Where can I find a topographer to ask about latest data on regional...

Who can I find that I can ask questions to regarding the topography of a region in the United States? I am particularly interested in if it is known what the land's shapes were prior to roads, buildings, etc?

LightningInAJar said:

I am particularly interested in if it is known what the land's shapes were prior to roads, buildings, etc?

How big is the area of interest?
When was the area developed and built?
How accurately do you need to know past topography?

There are often overlapping aerial photographs available from long ago. Those can provide a 3D image.

There are old contour maps available that were based on earlier surveys or air photos.

There are centimetre accurate topographic maps available from recent satellite radar mapping. How far back do side-scan or satellite radar records go of the area?

You may be able to identify and eliminate development, and so identify those parts of the area that have not been disturbed. Fitting a 3D surface to those undisturbed areas will interpolate across the development.

I was thinking about western new york state so maybe as much as 10,000 sq miles. I wish I better understood how much humans manipulate land to build real estate. Or perhaps our effect is less than we think? I know plenty of roads that are very slopped. I guess I'd like to see the most accurate topographic map of the region as far back in time as we have good measures of.

Specifically
https://www.usgs.gov/search?keywords=Topographic Maps
and
https://apps.nationalmap.gov/downloader/#/maps

I've used USGS in the past looking at certain areas of interest at different periods in time.

Otherwise, one would have to go to the State Archives in the particular US state of interest, which could take some time and effort depending on the state of the archives.

Astronuc said:

one would have to go to the State Archives in the particular US state of interest, which could take some time and effort depending on the state of the archives.

There are a couple different ways to parse this, Astro.

Astronuc said:

one would have to go to the State Archives in the particular US state of interest, which could take some time and effort depending on the state of the archives.

berkeman said:

There are a couple different ways to parse this, Astro.

And rightly so IMO, he was just saving electrons by being parsimonious; which you and I have just wasted!

berkeman said:

There are a couple different ways to parse this, Astro.

I was reflecting on the second question in the OP.

LightningInAJar said:

TL;DR Summary: Topography of developed land.

I am particularly interested in if it is known what the land's shapes were prior to roads, buildings, etc?

Depending on how far back one wants to go, small railroads built some of the earliest long distance transportation routes, aside from turnpikes and canals. Industries then built along side the rail lines, and towns grew up around railroads. Large, long distance railroads, received land grants, which they sold to settlers and investors to pay for the construction of the railroads.

Each railroad had detailed maps of their right of ways, and they might have filed maps/documents with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of the Department of Interior, but they definitely filed with each state in which they operated a rail line. Most large railroads incorporated smaller regional/local railroads, which were not under federal charter; small railroads were usually built within a state, so the state received the records for the real property, as well as the corporate records, e.g., various legal filings, contracts, taxes, etc.

Each state maintains corporate records in their archives, but some old records may have deteriorate or become lost (due to fire or water damage). Original charters, merger agreements, contracts and other legal documents make for interesting reading.

West of the Mississippi, railroads were given a lot of land to encourage development. Many valleys, rivers and streams, and mountains had to be crossed, and that required bridges, cuts and fills, viaducts, and tunnels. Most modern topographic maps will not show what the land looked like before the changes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Railroad_Acts
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc816361/m2/1/high_res_d/RL32140_2006May03.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkerboarding_(land)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_and_Ohio_Railroad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_Central_Railroad
Federal support, however, was not approved until 1850, when U.S. President Millard Fillmore signed a land grant for the construction of the railroad. The Illinois Central was the first land-grant railroad in the United States.

An example from Arkansas
https://digitalheritage.arkansas.gov/maps-collection/5/

In addition to the state archives, one may contact the state Land Office.

Interesting. I wonder if AI could effectively regenerate land where roads and buildings and bridges are with information of land that hasn't really been changed? I was thinking it might be fun if someone created an open world video game using real topography. Maybe even use augmented reality for viewing people scaping the nature world prior to humans.