With the advent of the global 90m resolution SRTM DEM data (yet incomplete pending release of the African and Australian continents) and GLCF, finding decent quality DEM data and satellite image overlay material has become much easier than it was when I started this website in 2000. However, the supply of global topographic maps has remained virtually the same: the availability (of free data at least) is poor, quality is variable, available maps are expensive, and it is not clear where to go to get what you want. In fact, if it had not been for the release of large quantities of Russian topographic data sets about ten years ago, this data would not be available at all for much of the world. Unfortunately, very little free Russian topo data is available. The Berkeley Library of Russian topographical maps has helped, but the collection is far too small to make much of an impact. There is another source of free data, however that covers a significant portion of the earth's surface. These maps also cover a part of the world for which maps are especially hard to come by: the Far East.

This dataset is the NGA Tactical Pilotage Chart map collection. Tactical Pilotage Charts are 1:500,000 scale maps that are nominally meant for air navigation purposes. Since one of the primary responsibilities of the air navigator is to avoid flying into the ground, this type of chart features topographical information, as well as showing the location of major towns, roads, railroads, and other ground features that would be visible from the air. As a result, they make acceptable low-resolution general purpose topographical maps, particularly when nothing else is available. Although they lack the impressive detail of high-resolution Russian topographical maps, TPCs are beautiful and reliable maps. To access these maps, enter the Geospatial Engine and check the 'TPC' check box under the 'NGA Coverages' tab.

The first image at the upper right shows the extent of the NIMA TPC coverage. As you can see, it is far from complete. However, it provides a rich source of topographic maps for an area where few alternative exist in the way of free maps.

The second image is a small section of a TPA from east Asia on the China-Russia border. The third sample is a section of east-central North Korea.

Note: several veterans groups provide rich libraries of topographic maps for Southeast Asia. The best is probably Jim Henthorn's Project MapScan, providing an impressive collection of detailed topographic maps for Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and surrounding areas.