App Review: Topo Maps


Topo Maps cell phone appMy number one most favorite app is Topo Maps by Phil Endecott. Topo Maps doesn’t have a lot of bloat and useless features. The best part is that Topo Maps does not rely on cached imagery or cellphone towers. It will let you pinpoint your location even when your iPhone can’t talk to a cellular service tower using your phone’s built in GPS.

Topo Maps utilizes USGS 1:24,000 scale topological maps which are downloaded in to the app. To use the app, you first zoom into your area of the U.S. or Canada, which will show you a grid. Each grid has a name based on the corresponding USGS map title. If you tap and hold the square (the map) of the area you want, you’ll download the map to your phone. In total, more than 70,000 individual maps are available. You can download as many of these as you like, limited only by the storage capacity of your device. You’ll want to do this in advance, at home, while you’re on a WiFi connection.

Endecott’s Topo Maps app will provide you with a little blue dot that shows your current location on the map, via a GPS coordinate.  The app contains a database of more than a million placenames, which you can search to find the map that you need and to find individual features on those maps. You can add your own waypoints to the maps, and download waypoint files from the internet.

As well as the maps themselves, Topo Maps also downloads terrain data. This is used to apply a 3D shading effect over the map to make the shape of the land clearer. You can even adjust the direction of the simulated sunlight that this effect uses. The terrain data is also put to other purposes, including a visibility mode which calculates what should be visible from any viewpoint. You can also mosaic maps together flawlessly.

A note about these maps and why I prefer them. The author makes the following statement: The app currently shows the traditional USGS topo maps that most users will have been familiar with as paper editions for many years. USGS now considers these maps to be “historical”, and is in the process of replacing them with a new map series that they call “US Topo”. They have recently (2013) completed coverage of the lower 48, with AK, HI, PR and VI to follow in the next few years.

On the new US Topo maps:

  • Very few hiking trails are shown.
  • Few railroads, buildings, campsites and other important features are shown.
  • Contour lines have been smoothed out, showing less detail on steep ground.

Here is a comparison of the Traditional Topo (used in this app) maps versus the new US Topo maps.

Traditional Topo Map
Traditional Topo Map
New US Topo map
New US Topo map

This app is deigned for backcountry, so the use of Traditional Topo rather than the new US Topo format is highly preferred. The detailed renderings are second to none for 1:24,000 scale topological maps. Furthermore, unlike many apps out there, Topo Maps does not use the server resources provided by MyTopo or Trimble, so the recent acquisition has no affect.

Below are some screen shots I took on my phone highlighting the different features.

Zoom in on broad regional areas in U.S. or Canada
Zoom in on broad regional areas in U.S. or Canada
Once you zoom in closer grid squares will appear representing the 1:24000 USGS maps
Once you zoom in closer grid squares will appear representing the 1:24000 USGS maps
USGS actual map will appear as you zoom in closer
USGS actual map will appear as you zoom in closer
Once downloads completes the highlighted grid will turn green -- so you will always know which USGS maps have been downloaded
Once downloads completes the highlighted grid will turn green — so you will always know which USGS maps have been downloaded
If you touch the grid square for a second it will highlight and a download prompt will appear
If you touch the grid square for a second it will highlight and a download prompt will appear
By tapping the grid, the USGS map will appear
By tapping the grid, the USGS map will appear
You can zoom in on an area on the USGS map
You can zoom in on an area on the USGS map
You can switch to satellite aerial view (3D)
You can switch to satellite aerial view (3D)
Bearing, coordinates, and distance scale are shown
Bearing, coordinates, and distance scale are shown
A compass option keeps the entire USGS quad oriented regardless of where the phone is oriented
A compass option keeps the entire USGS quad oriented regardless of where the phone is oriented
Another option is distance rings and distance bearing
Another option is distance rings and distance bearing
This option is a line of sight. The red areas represent terrain that is not visible from the chosen vantage point
This option is a line of sight. The red areas represent terrain that is not visible from the chosen vantage point
You can also set way points on to the map from the crosshairs
You can also set way points on to the map from the crosshairs
Way points can be uploaded / downloaded to a specified url in GPX, CSV, or KML file types
Way points can be uploaded / downloaded to a specified url in GPX, CSV, or KML file types
You can also flip to traditional topo, and aerial satellite views (and 3D). The blue beacon always shows your location on any map set.
You can also flip to traditional topo, and aerial satellite views (and 3D). The blue beacon always shows your location on any map set.
You can zoom quite a ways out - again the blue beacon location tracks you and you do not have to have cell service since it operates using the phone's GPS
You can zoom quite a ways out – again the blue beacon location tracks you and you do not have to have cell service since it operates using the phone’s GPS

In all, I would highly recommend this app for backcountry use. It is highly responsive and does everything a person would need for a back up map or route planning. The app contains powerful navigation features without the useless gizmos.

Available on:
appstore_badge
Cost: $7.99

More information can be found on the publisher’s website: topomapsapp.com

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