Search our entire database of flights. Individual photos from digitized flights can be viewed online.

Aerial photos may be viewed:

• By Appointment
  • Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays between 1- 4 pm 
  • Schedule appointments via the Orange button below
  • At least one day in advance
• All Appointments
  • Check-in at the Media Desk, Digital Scholarship Commons, ground floor of McHenry Library (map).
• Directions and Parking for McHenry Library
  • Plan ahead for limited visitor parking 

• Aerial Photography  (USGS)
• Aster  (NASA)
  Selected satellite images of natural and human disasters.
• California Geographical Survey
  Includes panoramic aerial images & maps of Colorado and other Western states.
• Earth from Space  (NASA)
  Useful for cities and geographical regions worldwide.
• EROS Data Center (USGS)
• Google Earth 
  Free download allows worldwide search and zoom.
• Landsat (USGS)
• Map and Aerial Locator Tool (MALT)
  A spacially enabled, web-based aerial photo and map discovery tool
• Map and Imaging Library (UCSB)
• National Collection of Aerial Photography (UK)
  Imagery from 1940's and 50's from Scotland and Europe.
• TerraServer-USA 
  Worldwide, usually with multiple choices; US coverage more detailed
• UCB aerial photographs catalog covers most counties in California, including San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
• World Wind  (NASA)
  Software download allows creation of three-dimensional images worldwide.

Contact Us:
diginit@ucsc.edu
831-459-4508

Aerial photographs are vertical images (straight down) with stereo pairs for nearly all flights. Each flight record describes:

• Geographic extent of the flight
• Altitude of aircraft, scale of the resulting images
• Format and other important data 
• See What is an Aerial Photograph?

Types of photos:

• Black & White - Good contrast and detail. 
• Color - Sometimes easier to identify familiar objects using the color. Earliest color photos are from 1973.
• Color-Infrared - Shows landscape features that otherwise aren't very clear. See Understanding Color Infrared (CIR) Aerial Photography 

What is scale?

• Scale is the ratio between the size of the object in the photo compared to the actual size of the object, indicated by: 1:4200, 1:7200, etc. The smaller the number after the colon, the closer to the ground the picture was taken. 
• For examples, see UC Santa Barbara's explanation of Aerial Photography Scale 

What can you see?

• Larger features (e.g. shores, mountains, the larger rivers, etc.)  If the scale is under 1:15,000, possibly roads, parks, individual buildings, etc.
• Sequences of aerials of the same area 
• See Introduction to Aerial Photo Interpretation 

What can't you see?

• Small features if scale is over 1:15,000
• Buildings and structures that might be obstructed by trees