Topo Maps

NGS HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL CONTROL POINTS
FOR
ADA COUNTY AND THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES

FOR USERS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOFTWARE TOPO!
If you are a user of and have a copy of the National Geographic Society software called TOPO! (www.topo.com), version 3.3.4 or above (part of the state series for Idaho), I have made files which have the NGS horizonal and vertical control points for Ada, Boise, Elmore, Owyhee, Canyon, and Gem Counties located on them. They are available by individual county, or if you have a good graphical computer, a combined file of all the counties consisting of some 4,000 control points. The Ada County file also lists the original 1032 points for the GIS Base Map, which was the foundation for the T-Base.

These files were derived from the NGS Website Datasheets, by pulling the latitude/longitude/elevation information from them and preparing them for import into the TOPO! software. They are listed by a point number which is located on a 7 1/2' series quad map at approximately the right location. These files are very valuable for searching for and finding geodetic control corners in Ada County and all the surrounding counties. Includes the T-Base for section/quarter corners that were used in the original GGI map for Ada County GIS Base Map. All points are easily exported to your handheld GPS equipment.

Copy the appropriate ".tpo" file to your hard drive where you can open it with TOPO!. The waypoint list will list Lat/Long, Elevation, and under Message will list the description of the point number. Additional waypoints can be exported or imported from the map to your GPS Handheld receiver.

MAP OF GPS POINTS ONLY

Download: Ada County GPS H and V Control topo file (this zipped file contains the .tpo and .csv file). Includes all the same GPS surveys and network adjustments points in Ada County that have been posted to this website under horizontal and vertical control section. Agrees by point number with the total GPS MS 2000 Excel file listed at the top of the control page (NEW BENCH MARK AND GPS DATA - UPDATED OCTOBER 2003) . Has the often asked about FEMA GPS control and Bench mark points. In addition to viewing the point on a 7 1/2' quad in Topo!, either file can be imported to a Garmen Handheld GPS receiver for use in the field.

Copy all the NGS datasheets pertaining to the individual counties in a zipped format here.

NEW CP & F MAP FOR ADA COUNTY

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE CORNER RECORDS OF A PARTICULAR SECTION, IN ADA COUNTY, AND WANT TO LOOK AT THEM ON A MAP?

Use this file for a New CP&F Map that uses NGS Topo! software, showing the location of most of the corner records that are recorded in Ada County.
(Currently the map is good for CP&F records up to the March 26, 2003 recording date.)

Directions: Download the.tpo file (at the bottom of the page) to your computer and copy it into the Topo folder. Then under File, open the .tpo file. Click on Idaho in the upper right corner to display Idaho. Keep clicking on the Zoom until you reach the 7 1/2' quad level. The blue point numbers for the corner records should show up. Using the cross button or traveling tool, navigate to the section you are looking for. Click on the diamond button or Waypoint Tool and move the mouse over the point you are looking at. This will display the point number, instrument number, and approximate latitude longitude position.
If you want to know where a specific corner record is by point number or instrument number, follow these directions. Under View, click GPS Waypoint List to view the waypoint or coordinate point number list in a box at the bottom. The waypoint view also shows the instrument number of the corner record under the Message column. Then use the instrument number to look up the image of the corner record in Sourceview.

A double click in the waypoint box on the point number or the instrument number will bring the point to the center of the map with crosshairs. If you click on the diamond in the box on the toolbar, you can run the mouse pointer over the point and read the the instrument number and lat/long coordinates of each point (See above picture). Manuevering around the map is done with the first three buttons on the left on the toolbar. The first button on the left on the toolbar is for zooming in and out and the third button is for moving across the map. Right click displays the level of the map you are on and the name of the map. You can also magnify the map with this box.
(Note: Some of the corner records that are recorded in Ada County are for other counties.)

Again, just load the .tpo file onto your harddrive in the same location as the Topo! software. Then zoom down to the 7 1/2' quad level for your area of interest to view the location of the corner records.