Back in November of 2011 I downloaded a bunch of state topo overlay maps. The files had names along the lines of: 355-8619-idaho_ci40_install.exe. I got these overlays for several of the western states back then, such as Nevada, Washington, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, etc.
I was hoping to now download more of these overlay maps for the eastern states. However, I'm not finding any state topo overlay maps at all, including those I downloaded back then. The only one left seems to be the Northern Arizona topo overlay.
Does anyone know where they went?
I had my state contour line overlay files removed as they were becoming very outdated and were not downloaded that much.
Jbensman's 'my topos...' is a topo and hydro overlay covering some eastern states.
Oh, Too bad. I liked them. We used the combination of the overlays with city Navigator for bicycle touring. Navigator gives us the roads, the overlays give us the contours so we know what the upcoming climbs are like. Guess we'll have to go without this summer.
FWIW, Garmin's 24k topo series has routable roads like City Navigator along with contours and other topo features. They also contain DEM (digital elevation model) data and can create elevation profiles of your tracks and routes.
Of course, they aren't free though. ;)
Yeah the cost is the problem. If we only needed a couple of states, fine. But we'll be riding all over the east this coming summer so we need a lot of states. I'll be taking the regular topos that I'm just now downloading so we'll be able to switch back and forth as necessary. Too bad there wasn't some way to turn on and off features, such as the background colors, in Mapsource or the handheld so that it'd be easy to make transparent topos.
Maybe it's time to learn how to make your own maps? Making a transparent overlay with just contour lines isn't all that hard. And you could then upload them here and give a little back to the community. :D
I could give it a try. What software does this require?
In the past I have seen the DVD versions of Topo 24 for under $90 each. Currently buycheapr lists amazon as having the NE DVD for $92.75. A quick google listed downloaded versions for as cheap as $62. Would sharing the cost of 2 or 3 or even 4 that would be needed for bicycle touring of the east be that much compared to what the rest of the trip would cost?
See the tutorial: http://gpsfiledepot.com/tutorials/how-to-create-garmin-topo-maps---part-2---elevation-data/ The USGS seamless server was terminated; however, the data is now available through USGS's national map interface. The software is listed near the bottom of the tutorial - Dem2Topo. I have not used it as I have GlobalMapper.
A year or so ago, I saw that the OpenStreetMap group had a free software program that would also contour gridded elevation data.