Ordering DOQs from USGS

I. Determining which DOQs you need

Before you can order DOQs from USGS, you need to determine the names of the DOQs you need. An easy way to do this is to use SNMP to show you the DOQ names. You do this by creating a dummy operation and farm and noting what DOQs SNMP expects.

Start SNMP Shell and click New Operation. Enter the name of a dummy operation, for example, dummy. You'll delete this dummy operation when you're all done.
When SNMP starts, click Cancel All when it asks for the location of the operation's files.
Click Yes in the Create New Operation dialog.
Click Continue in the Startup dialog.
Click OK in the next dialog.
Click OK to accept NewFarm as the farm name.
Click OK to accept the crop year that SNMP suggests.
Select the county where your real (not the dummy) operation is located.
SNMP now displays the boundary of the selected county, overland with pink rectangles. The rectangles are the DOQ boundaries. Click the Add/Remove DOQ tool on the View Tools menu. The cursor changes to a lightening bolt. Click on the DOQ rectangle where you think your operation is.
SNMP now asks for the location of the DOQ file on your system. In the title bar of the dialog it displays the name of the DOQ you clicked on as well as the name of the DOQ's file. For example, if we were creating a dummy operation in Carroll County, Iowa and had clicked on the county's third column of rectangles from the right in the fourth row down, SNMP would be asking for the Carroll East SE DOQ, which is file 42094A73.tif. Write down on a piece of paper both the DOQ name and the file name. Then click Cancel to close the location dialog.
If you're not sure that your operation is in that DOQ, or if the operation is large or located in different parts of the county, click on other DOQ rectangles as needed to determine their names and files as well.
When you know which DOQs you'll need to order, click Done on the Farm Boundary Tool menu. Since you haven't drawn the farm boundary, SNMP displays several ArcView error messages. Ignore these by clicking OK until the Main Menu reappears. Click Quit on the Main Menu to exit SNMP.
Back in SNMP Shell, click Delete Operation and select your dummy operation to delete it.

Note: DOQ .tif files are named according to USGS naming conventions, which means that each DOQ file name is unique across the entire U.S. Each quadrangle's four DOQs will have the same name except for the last digit. SNMP assumes the last digit has the following meaning:

1=NW quarter
2=NE quarter
3=SE quarter
4=SW quarter

You may obtain files that don't adhere to this file naming convention in the last digit. In which case you can rename them for consistency with the SNMP last-digit assumption. For more information, refer to the SNMP home page. You can also rename DOQ files to something that is more meaningful to you, for example, Carroll East SE.tif.

II. Ordering DOQs from the USGS EarthExplorer site

The USGS EarthExplorer site can be a little intimidating the first time you use it. The steps below show how to order the Carroll East SE DOQ for Iowa. You may want to print out this page and have it handy when operating the USGS site.

(Tip: If you need to exit the USGS site without finishing, click Logout at the bottom of the window before closing the browser window.)

Go to the USGS EarthExplorer site. Make sure your browser's "cookies" are enabled.
Click the Guest button. There's no need to register unless you want to.
If your browser asks you to grant permission for JavaScript to be able to print, click Grant.
Click Enter Place Name on the Data Set Selection page.
In the Place Name query tool, click Next, then enter the following:
- In the Place Name box, enter the quadrangle name, for example, Carroll East.
- In the Feature Type list, select Topo Map Name (7.5 min).
- In the State list, select your state, for example, Iowa.
Click Next. The Reference Map box pops up showing the quadrangle location. In the Place Name query tool, select the quadrangle from the list and click Finish.
Back on the Data Set Selection page, the lat/long of the location you selected is displayed in the Enter Coordinates box. Expand Aerial Photography below and make sure its Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles box is checked. Click Continue.
On the Search Criteria page, scroll down and select Recommended Version for Status Type (this will exclude old versions) and 3.75 MIN B/W under Product Group. Click Search.
The Results Summary page will eventually display the number of matches. Click Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles.
On the Results page, check the quadrants you want to order, for example Carroll East SE. (Tip: Click Show for a quadrant to preview it in a window.) When done selecting quadrants to order, click Add Selected Items to Shopping Basket. When the page redisplays, click View Shopping Basket. (Tip: If you need to select additional quadrangles, you can go back to the original search page at this point -- the site will remember what is already in your shopping basket.)
On the Shopping Basket page, for each item select FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL B/W - GEOTIFF if you plan to download (cheaper and quicker) or CDROM - GEOTIFF if you want a CD-ROM sent to you (slower, but you won't have to back up the files). Click Checkout. (Tip: If you're connected via a 28K or 56K modem, don't try to download these files. One 45MB DOQ takes about 4 hours to download over a 56K modem.)
On the Shipping Address page, fill in the info and click Continue.
On the Shopping Basket Summary, print out this page, then click Checkout.
Click Submit.
On the Credit Card Purchase page, fill in the credit card info and click Submit Card Info. Before doing so, you may want to review the page you printed out and make sure you're ordering the right items.
If you'll be downloading, you'll receive an e-mail within 24-48 hours with instructions on how to download the files. (Tip: If you register with the site, you can track the status of your order number.)
After downloading the files, make a copy of them on a Zip or CD for safekeeping.

Last updated: April 7, 2001