the actual topography hasn't changed much in the last 50 years, right?

On a slightly unrelated note, the Noble Science Library at ASU has an awesome Map Collection. There's over 200,000 maps and photographs of primarily Arizona, featuring every kind of information you could imagine. Most of them can not be checked out, but there are copying services available. I can spend hours there looking at historical maps and comparing them to what the state looks like today.

[wrangler0]

Are those maps from the lib-map project stuff the most recent cause i downloaded the iron mountin quad and it says the date produced 1942 if i order a paper one will it be more recent?

The most recent quads from Arizona that I have are from 1984 photographs, and edited in 1991. But I also have some from the 1955-56 photographs, so I don't know what the USGS schedule of updating is. I'd actually be surprised if they continue to print them for much longer.

Of course, how much does it really matter? While there are some changes regarding roads and trails, the actual topography hasn't changed much in the last 50 years, right?

On a slightly unrelated note, the Noble Science Library at ASU has an awesome Map Collection. There's over 200,000 maps and photographs of primarily Arizona, featuring every kind of information you could imagine. Most of them can not be checked out, but there are copying services available. I can spend hours there looking at historical maps and comparing them to what the state looks like today.

Do the software programs like TOPO! not use the USGS topo info. What do you mean you would be surprised if they continue printing the maps is there no demand for them?

[big_load]

What do you mean you would be surprised if they continue printing the maps is there no demand for them?

Most users would rather get them in soft form to avoid being confined to their boundaries and scales. (Didn't you ever have to buy a quad just to get half a mile of trail that crosses a corner?). Many of the places I where I used to buy quads on my travels no longer sell them, so I wouldn't be surprised either if they're gone altogether in a few more years.

[Jeffshadows]

There was an interesting debate going on about this a few years back between a bunch of guys with really high security clearances. I had just been out at KOFA and had commented about the Army Corps of Engineers really getting out of the mapping business, when the topic of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency came up...

The next government-issued maps we get might me super-high accuracy 3D with lots and lots of detail, though we might have to wait until 2025 to see them ;-)