Most applications have an option for toggling on map indexes that show an outline of all the maps, though you must zoom in to see the outlines: This includes both current US Topo maps (computer-generated every 3 years since 2009) and Historical topographic maps. For Alaska the standard scale is 1:25,000.Īll dates and all scales of our topographic maps can be freely downloaded or ordered at cost as paper prints. USGS topographic maps have been published at many scales, but 1:24,000 (also referred to as a 7.5-minute quadrangle) has been the standard topographic map scale since 1947. Geological Survey (USGS) has been the primary civilian mapping agency of the United States since 1879.