We do a lot of off-road travel in the USA southwest desert regions and use a Garmin 60C GPS with Topo USA 2008 software for planning where we're going, tracking where we are, and viewing where we've been. Most of our destinations are not covered with the Garmin street maps so I bought Garmin's Topo USA 2008 to provide detailed maps of the off-road areas we frequent. I also use the map set for in-city travel, but for this there are better products available.The key point is that Topo USA 2008 provides downloadable maps for the GPS that are fairly highly detailed and relatively accurate so that you have something to display in the off-road areas of the country and something to use on your computer screen when planning an off-road 4x4 or hiking trip.The map set also does a pretty good job for streets and roads...except for the latest new developments.Probably my favorite use of the maps is its built-in tie to Google Earth. Once you locate your places of interest using Topo USA 2008 on your computer, you can click on the "View in Google Earth" and instantly view your waypoints and routes in Google Earth with infinite detail and 3-dimensional views. Vise versa, I often use Google Earth to locate or refine detailed GPS waypoint coordinates and copy them into my Topo USA 2008 software for download to the GPS; this provides a workaround for areas where the maps aren't quite up to date or accurate enough. When you get home you can also upload your tracks and waypoints that you acquired on your trip and view them in Google Earth to know exactly where you were and where to post pictures, if you do that. This interactivity with Google Earth provides a great addition to a relatively up to date and solid performing set of detailed topo maps.
My one complaint is with the level of symbols loaded onto the maps by Garmin for Nav Aids, mountian peaks, and parks.In general I like to leave the detail level high to display other needed info, but the cloud of these symbols tends to obscure the big picture at certain map magnifications.
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Product Description:
Topo U.S. 2008
Weve mapped every hill and valley. Download data from the MapSource® TOPO U.S. 2008 DVD directly to your compatible Garmin GPS. Now you can enjoy topographic mapping detail no matter where your adventures take you.
TOPO U.S. 2008 features digital topographic maps for the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Features include:
Digital topographic maps, comparable to 1:100,000 scale USGS maps
Terrain contours, topo elevations
Summit locations with elevation
Trails and rural roads; city neighborhood roads
Interstates & major highways
National, state, local parks, forests, and wilderness areas
Coastline, lake and river shoreline; wetlands; perennial and seasonal streams
Searchable database of cities, geographic names, summits, lakes and more
Elevation profile on PC and compatible units; estimate terrain difficulty
Allows you to plan your next outdoor adventure on your PC and download routes, waypoints and map detail to your compatible Garmin GPS
Includes lakes, reservoirs, waterways, rivers and streams with icons to represent boat ramps, dams, campgrounds and trails
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