Printable USGS Topo Maps for the US [Free]

How to read a topographic map

Topographic maps can be confusing if you’re not familiar with them. Here are four things to keep in mind:
Map scale

The scale bar tells you the distance between the square on the map and the actual distance on the ground.

Map legend

The legend tells you the features on the ground using symbols (roads, fences, tracks).

Contour lines

These squiggly lines show the elevation. The closer the lines, the steeper the slope. Often they’ll have numbers written next to them indicating the height above sea level.

Color

Color helps also helps to identify features. Typically, blue is water, black is man-made and green is vegetation.

How to Get Your Free Printable USGS Topo Maps

National Geographic has a really clean and simple way for you to get the map you want really quickly. Then, you’ll be able to save your map as a PDF. I’ll show you exactly how.

1. Visit this website
2. Zoom into the area you want and click on the red marker
3. Click on the image and you’ll get your PDF.

That’s it!

You’ll have 5 pages in total.

The first one will be the entire area – with the other 4 pages the same map cut into quarter