A 1955 Alachua County aerial photograph showing the Santa Fe River emerging after its 3-mile journey underground. The river disappears underground through a sinkhole in O'Leno State Park and reemerges in the nearby River Rise Preserve State Park.
The University of Florida Map & Imagery Library houses the largest and most complete collection of Florida aerial photographs (~160,000 photos) outside of the National Archives. These photos document the dramatic changes in Florida’s land use between 1937 and 1990.
Originally intended to assist farmers in accurately assessing their farms and to provide information on crop determination and soil conservation, today these images provide some of the oldest land use/cover information available. They are used extensively in agriculture, conservation, urbanization, recreation, education, hydrology, geology, land use, ecology, geography, and history.
The online Aerial Photography: Florida Collection can be used to access and download aerial photographs from the library’s extensive collection. The years available vary by county but extend from 1937 to 1990.
You can browse the collection, find flights by county, or conduct a map search. More information about how to navigate the collection is available here.
|
