Minnesota Elevation Mapping Project

The goal of this project is to develop and deliver a seamless high-accuracy digital elevation map of the State of Minnesota, based on data collected using LiDAR technology.  Accurate topographic information will greatly enhance the ability of decision makers and resource managers to understand how water interacts with the landscape and will provide the foundation for developing innovative, effective, and defendable resource management strategies.  The project will facilitate the flow of data between all levels of government:  local, state, and federal.

In July 2009, the Minnesota Legislature appropriated $8.3 million ($2.8 million each in fiscal years 2010 and 2011; $1.35 million each in fiscal years 2012 and 2013) from the Clean Water Fund of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment to help realize the goal of creating a seamless elevation model for Minnesota by filling in the areas where data either does not exist or is deemed to be old enough to be replaced.  The project is being coordinated by MnGeo's Digital Elevation Committee.
 

Data Download  |  Project Scheduling  |  Product Deliverables  |  Master Contract  |  Partnership Opportunities  |  Articles/Meeting Materials  |  Questions/Feedback
 

New

  • Latest news on data status: publicly viewable Facebook page
     
  • Status Report: Minnesota Elevation Mapping Project, 5/11/12
    • Revised Arrowhead status map 1/17/12:  The project team identified data quality issues with the edge-of-water breaklines on the second delivery and brought them to the attention of the vendor. Working with the vendor, these issues are being resolved. Note that the data quality issues were not with the elevation data itself, but the breaklines that are used to create output products such as contours and hydro-flattened DEMs.  Once the revised data has been delivered to the State, data publication will be two to four weeks later contingent on the results of QA/QC work.
       
  • Project schedule phases map, updated 9/11
     

Data Download

MnGeo's Data Download FTP Site (faster download option)  New  3/29/12
Data on DNR's download site, described below, is also being copied onto MnGeo's site.  Both sites are now available for download.  Folder names and organization and the content of some documentation files do not exactly match, and MnGeo's site may change slightly over the coming weeks as it is more closely synchronized with the DNR site.  For the next few weeks, if you cannot find something on MnGeo's site, check DNR's.
 

DNR's Data Download FTP site:  provides LiDAR data, documentation, examples, tools and training.

If you haven't used the download site or LiDAR data before, see the HELP Files, starting with "readme_first.rtf" and either "county_mosaic_readme_first.rtf"  or   "raw_LiDAR_Data_README.rtf".  A video, "watchme_first.swf", is also available describing the contents of the FTP site and tips on how to get started.  LAS File Processing Using LASTOOLS covers how to work with LAS/LAZ data format and how to export to a neutral format that can be imported into other software such as AutoCAD.

  • Available Minnesota counties from this project:  Brown, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Douglas, Faribault, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Pope, Redwood, Renville, Rock, Sibley, Swift, Waseca, Watonwan and Yellow Medicine.  For vertical accuracy information, click here.
  • Available areas of the South Dakota portion of the Minnesota River Basin:  The East Central Block, which covers 144 tiles (in the "data/projects/mn_river_basin_south_dakota" folder)

Project Schedule

Project Area Map (updated 9/11)  The total project area, encompassing 45,349 square miles across 47 counties, has been split into five phases as shown on this map.

Phase 1 - Minnesota River Basin, Minnesota Portion, was collected in Spring and Fall 2010.  The area includes 17,260 square miles in 25 counties in southwestern Minnesota including Brown, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Douglas, Faribault, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Pope, Redwood, Renville, Rock, Sibley, Swift, Waseca, Watonwan and Yellow Medicine.

80% of the project area was flown April 8th – May 5th, 2010; the remainder of the project area was completed in November 2010.  All data is available.

Phase 2 - Minnesota River Basin, South Dakota Portion:  The U.S. Geological Survey contributed funding for this phase - see graphic.  A contract was awarded in August 2010 and acquisition took place in October and November 2010.  Data is available on DNR's FTP site.

Phase 3 - Arrowhead Region, was collected Spring 2011.  It covers 4 counties:  Carlton, Cook, Lake and St. Louis. Two pilot project areas – one encompassing Vermillion State Park and one capturing the west portion of Duluth – were also collected.

  • Map of anticipated data delivery dates (updated 1/17/12)  There has been a significant delay in anticipated delivery dates.  The project team identified data quality issues with the edge-of-water breaklines on the second delivery and brought them to the attention of the vendor.  Working with the vendor these issues are being resolved.  Note that the data quality issues were not with the elevation data itself, but the breaklines that are used to create output products such as contours and hydro-flattened DEMs.  Once the revised data has been delivered to the State, data publication will be two to four weeks later contingent on the results of QA/QC work.
     
  • Map of point densities

Phase 4 - Central Minnesota, collected in Spring and Fall 2011, is being processed.  It covers 15 counties in the Twin Cities metro area:  Anoka, Benton, Carver, Dakota, Goodhue, Hennepin, Isanti, Kanabec, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne and Washington.

Phase 5 - Central Lakes Region, scheduled to begin in Spring 2012, covers 6 complete counties in north-central Minnesota:  Aitkin, Cass, Hubbard, Itasca, Todd and Wadena, along with a portion of Koochiching County.

Please note that the project areas and dates may change to accommodate funding partnership opportunities that may arise.
 

Product Deliverables

The Digital Elevation Committee has defined the products to be delivered and the data collection, processing and accuracy standards to be followed.

The standards are based on the recent USGS Base LiDAR Specification and include:

  • Mean Post Spacing = 1.5 meters (first return)
  • <=15 centimeter RMSEz, 2-foot vertical accuracy (95% confidence)
  • 1 meter horizontal accuracy
  • Tiling scheme is 1:24,000 quarter-quarter quads (1/16 quad) – an area of 3.25 square miles

Products to be delivered include:

  • Classified LAS format files
    • Bare Earth
    • Vegetation
    • Buildings
    • Water
  • Edge-of-water breaklines for ponds and rivers
  • One-meter raster DEM, hydro-flattened using breaklines
  • 2-foot contours (to be created by project team)
  • Building footprint polygons:  A process to create rough building footprint polygons from the points in the LAS data that are classified as buildings (LAS Code 6) has been developed.

Coordinate system:

  • UTM Zone 15, NAD83 horizontal datum, NAVD88 vertical datum
  • Vertical units in meters
     

Vertical Accuracy of Delivered Data

These vertical accuracy figures are calculated from more than 100 validation points per county in five land cover categories (Urban, Open, Brush, Forested and Tall Grass).  Two measures of accuracy are listed:

  • Fundamental Vertical Accuracy (FVA) is the RMSEz for those points collected in Open areas such as a football field
  • Consolidated Vertical Accuracy (CVA) is the RMSEz across all cover types
County FVA (centimeters) CVA (centimeters)
Brown 10.5 13.4
Chippewa   14.9
Cottonwood 7.3 9.7
Douglas 6.8 11.4
Faribault 8.6 11.2
Jackson 10.7 9.9
Kandiyohi 7.1 10.4
Lac qui Parle 9.1 14.9
Le Sueur 9.2 14.0
Lincoln 5.9 14.1
Lyon 7.8 12.1
Martin 8.3 9.9
Murray 11.0 9.3
Nicollet 7.1 9.2
Nobles 14 9.9
Pipestone 5.9 10.2
Pope 8.7 9.2
Redwood 12.8 12.8
Renville 7.3 11.7
Rock 6.4 7.6
Sibley 6.5 10.1
Swift 7.2 14.4
Waseca 6.7 13.6
Watonwan 10.2 12.3
Yellow Medicine 8.6 12.3

 

Project Master Contract

The State of Minnesota has created a Master Contract for LiDAR Services which is in effect for the next three years.  This contract provided a way to pre-qualify LiDAR vendors and then have them on a retainer for future work orders.  The Master Contract vendors are:

  • Aero-Metric Inc.
  • Fugro/Horizons
  • Sanborn
  • Woolpert

This Master Contract is available for other units of government to utilize for special projects – contact Tim Loesch for more information.
 

Partnership Opportunities

The project team is seeking in-kind assistance from local units of government, primarily county entities, to assist with the distribution and management of the data and to provide high accuracy survey points that can be used by the project team to validate the data.

  • Managing and distributing data:  Being a point person for the management and distribution of data is an important role due to the sheer size and complexity of the information.  This role has typically been filled by a county GIS Coordinator or technician that is proficient with GIS and/or CAD technology and has good ArcGIS skills.  Contact Tim Loesch for more information.
     
  • Collecting validation points:  These points are crucial to ensuring that the data delivered by the vendor meet the accuracy requirements agreed upon in the work order contracts.  There is a structured process for collecting validation points so that they are comparable across the region.  This role is typically filled by a county surveyor or contract surveyor.  Contact Pete Jenkins for more information.
     

Articles and Meeting Materials

Articles

Meeting Materials

Questions and Feedback

For more information on the project, please contact any member of the Steering Team:

  • Project Manager, Tim Loesch – Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
  • Chris Cialek – Minnesota Geospatial Information Office, coordination and technical reviewer
  • Les Everett – University of Minnesota, Center for Water Resources, project advisor
  • Pete Jenkins – Minnesota Department of Transportation, survey and validation coordinator
  • Shelly Sentyrz – Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, LiDAR and elevation technical resource
  • Ron Wencl – USGS MN Spatial Data Liaison, coordination and technical reviewer
     

Return to MnGeo Digital Elevation Committee page