{"id":177101,"date":"2011-10-10T17:06:35","date_gmt":"2011-10-10T17:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=177101"},"modified":"2018-12-18T10:37:26","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T18:37:26","slug":"using-usgs-topos-as-your-basemap","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-online\/mapping\/using-usgs-topos-as-your-basemap","title":{"rendered":"Using USGS topos as your basemap"},"author":7641,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[22941],"tags":[23171,24251,26541],"industry":[],"product":[36551],"class_list":["post-177101","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mapping","tag-basemaps","tag-topography","tag-usgs","product-arcgis-online"],"acf":{"short_description":"With a recent ArcGIS Online update the USA Topo basemap (containing the USGS topo map services) no longer appears in the ArcGIS.com map viewer","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>With a recent ArcGIS Online update the USA Topo basemap (containing the USGS\u00a0topo map services)\u00a0no longer appears in the ArcGIS.com map viewer and Explorer Online basemap galleries. The basemap was replaced by\u00a0others\u00a0having more global coverage.<\/p>\n<p>Though it no longer appears in the gallery,\u00a0the\u00a0USGS topographic maps\u00a0continue to be\u00a0available and can be easily found and used as your basemap whenever you want. Here\u2019s an easy way how to find and use them as your basemap:<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/home\/webmap\/viewer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ArcGIS.com Map Viewer<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Open the\u00a0<a title=\"Open map viewer\" href=\"http:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/home\/webmap\/viewer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ArcGIS.com map viewer<\/a>\u00a0with a new map and click Add, then choose Search for Layers:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/downloads2.esri.com\/blogs\/images\/support_3753.jpg\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Search for \u201cUSA Topo\u201d and it will appear at the top of the search list:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/downloads2.esri.com\/blogs\/images\/support_3754.jpg\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Click on the title to display additional options, and choose Use as Basemap:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/downloads2.esri.com\/blogs\/images\/support_3755.jpg\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/explorer.arcgis.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ArcGIS Explorer Online<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Start\u00a0<a title=\"Start Explorer Online\" href=\"http:\/\/explorer.arcgis.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Explorer Online<\/a>\u00a0and click the\u00a0New Map arrow, then choose Advanced\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/downloads2.esri.com\/blogs\/images\/support_3756.jpg\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Click Search, then enter \u201cUSA Topo\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/downloads2.esri.com\/blogs\/images\/support_3758.jpg\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Finally, click Create Map to open a new map using the USA Topographic map as your basemap.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/downloads2.esri.com\/blogs\/images\/support_3757.jpg\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Save\u00a0the maps you\u2019ve created above and you\u2019ll have them handy whenever you want to start with the USGS topos as your basemap.<\/p>\n<p>For more information\u00a0see the following help topics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ArcGIS.com Map Viewer:\u00a0<a title=\"View help topic\" href=\"http:\/\/help.arcgis.com\/en\/arcgisonline\/help\/010q\/010q0000001n000000.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Creating maps<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Explorer Online:\u00a0<a title=\"View help topic\" href=\"http:\/\/help.arcgis.com\/en\/arcgisexplorer\/help\/0156\/01560000003t000000.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Create a new map<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n"}],"authors":[{"ID":7641,"user_firstname":"Bernie","user_lastname":"Szukalski","nickname":"Bern Szukalski","user_nicename":"bszukalski","display_name":"Bern Szukalski","user_email":"bszukalski@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2018-03-26 17:55:14","user_description":"I am a corporate technology evangelist and geo advocate at Esri, focusing on ways to broaden access to geographic information and helping customers succeed with ArcGIS. \r\n\r\nOn a good day I'm making a map, on a great day I'm on one. Email bszukalski@esri.com or connect on LinkedIn (https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bernszukalski\/).","user_avatar":"<img data-del=\"avatar\" src='https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/02\/bern04-465x465.png' class='avatar pp-user-avatar avatar-96 photo ' height='96' width='96'\/>"}],"related_articles":"","card_image":false,"wide_image":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Using USGS topos as your basemap<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-online\/mapping\/using-usgs-topos-as-your-basemap\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Using USGS topos as your 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