Lidar Point Cloud - USGS National Map 3DEP Downloadable Data Collection

This data collection of the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) consists of Lidar Point Cloud (LPC) projects as provided to the USGS. These point cloud files contain all the original lidar points collected, with the original spatial reference and units preserved. These data may have been used as the source of updates to the 1/3-arcsecond, 1-arcsecond, and 2-arcsecond seamless 3DEP Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). The 3DEP data holdings serve as the elevation layer of The National Map, and provide foundational elevation information for earth science studies and mapping applications in the United States. Lidar (Light detection and ranging) discrete-return point cloud data are available in the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) LAS format. The LAS format is a standardized binary format for storing 3-dimensional point cloud data and point attributes along with header information and variable length records specific to the data. Millions of data points are stored as a 3-dimensional data cloud as a series of geo-referenced x, y coordinates and z (elevation), as well as other attributes for each point. A few older projects in this collection are in ASCII format. Please refer to http://www.asprs.org/Committee-General/LASer-LAS-File-Format-Exchange-Activities.html for additional information on the .LAS file format. All 3DEP products are public domain.