Data

Historical Aerial Photographs

With the help of NGGDPP funding, MGS is currently focusing its efforts on scanning and improving metadata for its vast collection of more than 24,200 historical aerial photographs. This collection spans the 1930s – 1990s and includes:

• county-based, black-and-white aerial photographs (MD)
• black-and-white photographic enlargements of Fenwick and Assateague Islands (MD)
• black-and-white photographic enlargements of the Rockville-Laurel area of Montgomery County (MD)
• black-and-white aerial photograph index maps (MD)
• quadrangle-based, black-and-white aerial photographs (MD)
• high-altitude, black-and-white aerial photographs (MD, PA, VA, WV)
• high altitude, infrared aerial photographs (MD, VA)
• quadrangle-based, infrared aerial photographs (MD)
• black-and-white, Washington, DC and vicinity aerial photographs (Washington, DC, MD, VA)
• black-and-white, USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) well-related aerial photographs (MD)

Our ultimate objective is to make the digital scans of these aerial photographs available online and to the public. This is a large task. Thankfully, several DPAP partners - Maryland State Archives (MSA) and the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Eisenhower Library – have not only helped scan aerial photos and aerial photo index maps, but posted many of these series online for public access via their websites. Here are links to the aerial photography series that are currently available online:

The Johns Hopkins University - JScholarship Website

• “Aerial Photography – Other Maryland Counties”
  1930s & 1950s County-wide Aerial Photo Index Maps
  https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/36422
  * Click on “Titles” under “This Collection” to view a list of the index maps.
• “Aerial Photography – Ocean City (1952-1964)”
  1950s & 1960s Aerial Photo Index Maps & Associated Aerial Photographs of Fenwick and Assateague Islands, Worcester County, MD
  https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/36062
• “Aerial Photography – Baltimore (1927, 1937, 1948, 1952, 1957, 1964, 1972)”
  1920s – 1970s Aerial Photographs of Baltimore County & City
  https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/32749

Maryland State Archives – Guide to Government Records Website

• 1930s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s County-wide Aerial Photo Index Maps
• 1950s and 1960s Worcester County Aerial Photo Index Maps & Associated Aerial Photographs
• 1960s and 1970s Montgomery County Photographic Enlargements



http://guide.mdsa.net/pages/history.aspx?ID=SH247
* Click on “View all series for MARYLAND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY” at the top of the page.

Acknowledgements & Funding:

This work has been funded by successive grants awarded in 2008-2016 by the USGS National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program.

MGS wishes to thank the NGGDPP, as well as members of the DPAP committee, for fostering data preservation efforts at the Survey. MGS is extremely grateful to MSA and JHU for their assistance in scanning multiple maps, aerial photographs, and publications and making many of these items available online via their websites.