National Spatial Data Infrastructure

USGS Geospatial Data Clearinghouse
National Mapping and Remotely Sensed Data


Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles (DOQ)

Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles (DOQ) combine the image characteristics of a photograph with the geometric qualities of a map. The primary digital orthophotoquad (DOQ) is a 1-meter ground resolution, quarter-quadrangle (3.75-minutes of latitude by 3.75-minutes of longitude) image cast on the Universal Transverse Mercator Projection (UTM) on the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). Plans are for national coverage. This is a data-set level implementation of the Federal Geographic Data Committee's Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata.

Information about county and individual DOQ records can be obtained from the EROS Data Center.


Table of Contents


Identification Information


Identification_Information:

  Citation:

    Citation_Information:

      Originator: U.S. Geological Survey

      Publication_Date: Unknown

      Title: Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles

      Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image

      Publication_Information:

        Publication_Place: Reston, VA

        Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

  Description:

    Abstract:

      Orthophotos combine the image characteristics of a

      photograph with the geometric qualities of a map. The

      primary digital orthophotoquad (DOQ) is a 1-meter ground

      resolution, quarter-quadrangle (3.75-minutes of latitude

      by 3.75-minutes of longitude) image cast on the Universal

      Transverse Mercator Projection (UTM) on the North

      American Datum of 1983 (NAD83).The geographic extent of

      the DOQ is equivalent to a quarter-quad plus The overedge

      ranges a minimum of 50 meters to a maximum of 300 meters

      beyond the extremes of the primary and secondary corner

      points. The overedge is included to facilitate tonal

      matching for mosaicking and for the placement of the NAD83

      and secondary datum corner ticks. The normal orientation

      of data is by lines (rows) and samples (columns). Each

      line contains a series of pixels ordered from west to

      east with the order of the lines from north to south.

      The standard, archived digital orthophoto is formatted as

      four ASCII header records, followed by a series of 8-bit

      binary image data records. The radiometric image

      brightness values are stored as 256 gray levels ranging

      from 0 to 255. The metadata provided in the digital

      orthophoto contain a wide range of descriptive

      information including format source information,

      production instrumentation and dates, and data to assist

      with displaying and georeferencing the image. The

      standard distribution format of DOQs will be JPEG

      compressed images on CD-ROM by counties or special

      regions. The reconstituted image from the CD-ROM will

      exhibit some radiometric differences when compared to its

      uncompressed original but will retain the geometry of the

      uncompressed DOQ. Uncompressed DOQs are distributed on

      tape.

    Purpose:

      DOQ's serve a variety of purposes, from interim maps to

      field references for earth science investigations and

      analysis. The DOQ is useful as a layer of a geographic

      information system and as a tool for revision of digital

      line graphs and topographic maps.

  Time_Period_of_Content:

    Time_Period_Information:

      Range_of_Dates/Times:

        Beginning_Date: 19940222

        Ending_Date: present

    Currentness_Reference: ground condition

  Status:

    Progress: In work

    Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: irregular

  Spatial_Domain:

    Bounding_Coordinates:

      West_Bounding_Coordinate: -124.7333

      East_Bounding_Coordinate: -067.9500

      North_Bounding_Coordinate: 49.3833

      South_Bounding_Coordinate: 24.5333

  Keywords:

    Theme:

      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

      Theme_Keyword: DOQ

      Theme_Keyword: DOQQ

      Theme_Keyword: digital orthophoto

      Theme_Keyword: digital orthophotoquad

      Theme_Keyword: digital image map

      Theme_Keyword: aerial photograph

      Theme_Keyword: rectified photograph

      Theme_Keyword: rectified image

      Theme_Keyword: orthophoto

      Theme_Keyword: quarter-quadrangle orthophoto

      Theme_Keyword: 1-meter orthophoto

      Theme_Keyword: 2-meter orhtophoto

      Theme_Keyword: 3.75- x 3.75-minute orthophoto

      Theme_Keyword: 7.5- x 7.5-minute orthophoto

    Place:

      Place_Keyword_Thesaurus:

        U.S. Department of Commerce, 1977, Countries,  dependencies, areas of

        special sovereignty, and their principal administrative divisions

        (Federal Information Processing Standard 10-3):Washington, D.C.,

        National Institute of Standards and Technology.

      Place_Keyword: US

      Place_Keyword: CA

      Place_Keyword: MX

      Place_Keyword_Thesaurus:

        U.S. Department of Commerce, 1987, Codes for the identification

        of the States, the District of Columbia  and the outlying areas of

        The United States, and associated areas

        (Federal Information Processing Standard 5-2):  Washington, D. C.,

        National Institute of Standards and Technology.

      Place_Keyword: FIPS code of State or Province

      Place_Keyword_Thesaurus:

        U.S. Department of Commerce,1990, Counties and equivalent

        entities of The United States, its possessions, and associated areas

        (Federal    Information Processing Standard 6-4):  Washington, D.C.

        National Institute of Standards and Technology.

      Place_Keyword: FIPS code for county or counties.

  Access_Constraints: None

  Use_Constraints:

    None. Acknowledgement of the U.S. Geological Survey would be

    appreciated in products derived from these data.



Data Quality Information


Data_Quality_Information:

  Attribute_Accuracy:

    Attribute_Accuracy_Report:

      During photographic reproduction of the source photography,

      limited analog dodging is performed to improve image quality.

      Analog dodging consists of holding back light from certain

      areas of the sensitized photographic material to avoid

      overexposure. The diapositive is inspected to insure clarity

      and radiometric uniformity. Diapositive image brightness

      values are collected with a minimum of image quality manipulation.

      Image brightness values may deviate from brightness values of

      the original imagery due to image value interpolation during

      the scanning and rectification processes.

      Radiometry is verified by visual inspection of the digital

      orthophoto quadrangle with the original unrectified image to

      determine if the digital orthophoto has the same or better

      image quality as the original unrectified input image.

      Slight systematic radiometric differences can be detected

      between adjacent DOQ files due primarily to differences in

      source photography capture dates and sun angles of aerial

      photography along flight lines. These differences can be

      observed in an image's general lightness or darkness when

      compared to adjacent DOQ file coverages.

  Logical_Consistency_Report:

    All DOQ header data and image file sizes are validated by the Tape

    Validation System (TVS) software prior to archiving in the National

    Digital Cartographic Data Base (NDCDB). This validation procedure assures

    correct physical format and field values for header record elements.

    Logical relationships between header record elements are tested.



  Completeness_Report:

    All DOQ imagery is visually inspected for completeness to ensure that no

    gaps, or image misplacement exist in the 3.75' image area or in overedge

    coverage. DOQ images may be derived by mosaicking multiple images, in

    order to insure complete coverage. All DOQ's are cloud free within the

    3.75' image area. Some clouds may, very infrequently, be encountered only

    in the overedge coverage. Source photography is leaf-off in deciduous

    vegetation regions.  Void areas having a radiometric value of zero and

    appearing black may exist.  These are areas for which no photographic

    source is available or result from image transformation from other

    planimetric systems to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM). In the

    latter case, the void sliver areas are on the outside edges of the

    overedge area.  The data set field content of each DOQ header record

    element is validated to assure completeness prior to archiving in the

    NDCDB.

  Positional_Accuracy:

    Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:

      Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:

        The DOQ horizontal positional accuracy and the assurance of that

        accuracy depend, in part, on the accuracy of the data inputs to the

        rectification process. These inputs consist of the digital elevation

        model (DEM),aerotriangulation control and methods, the photo source

        camera calibration, scanner calibration, and aerial photographs that

        meet National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP) standards. The

        vertical accuracy of the verified USGS format DEM is equivalent to or

        better than a USGS level 1 or 2 DEM, with a root mean square error

        (RMSE) of no greater than 7.0 meters. Field control is acquired by

        third order class 1 or better survey methods sufficiently spaced to

        meet National Map Accuracy Staandards (NMAS) for 1:12,000-scale

        products.  Aerial cameras have current certification from the USGS,

        National Mapping Division, Optical Science Laboratory. Test

        calibration scans are performed on all source photography scanners.



  Lineage:

    Source_Information:

      Source_Citation:

        Citation_Information:

          Originator: U.S. Geological Survey

          Publication_Date: Unknown

          Title: digital elevation model

          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: map

          Publication_Information:

            Publication_Place: Reston, VA

            Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

      Type_of_Source_Media: cartridge tape

      Source_Time_Period_of_Content:

        Time_Period_Information:

          Range_of_Dates/Times:

            Beginning_Date: 19880805

            Ending_Date: Present

        Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition

      Source_Citation_Abbreviation: DEM1

      Source_Contribution:

        Elevation data in the form of an ortho-DEM regridded

        to user-specified intervals and bounds.

    Source_Information:

      Source_Citation:

        Citation_Information:

          Originator: U.S. Geological Survey

          Publication_Date: Unknown

          Title: photo ID number

          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image

          Publication_Information:

            Publication_Place: Reston, VA

            Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

      Source_Scale_Denominator: 40000

      Type_of_Source_Media: cartridge tape

      Source_Time_Period_of_Content:

        Time_Period_Information:

          Range_of_Dates/Times:

            Beginning_Date: Unknown

            Ending_Date: Present

        Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition

      Source_Citation_Abbreviation: PHOTO1

      Source_Contribution:

        Panchromatic black and white (or color infra-red)

        NAPP or NAPP-like photograph. NAPP photographs are

        centered on the DOQ coverage area.

    Source_Information:

      Source_Citation:

        Citation_Information:

          Originator: U.S. Geological Survey

          Publication_Date: Unpublished material

          Title: project ground and photo control

          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image

          Publication_Information:

            Publication_Place: Reston, VA

            Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

      Type_of_Source_Media: various media

      Source_Time_Period_of_Content:

        Time_Period_Information:

          Range_of_Dates/Times:

            Beginning_Date: Unknown

            Ending_Date: Present

        Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition

      Source_Citation_Abbreviation: CONTROL_INPUT

      Source_Contribution:

        Horizontal and vertical control used

        to establish positions and elevations for reference and

        correlation purposes.

    Source_Information:

      Source_Citation:

        Citation_Information:

          Originator: U.S. Geological Survey

          Publication_Date: Unpublished material

          Title: report of calibration

          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image

          Publication_Information:

            Publication_Place: Reston, VA

            Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

      Type_of_Source_Media: disc, paper

      Source_Time_Period_of_Content:

        Time_Period_Information:

          Range_of_Dates/Times:

            Beginning_Date: Unknown

            Ending_Date: Present

        Source_Currentness_Reference: Date of the camera calibration associated with the source photography

      Source_Citation_Abbreviation: CAMERA_INPUT

      Source_Contribution: camera calibration parameters

    Process_Step:

      Process_Description:

        The production procedures, instrumentation, hardware and software

        used in the collection of standard USGS DOQ's vary depending on systems

        used at the contract, cooperator or USGS production sites. The majority of

        DOQ datasets  are acquired through government contract. The process step

        describes, in general, the process used in the production of standard

        USGS DOQ data sets.



        The rectification process requires, as input, a user parameter file to control

        the rectification process, a digital elevation model (DEM1) gridded to user

        specified bounds, projection, zone, datum and X-Y units, a scanned digital

        image file (PHOTO1) covering the same area as the DEM, ground X-Y-Z

        point values (CONTROL_INPUT) and their conjugate photo coordinates in

        the camera coordinate system, and measurements of the fiducial marks

        (CAMERA_INPUT) in the digitized image.



        The camera calibration report (CAMERA_INPUT) provides the  focal

        length of the camera and the distances in millimeters from the camera's

        optical center to the camera's 8 fiducial marks. These marks define the frame

        of reference for spatial measurements made from the photograph.

        Ground control points (CONTROL_INPUT) acquired from ground surveys

        or developed in aerotriangulation, are third order class 1 or better, and meet

        National Map Accuracy Standard (NMAS) for 1:12,000-scale.

        Ground control points are in the Universal Transverse Mercator

        or the State Plane Coordinate System on NAD83. Horizontal and vertical

        residuals of aerotriangulated tie-points are equal to or less than 2.5 meters.

        Standard aerotriangulation passpoint configuration consists of 9

        ground control points, one near each corner, one at the center near each

        side and 1 near the center of the photograph, are used. The conjugate

        positions of the ground control points on the photograph are measured

        and recorded in camera coordinates.



        The raster image file (PHOTO_1) is created by scanning an

        aerial photograph film diapositive with a precision image scanner. An

        aperture of approximately 25 to 32 microns is used, with an aperture

        no greater than 32 microns permitted. Using 1:40,000-scale photographs,

        a 25-micron scan aperture equates to a ground resolution of 1-meter.

        The scanner converts the photographic image densities to gray scale values

        ranging from 0 to 255 for black and white photographs. Scan files with

        ground resolution less than 1 meter or greater than 1 meter but less

        than 1.28 meters are resampled to 1 meter.



        The principal elevation data source (DEM1) are standard DEM datasets

        from the National Digital Cartographic Data Base (NDCDB). DEM's that

        meet USGS standards are also produced by contractors to fulfill DOQ

        production requirements and are subsequently archived in the NDCDB.

        All DEM data is equivalent to or better than USGS DEM standard level 1.

        The DEM used in the production of DOQ's generally has a 30-meter grid

        post spacing and possesses a vertical RMSE of 7-meters or less. A DEM

        covering the extent of the photograph is used for the rectification.

        The DEM is traversed from user-selected minimum to maximum X-Y values and

        the DEM X-Y-Z values are used to find pixel coordinates in the digitized

        photograph using transformations mentioned above. For each raster

        image cell subdivision, a brightness or gray-scale value is obtained using

        nearest neighbor, bilinear, or cubic convolution resampling of the

        scanned image. The pixel processing algorithm is indicated in the

        header file . An inverse transformation relates the image coordinates

        referenced to the fiducial coordinate space back to scanner

        coordinate space. For those areas for which a 7.5-minute DEM is

        unavailable and relief differences are less than 150 feet, a planar-DEM

        (slope-plane substitute grid) may be used.



        Rectification Process: The photo control points and focal length are

        iteratively fitted to their conjugate ground control points using a

        single photo space resection equation. From this mathematical

        fit is obtained a rotation matrix of constants about the three

        axes of the camera. This rotation matrix can then be used to

        find the photograph or camera coordinates of any other ground

        X-Y-Z point. Next a two dimensional fit is made between the

        measured fiducial marks on the digitized photograph and their

        conjugate camera coordinates. Transformation constants

        are developed from the fit and the camera or photo

        coordinates are used in reverse to find their conjugate pixel

        coordiates on the digitized photograph.



        Quality Control: All data is inspected according to a

        quality control plan. DOQ contractors must meet DOQ standards

        for attribute accuracy, logical consistency, data completeness and

      Process_Date:  Unknown



Spatial Data Organization Information


Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:

  Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: raster

  Raster_Object_Information:

    Raster_Object_Type: Pixel



Spatial Reference Information


Spatial_Reference_Information:

  Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

    Planar:

      Grid_Coordinate_System:

        Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator

        Universal_Transverse_Mercator:

          UTM_Zone_Number: 10-19

          Transverse_Mercator:

            Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: .09996

            Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -123 00 00

            Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.0

            False_Easting: 500000.

            False_Northing: 0.0

      Planar_Coordinate_Information:

        Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: row and column

        Coordinate_Representation:

          Abscissa_Resolution: 1

          Ordinate_Resolution: 1

        Planar_Distance_Units: meters

    Geodetic_Model:

      Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum 1983

      Ellipsoid_Name: Geodetic Reference System 80

      Semi-major_Axis: 6378137

      Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257



Entity and Attribute Information


Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

  Overview_Description:

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:

      For DOQ's from panchromatic source each pixel contains an

      8-bit gray-scale value between 0-255. A value of 0 represents

      the color black while a value of 255 represents the color white.

      All values between 0 and 255 are repesented as a shade of gray

      varying from black to white. For color-infrared and natural color

      DOQs' a digital number from 0 to 255 will also be

      asssigned to each pixel but that number will refer to a color

      look-up table which will contain the RGB red, blue and green

      (RGB) values, each from 0 to 255, for that digital number. Areas

      where the rectification process is incomplete due to incomplete data

      (i.e., lack of elevation data, gaps), are represented with the numeric

      value of 0.

    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:

      U.S. Department of the Interior,  U.S. Geological Survey,

      guide for digital orthophotos: Reston, VA.



      A hypertext version is available at:

      URL: http://edc.usgs.gov/glis/hyper/guide/usgs_doq



      U.S. Department of the Interior,  U.S. Geological Survey, 1992,

      Standards for digital orthophotos: Reston, VA.



      Softcopies in ASCII, WordPerfect, and PostScript format are available at:

      URL: ftp://mapping.usgs.gov/pub/ti/DOQ/



Distribution Information


Distribution_Information:

  Distributor:

    Contact_Information:

      Contact_Organization_Primary:

        Contact_Organization: Earth Science Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey

      Contact_Address:

        Address_Type: mailing address

        Address:

          Complete list of Earth Science Information Centers at:



          URL: http://mapping.usgs.gov/esic/esic_index.html



        Address: 507 National Center

        City: Reston

        State_or_Province: VA

        Postal_Code: 20192

      Contact_Voice_Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS

      Hours_of_Service: 0800-1600

      Contact_Instructions:

        In addition to the address above there are other ESIC offices

        throughout the country.  A full list of these offices is at:



        URL: http://mapping.usgs.gov/esic/esic_index.html

 

  Resource_Description: Digital Orthophotoquad

  Distribution_Liability:

    Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer

    system at the U.S. Geological Survey no warranty expressed or

    implied is made by the USGS regarding the utility of the data on any

    other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such

    warranty. The USGS will warrant the delivery of this product in

    computer-readable format and will offer appropriate adjustment

    of credit when the product is determined unreadable by correctly

    adjusted computer input peripherals, or when the physical medium

    is delivered in damaged condition. Requests for adjustments of

    credit must be made within 90 days from the date of this shipment

    from the ordering site.

  Standard_Order_Process:

    Digital_Form:

      Digital_Transfer_Information:

        Format_Name: USGS_DOQ

        Format_Information_Content:

          USGS uncompressed DOQ: The uncompressed USGS DOQ

          is a raw binary image file preceded by a metadata

          header record which consists of four 400-byte ACSII

          records, each blank padded to equal the length of a

          single line of image data.

        Transfer_Size: 45

      Digital_Transfer_Option:

        Offline_Option:

          Offline_Media: 8-mm helical-scan cartridge tape

          Recording_Format:

            Unlabelled, uncompressed Unix DD archive format.

            Standard block size: 30,270, but can be provided at

            2,048 or multiples of 2,048.

        Offline_Option:

          Offline_Media: 3480 cartridge tape

          Recording_Format:

            Unlabelled, uncompressed Unix DD archive format.

            Blocksize = 6250 cpi.

    Fees:

      The online copy of the data set (when available electronically) may

      be accessed without charge. For cartridge, cassette and CD-ROM the

      costs are available at:



      URL: http://edc.usgs.gov/glis/hyper/order_info/prices#DOQ_QQUAD

 

  Standard_Order_Process:

    Digital_Form:

      Digital_Transfer_Information:

        Format_Name: Compressed USGS DOQ in JPEG format.

        Format_Information_Content:

          The USGS compressed DOQ is an IJG JPEG-compressed

          file. JPEG is a lossy compression technique. Unlike

          uncompressed DOQ's the compressed DOQ does not contain

          an attached header record as data compression corrupts

          ASCII text. A separate metadata file accompanies the

          compressed image file. The compressed data are distributed

          on CD-ROM, generally by county. However, some CD's may

          contain regions or partial counties and some counties

          may require multiple CD-ROM's. The presence

          of a DOQ in the NDCDB does not necessarily indicate the file

          is available on a compressed, county based CD-ROM.

        File_Decompression_Technique:

          The algorithm employed by USGS for compressing DOQs is

          IJG JPEG, Version 4.0. This is a lossy compression using

          a standard Q or quality factor of 30.

        Transfer_Size: 5

      Digital_Transfer_Option:

        Offline_Option:

          Offline_Media: CD-ROM

          Recording_Format: ISO 9660

          Compatibility_Information:

            This CD-ROM can be used with all computer operating

            systems that support CD-ROM as a logical storage

            device. All text files on this disc are in ASCII

            format. Data files are in ASCII or binary format.

    Fees:

      The cost for these CD-ROM products is available at:



      URL: http://edc.usgs.gov/glis/hyper/order_info/prices#DOQ_COUNTY



    Ordering_Instructions:

      Dataset searching and ordering capabilities are available through the

      Global Land Information System (GLIS) at:



      URL: http://edc.usgs.gov/webglis



Metadata Reference Information


Metadata_Reference_Information:

  Metadata_Date: 199501

  Metadata_Contact:

    Contact_Information:

      Contact_Organization_Primary:

        Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey

      Contact_Address:

        Address_Type: mailing address

        Address: 508 National Center

        City: Reston

        State_or_Province: VA

        Postal_Code: 20192

      Contact_Voice_Telephone: 703 648 4543

  Metadata_Standard_Name: Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

  Metadata_Standard_Version: 19940608

  Metadata_Security_Information:

    Metadata_Security_Classification_System: None

    Metadata_Security_Classification: Unclassified

    Metadata_Security_Handling_Description: None


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Last modified: 6 April 1998