Introduction and Overview
 
 
Introduction: This project began as part of Athens County's participation in the Appalachian Flood Risk Reduction Initiative (AFRRI) mitigation planning program.  We were interested in researching and documenting issues such as floodplain encroachment, urban sprawl, and mine and mine-reclamation impacts on flood and flash-flood vulnerabilities.  Topographic maps produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) contain a wealth of data for such purposes, especially if older maps may be acquired for side-by-side comparison with current maps.  Through the generosity of the local business community, our initial search for older out-of-print topographic maps mushroomed into a extensive collection of over 600 maps not directly related to Athens County.  The purpose of this project is to donate/recycle these valuable maps to other qualified non-profit and governmental entities with Emergency Preparedness missions.

About the Maps:  The maps in this collection are so-called Topographic 'Quadrangle' maps, (aka 'Quads') covering 7.5 minutes of latitude by 7.5 minutes of longitude.  They are 1:24,000 scale paper maps measuring 27 inches high by 22 inches wide. All maps are unused, in good-to-excellent physical condition.
(More About Topographic Maps)

About the Dates:  Each map in the accompanying database contains two date references.  "Original Version Year" refers to the last comprehensive base map revision on which the specific map is based.  "Last Revised Year" refers to the most recent 'intermediate' revision of the specific map, including PhotoRevised, and PhotoInspected.  An 'asterisk' between these two year references indicates that USGS has published a newer version of this map.  Please pay attention to these year references for each map.  Not all Quadrangle Maps in this database of the same name, are the same version.  Also, if the user is interested in historical research, the oldest available map may be most useful.

About the Database:  The accompanying database will allow searches by Quadrangle Map name (or partial name), County Name (or partial county name), and State abbreviation searches for 'KY' and 'WV'.  Upper, lower, or mixed case searches are supported.  Maps are still being added to this database.  As we find new homes for these maps, they will be removed from the database.  Our goal is to have the database reasonably reflect maps which are still 'available' for acquisition.  The front page of this site also contains a link to USGS which will display the physical locations of the individual Quadrangles with respect to each other, and the Counties they cover.