May 2026 Data Releases
Jun 1, 2026
In May 2026 OpenTopography added new data in the US, Alaska, and Italy. A lidar survey over the San Juan Mountains in Colorado was added, as well as many 3DEP lidar datasets in Vermont, California, Oregon, and Alaska. A Community Dataspace dataset over the Stromboli Volcano in Italy was also shared with the community.
A. Locations of new USGS 3DEP datasets in Vermont, California, and Oregon (green polygons), and a OT-hosted dataset in southwest Colorado (red marker). B. Many new USGS 3DEP lidar datasets across Alaska (green polygons). C. New Community Dataspace dataset over the Stromboli Volcano in Italy (purple marker)
OpenTopography Hosted Datasets
A new lidar dataset was collected in Colorado as part of an NCALM Seed grant for Juliana Ruef at the University of Colorado, Boulder. This dataset was collected to help monitor rock glacier motion and dynamics in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado.
New OpenTopography hosted data:
USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) Datasets
The USGS is currently making 3DEP lidar point cloud data available via an Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 Requester Pays Bucket, and as an AWS Public Dataset. To learn more about 3DEP and AWS see this USGS press release: USGS 3DEP Lidar Point Cloud Now Available as Amazon Public Dataset. Consistent with OpenTopography's mission of making high resolution topography data easier to discover and use, we provide a layer of value-added services that enable our users to subset, grid, download, and/or visualize any portion of the USGS 3DEP collection.
USGS 3DEP data is freely available to our core US academic user community (e.g. users who register with a .edu email domain). However, non-academics can access 3DEP data, as well as all other restricted datasets, by signing up for OpenTopography Plus (OT+). OT+ is a subscription service that enables one-stop, easy-to-use access to the highest quality lidar topography for the US. For more details about OT+, or to sign up, see the OT+ signup page.
New USGS 3DEP Datasets:
- AK EMRI 1 D24
- AK EMRI 2 D24
- AK EMRI 3 D24
- AK EMRI 4 D24
- AK GlacierTongassLandslides 4 D23
- AK LakePeninsula 3 B23
- AK NativeAKVillages 7 D22
- AK NativeAKVillages 8 D22
- AK TyphoonMerbokNV5 2 F23
- CA SierraNevada 14 B22
- OR SouthEast 5 D22
- VT Statewide 1 A23
- VT Statewide 2 A23
OpenTopography Community Dataspace Datasets
The OpenTopography Community Dataspace allows users who are producing small to moderate sized topographic datasets (with technologies such as lidar and photogrammetry) to archive their data with OpenTopography via a simple drag and drop user interface. This feature is designed to support data publication and citation, academic data reuse, and educational applications. Each submission is reviewed by OpenTopography staff and approved on a case-by-case basis. Datasets in the OT Dataspace receive a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and are displayed on the OpenTopography Find Data Map so they are discoverable and downloadable alongside data hosted by OpenTopography. The Dataspace is meant to complement standard OpenTopography data hosting for larger datasets produced by our data provider partners.
New Community Dataspace data:
Sample Graphics From Data Released in May 2026
Data from a drone survey of the Stromboli Volcano in Italy. Data is colored by elevation, and draped on a hillshade. Background imagery courtesy of Google Earth. Data Source: Community Dataspace: High-Resolution SfM Topography of Stromboli volcano (Italy), 02 July 2025
3D point cloud colored by intensity of the Vermont State Capital building. Data Source: USGS 3DEP: VT Statewide 2 A23
3D point cloud colored by elevation of a glacier in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. Data Source: OpenTopography: Mapping Rock Glaciers in the San Juan Mountains, CO 2025.
Hillshade of slope erosion from a plateau in Alaska. Data Source: USGS 3DEP: AK GlacierTongassLandslides 4 D23.