[uglymofo]

I'm trying to figure out what the terrain around my property looks like (buildings and other structures). On three sides, I'm surrounded by trees, and the nearest surrounding roads are probably 3/4 mile away. I know I could walk the terrain with a compass, but the forested area is so thick, I could miss a building by 30 yards, and not realize it.

I need this information to figure out what direction is the safest to shoot in. I've been to TerraServer, TerraFly, and the USGI, but all their surveys are pretty old (7-9 years). Does anyone have any other source ideas? Thanks a lot.

[Black Majik]

I thought mapquest does aerial view shots?


www.mapquest.com

[Andrew Rothman]

All of the free online aerial photography is several years old.

In my not-very-humble opinion, if you don't own property for a mile or two back, or have a physical backstop (a hill or a berm), it is NOT safe to shoot in that direction. No buildings doesn't mean no people.

[uglymofo]

I should have made myself more clear. I've got a berm. It's about 20-25 feet high. The road behind the berm is about a mile away; the roads along the sides of my property are about 3/4 of a mile away. I'm gonna shoot IDPA pistol (only) at steel plates, and am concerned about ricochets.

Majik,

I don't see a link for aerial photos on Mapquest?



ADDENDUM: my notes say that the speedometer measured .81 to the nearest road (flanking my berm) and from there it's 1.4 miles to the nearest crossroad. (That's the road that's behind my berm.) But that road winds, and I can't tell for sure how close it comes to my berm.

[Andrew Rothman]

Aha! That's better.

On Mapquest, go ahead and map a location. There is a tab at the to to switch to an aerial view.

But again, it could be 5-15 years old.

[Dan Johnson]

http://terraserver-usa.com/default.aspx

[Daniel T]

ugly, you might find what you're looking for at http://www.terraserver.com/

The again, if you don't live close to a city, you might not.

[bogie]

Very cool - Has anyone seen anything that lists flood information? In buying a house, I sorta wanna make sure that my _GUN SAFE_ stays above the flood line.

BACK ON TOPIC!

[uglymofo]

Bogie,

try

http://ngdc.nndc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ns/NOAAServer?stype=HTML2

and enter "flood" and all other pertinent data in the appropriate columns. You'll need to find a source to figure out latitude and longitude. It's been a long time since I had to do this; I found flood data in some archive. I Googled "flood data" as I recall. Hopefully this'll get you started. Depending on your location, the Mississippi River flood history is all mapped, and might show you threatened landscapes ,past and future. "Weather archive" might also google well. You're in for several hours of 'net surfing to get what you want, but I found it. Sorry, I saved the maps I needed, but not the origninal link.

an addendum to my original post (for those who haven't reread my original a 2nd time): my notes say that the speedometer measured .81 to the nearest road (flanking my berm) and from there it's 1.4 miles to the nearest crossroad. (That's the road that's behind my berm.) But that road winds, and I can't tell for sure how close it comes to my berm.

I've been to Terraserver, but the data's dated as 1996. I'm trying to find something more recent.

Mapquest maps don't show me a link to aerial photos even when I've got the location zero'ed in and it's mapped out. Looks like I'm too rural, because the "aerial" tab comes up for me for big cities; does anyone have any other ideas? Thanks, gents.

[gun-fucious]

http://sirius.spotimage.fr/anglais/Welcome.htm

[C.R.Sam]

Photos are historical.
Show what was when they were taken.

Good for natural formations.

Not reliable for trackin human stuff.

Sam

[mpthole]

Check out USA Photo Maps from this guy here (http://jdmcox.com/). Very cool program. But be aware that you really need a FAST connection to make it worthwhile. I think the arial photos are taken from terraserver, but not sure. The cool thing is that you can switch from arial to topo and make your own maps.

[Bill Hook]

Bogie,

I believe FEMA also has the info you want. One thing you should consider is the addage "buy high," which doesn't refer to price. IOW, buy in the highest spot you can find in a given area and assume that even if you aren't looking at the lowest spot, the water is going to runoff past you to accumulate at the low spot, which can still mean your basement gets flooded.

[rayra]

uglymofo, I'd strongly urge you to TAKE A WALK. Maybe a shack would be invisible at a short distance in the woods, but a road or trail should be easy to find, and follow. No access, no regularly inhabited structures, free range.
Really don't see it as being too much effort to ensure safe shooting and no legal hassles.

[SteelyDan]

It's worth a call to the county surveyor to see what they've got for recent aerials and topos.

[HABU]

Mofo
Yave you a GPS witha plotter? Know someone that does? You can create a track around your property/roads etc and sit in your lazy chair and determine distances at your leisure.

[scotjute]

Might also try : www.topozone.com

and www.maptech.com

[geekWithA.45]

http://www.terraserver.com

[mparris71]

Look and See if your Local Government has a GIS website, some of the better ones have Tax map programs that you can look up your parcel and overlay pretty current aerial photos. Some also have measure features. Its not Land survey grade stuff but will give you a good idea.

[Justin]

Um, guys?
OT.