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Aerial Photographs: Access and Use

Information about aerial images available at WWU's Center for Pacific Northwest Studies and elsewhere.

Aerial Photographs at CPNWS

A significant collection of aerial photographs was transferred to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies from its former home at the Huxley Map Library in Arntzen Hall, in 2011. The collection contains over 30,000 individual aerial images from aerial surveys conducted in different areas of the Pacific Northwest (including northwest counties and National Forest Lands in Washington State), as well as outside areas. See below for more details of coverage.

The majority of images in the collection are from aerial surveys conducted by US government agencies, including the USDA Forest Service and Washington Department of Natural Resources.

Related Resources at WWU

Accessing the Collection

 View Guide to the Collection of Aerial Photographs

The collection is open to the public for research and can be accessed at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies (in the Goltz-Murray Archives Building). Due to the size and complexity of the collection, researchers are asked to contact CPNWS in advance and set up an appointment to access aerial images.

When contacting CPNWS, please provide us with as much information as possible about the area(s) of interest to you. For example:

  1. Name(s) of towns, locations or geographical features.
  2. Coordinates and/or Township/Range and Section information.
  3. Time period that you are interested in.

 

CPNWS staff will be pleased to retrieve aerial photographs and survey index maps and to assist researchers in their use. Please note:

  • Resources do not circulate and may not be checked out of the Archives Building.
  • In many cases, it will be possible for CPNWS staff to scan or photocopy images. All copies will be made in accordance with the CPNWS duplication policies and fee schedule. Self-service copying or scanning is not permitted.
  • Researchers should expect to spend some time working with different index sheets and sets of photographs. CPNWS staff are glad to assist and retrieve materials, but cannot do extended research for you.

Credit

This libguide was created originally by Evan Thornberry for Huxley Map Library, with subsequent additions by Rob Lopresti and CPNWS staff.