State provides open access to high-resolution geo images

FRANKFORT — Kentucky is now the first state in the nation to capture oblique (side/angle view) photography of its entire geography from the sky.

The KYFromAbove Program and its contractor, NV5, achieved this milestone after pilots flew 2,600 flight lines over Kentucky’s landscape, traveling 117,000 miles and capturing 40,660 square miles of the land, including cities, towns, farms, lakes, mountains and more.

The accuracy and clarity of the new imagery provide an unprecedented aerial view of the state’s landscape and context for hundreds of map layers in state and local government agencies.

“This is an amazing resource that will improve public safety, all while boosting our infrastructure projects and economic development,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “These images will have an immediate impact because they can help first responders find and assist Kentuckians after a 911 call. And they’ll have a long-term impact as more companies and families choose to move to our new Kentucky home.” 

The imagery is now stored in a publicly accessible cloud available at no cost and at a high resolution of 3 inches, which is typically only available in larger cities. Every community across the state, even the smallest, has access to both oblique and ortho (top-down) imagery.

The KyFromAbove Explorer web application (based on Sanborn’s Oblique Analyst) has tools for measuring, exporting images and sharing locations with others.