New lidar data series released for Willamette Valley - 07/02/10
Portland, Oregon: A new digital data series of the Willamette Valley area is being released today by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI).

The Lidar Data Quadrangle Series (LDQ)
This release in the LDQ series (data only) covers both individual and bundled USGS quadrangles for parts of the Willamette Valley area. These data are part of a data publication series which will eventually provide complete lidar data for most of the inhabited areas of the state.

Please refer to the attached maps for details or go online to see a list of the USGS quads and data available at: http://www.oregongeology.org

The data in the LDQ series are designed specifically for use with specialty Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and include only raster based data. In other words, a file with a regular grid of elevation values. Lidar data originate as large numbers of measured points which have been filtered and processed to produce the rasters in the LDQs. The point data (point cloud) require special software and expertise to use, and creates very large files, so it is not included in this publication series.

The contents of each DVD include:
"Bare Earth data" – Contains grid and info folders associated with ESRI digital elevation models of bare earth lidar data. Metadata for all data are embedded in grid folders as ESRI FGDC metadata in xml format.

"Highest Hit" data – Contains grid and info folders associated with ESRI digital elevation models of bare earth lidar data. Metadata for all data are embedded in grid folders as ESRI FGDC metadata in xml format.

"Intensity" data – Contains geoTIFF files associated with intensity images derived from highest hit lidar returns. Metadata for all data are embedded in TIFF header as ESRI FGDC metadata in xml format. Some intensity files have been compressed using .zip format.

"Metadata XML – XML formatted metadata files listing FGDC metadata for lidar dataset. Lidar contractor's data report is included.

"Shapefiles" – ESRI format geometry files of 7.5 minute USGS quadrangles of Oregon, 1/100th USGS quadrangles of Oregon, as well as Willamette Valley specific 7.5 minute and 1/100th USGS quadrangles.

"About-LDQ-poster-11x17in.pdf" – PDF document contains explanation of USGS tiling schemes associated with lidar data as well general information concerning lidar data.

"Lidar Series Status Index Map" - PDF document showing published DOGAMI lidar series publications.

All data are format specific to ESRI GIS format. Data must be viewed using specialty software capable of viewing .shp, geotif, and ESRI grid formats.

Note: Data projection information can be located within embedded raster metadata file (.prj). Future LDQ releases will cover the remainder of the Portland urban area, Medford urban areas, the entire Oregon coast, and numerous other areas around the state. Efforts to collect more lidar data are underway in other parts of the state as well, including the Klamath, Deschutes and Umatilla Basins. You can learn more about the collection of lidar data in Oregon and the Oregon Lidar Consortium online at:
http://www.oregongeology.com/sub/projects/olc/default.htm

How to order
The price for each LDQ series DVD (data only) is $200. All LDQ series digital publications can be purchased from the Nature of the Northwest Information Center (NNW), 800 NE Oregon Street, Suite 965, Portland, Oregon, 97232. You may also call NNW at (971) 673-2331 or order online at http://www.naturenw.org. There is a $4 shipping and handling charge for all mailed items.

Learn more about Oregon's geology by going online at: http://www.oregongeology.org