U.S. National Grid

The U.S. National Grid (USNG) is a worldwide geospatial coordinate system which facilitates interoperability between GIS, GPS and the basic hand map. Based on the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) with subtle improvements, it creates a uniform, easy-to-use methodology for quickly locating points with a high degree of accuracy. Its use during disasters has been endorsed by FEMA, the Federal Geographic Data Committee, and multiple other federal and state units of government, as well as virtually all Search and Rescue (SAR) organizations. USNG has been a Minnesota state government geospatial standard since 2009.

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Maps

Minnesota

• Minnesota USNG 10K Maps Viewer and Download Webpage (also available on the Minnesota Geospatial Commons)
• Esri REST service URLs for the Minnesota Responder 10K Maps:
  • Esri Aerial Service
  • Esri Map Service
• OGC WFS URLs for the Minnesota Responder 10K Maps:
  • OGC Aerial Service
  • OGC Map Service

United States

• TopoView - Full collection of nation-wide USNG compliant maps produced by the USGS, including multiple scales and vintages.

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Additional Resources

• U.S. National Grid Information Center
• U.S. National Grid Institute
• U.S. National Grid - Wikipedia
• GISsurfer - GIS crosswalk system featuring USNG
• USNG-Address converter
• USNGapp - Free Smartphone USNG app

References

• Federal Geographic Data Committee, FGDC-STD-011-2001, United States National Grid
• FEMA Directive 92-5: Use of the United States National Grid
• Minnesota State Standard: United States National Grid
• National Search and Rescue Committee - Land SAR Addendum