The seven-county Southeastern Wisconsin Region has a long history of aerial photography acquisition. Since 1963, the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission has obtained aerial photography as part of its regionwide planning activities. The black-and-white aerial photo inventories have been collected at five-year intervals since 1970, and, since 1995, the aerial photography has been acquired in digital as well as hardcopy format.
Recent aerial photography for the entire Southeastern Wisconsin Region was acquired by the Commission in the spring of 2005. A partial inventory covering slightly less than one-half of the Region was acquired in the Spring of 2007. Both of these inventories were obtained as color imagery. The 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2007 inventories were collected as orthophotography, which is aerial photography enhanced by the removal of horizontal displacement caused by ground relief. Orthophotos are image products that can be used as true maps.
The Orthophoto Viewer is a mapping application that displays the year 2005 orthophotos for the Southeastern Wisconsin Region.
You can view an image of the entire region, or locate your neighborhood for an overhead view of your house and surroundings. Use the Index Map to locate and zoom to your area of interest, then choose the Orthophoto button to view the aerial orthophotography. You can switch between Orthophoto and Index Map to find other areas to view.
If you are interested in acquiring digital orthophotography, display the accompanying aerial photography image boundaries on the orthophoto to learn how the images are organized and the area that each image covers. You can also obtain the image file name to use to order
The 2007 digital orthophotography was acquired for all of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, and Waukesha Counties and the southern one-quarter of Washington County. This inventory is available in two file formats:
Digital orthophoto images prepared at 12-inch pixel resolution and one-inch-equals-200-feet scale. Each image covers an area of 10,000 by 10,000 feet on the Wisconsin State Plane Coordinate System.
The color GeoTIFF files described above merged into compressed files in MrSID format. Each image file covers one U.S. Public Land Survey System survey township (about 36 square miles).
More detailed information about 2007 digital orthophotography can be found in the description of 2007 digital products (PDF file) and the 2007 orthophotography metadata.
The 2005 digital orthophotography is available as color and black-and-white images. The various file types and formats include:
Digital orthophoto images prepared at 12-inch pixel resolution and one-inch-equals-200-feet scale for Kenosha, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, and Washington Counties. The images were prepared at 6-inch pixel resolution and one-inch-equals-100-feet scale for Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties. Each image covers an area of 5,000 by 5,000 feet on the Wisconsin State Plane Coordinate System.
The color GeoTIFF files described above merged into compressed files in MrSID format. Each image file covers one U.S. Public Land Survey System survey township (about 36 square miles).
Digital orthophoto images prepared at 12-inch pixel resolution and one-inch-equals-200-feet scale for the entire seven-county Southeastern Wisconsin Region. Each image covers an area of 10,000 by 10,000 feet on the Wisconsin State Plane Coordinate System.
The black-and-white GeoTIFF files merged into compressed files in MrSID format. One set of image files is organized by U.S. Public Land Survey System survey township. Each image in this series covers one USPLSS survey township (about 36 square miles). A second set of MrSID image files is organized by county, with one file covered each of the seven counties in the Region.
More detailed information about 2005 digital orthophotography can be found in the description of 2005 digital products (PDF file), 2005 project areas and files (PDF file), and the 2005 orthophotography metadata. Samples of color and black-and-white orthophotos are included in the 2005 orthophoto samples document (PDF file).
Digital aerial orthophotos for the year 2005 and 2007 are available for purchase from the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. The digital orthophotos are delivered on CD-ROM or DVD. The cost is $50 per CD or $100 per DVD plus tax and shipping (if applicable). Please consult the 2005 description of digital products (PDF file) to learn how many image files can be placed on a CD or DVD and to determine how many disks may be required for all image files in your area of interest.
Use the e-mail order form to place an order for digital orthophotos. Please indicate the following information when ordering:
Orders for digital aerial orthophotos can usually be prepared within two to five working days after receipt of the order. CDs and DVDs will be shipped via U.S. Postal Service first class mail. If you would like to pick up the order at the offices of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, please so indicate on the order form.
Digital orthophotos for the year 1995 and 2000 are also available for purchase from the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. These images are available in GeoTIFF format and MrSID format files. The cost is $50 per CD-ROM or $100 per DVD plus tax and shipping (if applicable).
Digital orthophotography for 1995 and 2000 can be ordered by using the e-mail order form. Indicate that you would like to order 1995 or 2000 orthophotography in the "Additional Information" section at the bottom of the form. Or contact the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission if you would like to order 1995 or 2000 digital orthophotography.