Digital Aerial Imagery and Orthophotographs
Digital aerial imagery and orthophotography are terms that refer to photographs taken usually from an airplane using either a film or digital camera. The photos are geometrically corrected, or "orthorectified," to adjust for topographic relief, as well as lens distortion and tilt from the camera position. The uniform scale of a digital orthophoto makes it possible to determine map measurements or to overlay information, using the digital orthophoto as a base map. Features are represented in their true ground position, making direct measurement of distance, areas, angles, and positions possible. The resulting images are usually mosaiced into a uniform tiling scheme. Thus for most collections, you must determine which tiles you need that cover your study area.
Please Note: Before downloading any imagery, ask yourself if you really need the imagery downloaded, or are you just using it as a background reference layer? If it's just for use in the background, it's much easier to stream the imagery from a WMS image server. Look for relevant WMS links in the table below.
Summary Table of Orthophoto Collections
The table below summarizes various available orthophoto collections.
Collection Name and Links | Usage Notes |
North Carolina Regional and Statewide
In 2010, aerial photography for the entire state was caputured at 6 inch resolution color, leaf-off.
(This link is broken. We're working on fixing it) (For a map of the regions and dates, see the "Business Plan"). |
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National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP)
See the Libraries' NAIP webpage for full details and access instructions. |
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USGS National Map Seamless Server
The USGS National Map offers viewing, download, and WMS connection of multiresolution USGS orthophotography for dates and locations across the Unites States and its territories. |
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USGS EarthExplorer
The USGS EarthExplorer is a clearinghouse for a very large range of geospatial data types, including aerial photography, satellite imagery, and cartography products. Aerial photo products include: DOQ, NAPP, NHAP, and mosaics from various federal agencies. This is a good place to find historic aerial images - some of which may be over 50 years old. See also the table for Historic Aerial Photos below. |
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World Imagery
Search GIS Lookup for "imagery" to see catalog records of many other aerial and satellite-based imagery data sources in the Libraries' collection, including World imagery content. |
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Online Imagery Sources
Geographic exploration software and online applications provide additional sources of aerial and orthophoto viewing:
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Historic Aerial Photograph Collections
Collection Name and Links | Usage Notes |
Summary / Presentation
A Fall 2016 presentation on sources and access tips for finding NC-based historic aerial photos. |
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State Archives - City and County Albums
The North Carolina State Archives maintains an extensive aerial photo collection on Flickr mostly from the 1930's and 1940's, from the US Dept. of Agriculture. |
Indexes are not included in the State Archives collection. However, the National Archives has scanned many of the indexes and they are online. This search for Carteret County is an example. Replace Carteret with the county you need. Some counties are going to be much more challenging (ie, Washington). |
County Collections
See the NC County GIS Data Directory for the following holdings and access links:
Also see webpages for Wake County, Raleigh, and NC State University Campus collections. |
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UNC's FSA images
UNC has digital scans of Farm Service Agency (FSA) aerial photo collections for the following Counties:
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USGS EarthExplorer
EarthExplorer has a wide range of aerial imagery spanning over 7 decades. |
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Urban High-Resolution Orthophotography
See the Libraries' Urban High Res. Orthos webpage for full details and access instructions. |
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Digital Ortho Quarter-Quads (DOQQs)
See the Libraries' DOQQ webpage for full details and access instructions. |
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NC DOT Photogrametry Unit
The NC DOT Photogrametry Unit has a very large collection of aerial photo prints and negatives for North Carolina. These holdings are available to state agencies and the public. |
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Vintage Aerial Photos (commercial site) |
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