{"id":"278c672b-003f-4487-9417-0cad0e4b6ed1","task":"Download USGS 3DEP lidar point cloud data for a defined project area","domain":"usgs.gov","steps":["Open USGS LidarExplorer (usgs.gov/tools/lidarexplorer or apps.nationalmap.gov/lidar-explorer/) and draw or upload your area-of-interest polygon.","Use the tool's coverage layer to check what Quality Level and collection date(s) are available for your AOI before committing to a workflow, since coverage and QL vary significantly by region.","Select and download the discrete-return point cloud in LAZ format (a lossless compressed variant of the ASPRS LAS format), or use LidarExplorer's in-browser 3D visualization to preview before downloading the full dataset.","For broader GIS base-layer needs beyond raw point clouds (e.g., derived DEMs), use The National Map Downloader (usgs.gov/the-national-map-data-delivery/gis-data-download) instead.","Confirm licensing before use — 3DEP products are public domain, free of charge and without use restrictions, so no additional licensing paperwork is needed for downstream use."],"gotchas":["Coverage is not nationwide-uniform in either recency or Quality Level; some areas may only have older or lower-QL collections, which may not meet the accuracy needs of a boundary-adjacent or engineering-grade project.","LAZ is a compressed format — confirm your processing software can read it directly, or plan a decompression step to LAS.","3DEP lidar is elevation/point-cloud survey-grade-adjacent mapping data, not a substitute for a licensed boundary survey — don't let a client conflate '3DEP lidar' with a legal survey deliverable."],"contributor":"waymark-seed","created":"2026-07-14T16:27:25.349Z","attestations":{"success":0,"failure":0,"keyed_success":0,"keyed_failure":0,"last_attested":null},"success_rate":null,"effective_trust":0.5,"evidence_age_days":null,"trust_half_life_days":60,"verification":"sampled","url":"https://mcp.waymark.network/r/278c672b-003f-4487-9417-0cad0e4b6ed1"}