TOPO! National Geographic USGS Topographic Maps, Washington | 
 enlarge | Brand: National Geographic
Category: CE
List Price: $99.99
Buy New: $79.95
You Save: $20.04 (20%)
New (3) from $79.95
Rating:  24 reviews
Format: Cd-rom
Media: Electronics
Operating System: Windows 95, 98, NT, ME, 2000, or XP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 10 x 8 x 2
MPN: Washington
Model: Washington
ISBN: 1597750549
UPC: 749717205383
EAN: 9781597750547
ASIN: 1597750549
Release Date: April 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Brand New! Factory Sealed Box! GeoMart has been in business for over 30 years. Buy with confidence.
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| Features:
| • | Print photo quality USGS topographic maps | | • | GPS Ready - Easiest Way to tell your GPS where you want to go and record where you've been | | • | Navigate in three dimensions with 3D fly-thru and instant elevation profiling | | • | Customize maps with photos, notes and icons | | • | Live Map Update ensures you always have the most current maps and software |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
National Geographic's TOPO! State Series CD-ROM equips backcountry explorers with the maps they need to reach mountain peaks, secluded lakes, and every road in between. Just pop this CD-ROM into your computer, and with easy-to-use tools, you can create your routes, generate elevation profiles, and view maps and trails in 3D. You can also transfer routes and waypoints between your computer and your GPS. The State Series uses the most detailed USGS topographic maps available, showing essential landmarks and navigational aids, so you'll know where to go on your backpacking, mountain biking, kayaking, and fishing adventures. Select and print the maps you need. *See sizing chart for computer system requirements.
Product Features- GPS compatible with: Garmin, Magellan, Suunto, Eagle and Lowrance receivers
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
 How To Increase Its Value October 11, 2008
golden_ (Colorado)
With TOPO, it makes a big difference if you copy the maps from the CDs to your hard drive. That results in a much faster and better experience. Directions for copying the maps to your hard drive are on the Topo web site. Some reviewers do not realize that.
The digital maps are an extremely good value compared to paper maps!! Live Map Updates is a feature of version 4. You can download the current maps and street overlays for the quads you are interested in! And that is free.
I have used versions 2, 3, and 4 of this product. Version 2 was excellent. Versions 3 and 4 are incremental improvements. On Amazon, it isn't always clear which version you are buying. Go by the dates -- version 4 was released in 2006.
The software is excellent. My only complaint is that it is a bit complicated to install. I don't think it has ever crashed on me. I use it a lot, and discover new features all the time. It is not hard to learn. GPS support is great, in my experience.
 No backward compatibility. Very poor support October 7, 2008
Serge Dubovitsky (Los Angeles, CA)
I now have their latest TOPO! 4.5, but cannot use it with my California State series maps. I've been exchanging e-mails with their customer support and they basically just recycle cut and paste's from their web site. At first I took their instructions (often contradictory) seriously and did everything they said, but none of it works. To make sure I tried it on a different computer. No go. The software often hangs up for long time, so anything you try kills a lot of time. I think it is just a very badly written code with no backward compatibility. I'm going to start looking for another product.
 Offline map sharing functionality, great source for geotiff raster maps October 1, 2008
jmbrowning (Angeles Front Range)
I have been using Topo! since it was a Wildflower product back in the early 1990's. The interface does take some getting used to as mentioned before, but like all powerful software programs (vi/emacs) eventually, it becomes second nature.
I mostly use TOPO! to annotate my previous trips, plan future trips, share travel guides with family, and create georeferenced raster maps for handheld GPS devices.
My trips primarily used to be hiking and backpacking trips, which I would dutifully record using an old Garmin Etrex GPS receiver. The tracks and waypoints would be uploaded to the desktop and saved as separate .tpo files. Back in the day, I was plenty happy just to see waypoint times and elevation gains as documentation of my backcountry trips. I would also use TOPO to create waypoint routes (up to 30) to be uploaded to the GPS receiver so that I could plan/program my future hikes into the Etrex.
Since those early primitive days, both TOPO! and I have changed a lot! TOPO! has improved significantly in its featurea. Now that I have two kids and more money, my outdoor travels consist mostly of Jeeping, dry car camping, and ancient rock art hunting.
Now, with the newer versions of TOPO, it is possible to add pictures and notes. In turn, these more detailed maps can be useful as travelogues not only for nostalgia, but also as travel guides for family members and friends who are using TOPO! as well.
While similar functionality could be obtained by using Google Earth or Maps, this map sharing is dependent on "cloud computing". This may be feasible when sitting in a coffee shop in a metropolis or even at home, but out in the desert without cellphone access this is not a viable option. Further, Google Map data is only protected by obscurity. Any person who knows the URL to your map data can view it.
Since I don't have to carry gear on my back anymore, I primarily use TOPO in the field on a laptop with an external GPS receiver. Though bulky, it is a much more useful combination than simply a tiny handheld receiver alone due to the larger size of the laptop screen and the ability to search for waypoints using the standard keyboard. My family uses a similar setup and they too find it reassuring to know that they have a clearly mapped GPS route available to them in the wild.
Finally, the most useful aspect of TOPO! is unfortunately no longer available, unless you can beg, borrow, or steal a boxed Xport Pro package. NatGeoMaps recently and quite quietly killed off its entire TopoPro line (including for ArcGIS). Xport Pro (formerly $199) allows the user to export high quality USGS maps in the georeferenced GeoTiff format. These GeoTiffs could then be used in shareware GPS programs like OziExplorer for Windows computers or OziWince or NoniGPSplot for WinCE GPS devices (many personal navigation devices can be cracked to run these apps in addition to the installed street mapping software). It used to be that you could call in a credit card number to NatGeoMaps customer service and for $99 get the functionality activated through a PIN, but no longer :( .
Admittedly, GeoTiff, mrsid, and many other georeferenced maps can be downloaded from state governments (usually from depts of ag or wildlife management), but having it all in one software package on CD's is pretty sweet.
Good Accurate Mapping July 3, 2008
Martin A Hogan (San Francisco, CA.)
12 out of 15 found this review helpful
All information is in USGS 1:100,000 scale for road and very good hiking mapping and navigation. Its all very, very easy to learn and includes cool features to customize your maps like adding notes, showing your trails and routes, elevation profiles for hiking mountains and a 3D feature. This allows you to actually view your route as your travel in simulation at varying angles. The `Search' feature is very handy in locating just about anything you are looking for in that section/region of the map. You can zoom into five different levels of detail and print out any portion of that map. If your GPS allows you to import information, you can upload your personalized map to it. You can also import most GPS information into your computer onto the topographic maps, such as .gpx files and geocache information. TOPO! National Geographic is the best in mapping information for GPS or everyday route or hiking planning.
I had a Magellan Triton that claims you could download the maps to your Triton handheld, but that software is flawed and I had to return the Triton four times. Now that I have a Garmin, I can download info to my PC and use the National Geographic TOPO! information, but I still cannot import maps into my Garmin (just geocache information).
National Geographic TOPO Maps June 30, 2008
Things should work, really! (Redding, CA USA)
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
This product is very hard to use, especially if you are trying to download it to a Magellan Triton 500. Not user friendly or intuitive at all.
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