Historic Aerial Photos

Aerial photography began in the early 1900s, but flights covering larger land areas commenced in the 1930s by the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (now the United States Department of Agriculture). Most areas were flown from the 1930s at various intervals through the present day.

Historic aerial photos are used for:

  • Brownfields investigations and landfill settings
  • Environmental due diligence
  • Erosion migration
  • Flood assessments
  • Land use and historical development studies
  • Wetlands delineation

Key Features:

  • Includes historic aerial photos from national repositories such as the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and state and regional libraries, universities and archives totaling over 10 million historic aerial image frames
  • Provides an average of 16 or more photos per report
  • Research over eight decades of coverage includes two or more photos per decade–when available
  • Includes high resolution and color photos–when available
  • Includes north direction on each photo
  • Scales ranging from 1”=250’ to 1”=1500’