Microsoft Research Maps or MSR Maps was a free online repository of public domain aerial imagery and topographic maps provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The site was a collaboration between Microsoft Research (MSR), Bing Maps, and the USGS. It was under continuous operation from June 1998 until May 2012. It had 30,000 to 50,000 visitors per day as of January 2010. The site was renamed in 2010, prior to which it had been known as TerraServer-USA (formerly Microsoft TerraServer).
The site had black and white USGS aerial photographs of approximately 97% of the United States. In 2000, the USGS launched the new Urban Areas program, which will ultimately take high-resolution color aerial photographs of about 100 major American cities. TerraServer had Urban Areas data for 40 cities.
Read more about Microsoft Research Maps: History
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