Lidar - Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing technique that utilizes light in the form of a rapidly pulsed laser to measure return distances from the Earth captured by a sensor at the source of the pulse. These combined pulse return measurements with additional spatial and temporal data recorded by the acquisition system (airborne or terrestrial) produce a three-dimensional (3-D), detailed representation of the shape of the Earth illuminating its surface characteristics.
TNRIS acquires lidar data through partnerships with other federal and state agencies through the StratMap Contract, which operates through the Texas Department of Information Resources (TxDIR).
Bulk copies of all lidar datasets are available at reproduction cost through our Research and Distribution center. Copies onto hard drives can be requested through the DataHub.
Lidar coverage varies across the state. Lidar coverage and project details (date, nominal point spacing, vendor, etc.) can be found on the Lidar Status Map. All details about each dataset in our collection can be found in the supplemental reports for each project.
You can download an index of best available lidar data at TNRIS. This index represents the best available data and not complete coverage of all collections, especially where new collections overlap older collections.
Lidar goes beyond traditional bare earth digital elevation models (DEMs) by producing point cloud information that can be classified into existing features such as vegetation and man-made structures.