The Largest Database of United States Historic Aerial Imagery!

Historic Aerials hosts the largest online collection of historical aerial imagery, topographic maps, and modern aerials covering the United States. Our interactive viewer lets you explore any location — zoom in, pan across, and switch between decades — to see how it has changed over time. With imagery dating back to the 1920s, you can visually “go back in time” and watch cities, farms, and landscapes evolve. Use our compare, overlay, and topographic tools to view change with the same ease as a modern map app.

Simply enter an address or location in our viewer to browse available imagery. Use the timeline to switch between years and see how a location has changed over time.

Subscribers gain access to additional features like an ad-free experience, less intrusive watermarks, and full-screen viewing.

Historic Aerials provides free access to explore imagery across the United States, including the ability to search locations, view different years, and use core map tools.

To support the cost of maintaining and expanding this archive, the free version includes advertisements, watermarks, and limited viewing size. These measures also help prevent misuse, such as unauthorized copying or redistribution of imagery.

Subscribers receive an enhanced experience, including full-screen viewing, minimal watermarks in the viewer, an ad-free interface, and monthly credits for downloads and report-building tools.

All downloaded images — whether obtained through credits or purchased individually — are delivered without watermarks.

At this time, credits are only available through subscription plans and cannot be purchased separately. However, images can still be purchased separately at any time.

The controls can be found on the left side of the map viewer and allow you to compare different years, overlay maps, and measure distances or areas. We recommend watching our tutorial videos on using tools.

Image quality varies based on how and at what altitude the aerial photography was captured, not simply when it was taken.

In many cases, older imagery can appear sharper because flights were often conducted at lower altitudes.

Later national programs (1980s into early 2000s) were commonly flown higher, often at around 1‑meter resolution, which resulted in lower detail across much of the country.

Occasionally, older film can show degradation from age prior to digitization, but this is not the primary driver of image clarity differences.

Beginning in the early 2000s, some areas were captured with higher‑resolution imagery (often in urban regions or through specific programs), which is why certain years from roughly 2002–2013 may look noticeably better than surrounding years.

More recent imagery can also be very high resolution in some areas — including 2 ft, 1 ft, or even 6 inch resolution — but this is not consistent nationwide.

What you see in the viewer reflects the original source material. Historic Aerials does not artificially enhance or alter imagery, as maintaining historical accuracy is essential.

Comparing multiple years often provides the best results, as features that are unclear in one image may be more visible in another.

If imagery appears to be missing, the most likely reason is that your location was not photographed in that particular year. Aerial coverage varies significantly from year to year, and not every area was flown consistently.

Historically, coverage was driven by different programs with different priorities. USGS flights were often conducted for survey purposes and were not always repeated frequently, while USDA programs focused primarily on agricultural areas such as cropland, livestock regions, and forested land.

Because of these differing objectives, some areas were photographed more often than others, while some locations went longer between flights.

In general, many locations have coverage roughly once per decade, though combining multiple programs has resulted in some areas being covered more frequently.

Our archive is extensive and continues to grow as new imagery is processed and added.

If you believe imagery is missing due to a data error or incomplete coverage, please contact us, and our team will review it.

All imagery is orthorectified and georeferenced, allowing consistent alignment across years for reliable comparison, while spatial accuracy varies slightly depending on the original source and year. Dates come directly from the original film scans or associated flight indexes.

Downloads are available in JPG, PNG, and GeoTIFF formats. The resolution and clarity you see in the viewer reflect the original quality of the aerial photo — what you see on screen is what you’ll get in your download. All downloaded images are delivered without Historic Aerials watermarks.

GeoTIFFs include embedded georeferencing data, allowing them to align automatically within GIS or CAD software.

No. You can purchase high-resolution images without a subscription. However, downloading 680x680 images, topographic maps, and using certain download/report features through credits requires an active subscription.

Subscribers receive monthly credits as part of their plan, along with an ad-free experience, minimal watermarks, and full-screen viewing.

Free users with an account can still save images to their Gallery and purchase high-resolution files separately.

Historic Aerials subscriptions enhance access to the platform by providing a monthly allocation of download credits and removing key viewing limitations.

Subscribers enjoy:

• Full-screen viewing
• Minimal watermarks in the viewer (all downloads are watermark-free)
• Ad-free experience
• Use of the Report Builder tool
• Monthly credits for 680x680 downloads and Report Builder use

Subscriptions are available for individuals and teams, with plans based on the number of users who need access. Credits refresh each month based on your billing date, and subscriptions renew automatically until canceled.

View subscription options →

A credit is a subscription-based unit used on Historic Aerials for selected downloadable products and tools. Credits are only used when downloading eligible items or using the Report Builder — simply browsing imagery does not consume credits.

Credits are used for:

• 680x680 JPG image downloads
• Building and downloading PDF reports in the Report Builder tool

Credits are included with subscription plans and refresh each billing cycle. They do not roll over from one cycle to the next.

Image clarity is based on the original imagery, not the size or price of the download.

Each subscription plan includes a monthly credit allowance. Most users find their monthly credits are sufficient for typical research and reporting needs.

Your credits automatically refresh on your billing date each month.

If you run out of credits, you’ll still be able to browse imagery, but additional downloads will not be available until your credits refresh or you upgrade to a plan with a higher monthly allowance.

Additional individual image purchases can still be made at any time.

No. Credits reset each billing cycle and do not roll over.

Purchased imagery is yours to use for personal or professional projects, reports, or exhibits. Redistribution or resale — commercial or otherwise — is not permitted without written authorization from Historic Aerials.

Yes. All of our imagery is georeferenced in orthomosaic format, so GeoTIFF files can be imported directly into GIS or CAD applications. This includes use in professional reports, presentations, and internal documentation. While we don’t provide formal certification, customers needing an affidavit of authenticity for legal purposes can generate and submit one using the purchased image data.

Yes. We offer high-quality prints through our aerial survey partner in 9-inch, 18-inch, and 36-inch sizes. Each print is produced using the same imagery available online. View print options and pricing →

Digital downloads are available immediately after purchase. Print orders are fulfilled by our third-party printing partner and typically arrive within 10–14 days.

You can cancel anytime by logging into your account and visiting your Dashboard → Subscription page. There, you can view your plan details, update payment information, and cancel your subscription.

When canceling, be sure to click the "Proceed" button to finalize the cancellation. Closing the window will not cancel your subscription.

We welcome user feedback and use it to help prioritize new areas for processing, though we cannot guarantee coverage for specific requests.

If you’d like to request imagery for a particular area, report a possible data issue, or flag missing or incorrect imagery, please contact us, and our team will review it.