GIS/Mapping

Lewis & Clark County GIS map  

Our mission is to improve access to, and the use of, geographic information. What is a geographic information system (GIS)? A GIS is a specific piece of computer software that allows the user to store, maintain, analyze, and display geographic and spatial information. In local government, 70-80% of all information gathered and utilized is geographically referenced. We strive to provide the most current city and county spatial data utilizing the most enhanced applications available to us; doing so will provide further knowledge, education, and importance of GIS to all private and public entities. The following are examples of GIS data that are continually analyzed and maintained:

  • Parcel ownership
  • Zoning boundaries
  • Roads
  • Addresses
  • Sewer and storm system
               ESRI logoSpecial Achievement in GIS logo

Interactive Mapping Sites/Open Data

Interactive Mapping Sites and Story Maps are now accessible on the Lewis and Clark County/City of Helena Open Data Site

All interactive sites are compatible with any device.

Completed Maps

The City-County GIS Center has multiple existing maps available for purchase or download. All completed maps are available for free in PDF format online.

* Our GIS Center is unable to provide custom mapping for the public. We can only provide copies of our standard map products.

* Please visit our Open Data site for interactive mapping applications.

Web Services

Web services can be utilized to access GIS data - without actually downloading the data. Connect to these web services with ArcGIS software; please visit Esri's website for instructions. Services and data are also available on our Open Data site.

https://www.helenamontanamaps.org/arcgisadp/rest/services/OpenData

Aerial Imagery

We have aerial photography of the Helena area from various flights; 2018, 2012, 2006, 2004, and 2001.

2012 Aerial Photo Project

The 2012 aerial photography is an orthorectified mosaic of true color aerial photos from a May, 2012 flight. The horizontal resolution of the images is 0.15 - meter pixel (6-inch). The Sanborn Map Company, Inc., of Colorado Springs , CO collected and prepared the 2012 aerial photography for the Lewis & Clark / City of Helena GIS Services.

The 2012 photography are available upon request in geo-referenced TIFF format. The TIFF photos are maintained by quarter section grid tile and are approximately 125 MB per tile. Due to the size of these files, it is recommended that a portable hard-drive be provided to us as part of any request for these images.

Planimetric and contour data are available in Esri file-geodatabase format and AutoCAD format by quarter section grid tiles as well.

The 2012 photography can be viewed in any of our Interactive map sites by selecting 2012 Esri World Imagery in the map layer table of contents.

2006 Aerial Photo Project

The 2006 aerial photography is an orthorectified mosaic of true color aerial photos from the April 20, 2006 flight. The horizontal resolution of the images is 0.15 - meter pixel. Infotech Enterprises America, Inc., of Sterling, Virginia prepared the 2006 aerial photography for the City of Helena - Lewis and Clark County GIS Services. A copy of the data was presented to the State Library for public distribution.

To obtain digital copies of the 2006 photography click here: Montana State Library

Flight: April 2006, Horizontal Accuracy (Meters):15, Map Scale: 1200, Format: B&W tiff, Planimetrics: Yes

2004 Aerial Photo Project

The 2004 aerial photography is an orthorectified mosaic of natural-color aerial photos from the April 26, 2004 flight. The horizontal resolution of the images is one-foot pixels. Surdex Corporation of Saint Louis, Missouri prepared the 2004 aerial photography for the City of Helena - Lewis and Clark County GIS Center, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The GIS Center presented a copy of the data to the State Library as GeoTIFF images in UTM coordinates with a resolution of 0.3 meters. The Library converted the images to State Plane Coordinates and re-sampled the resolution to one foot (0.3048 meters) for public distribution.

To obtain digital copies of the 2004 photography click here: Montana State Library

Flight: April 2004, Horizontal Accuracy (Meters):2, Map Scale: 2400, Format: B&W tiff, Planimetrics: No

2001 Aerial Photo Project

The 2001 aerial photography covers approximately 100 square miles. Digital ortho-rectified photography and plainimetric data are available for the cities of Helena and East Helena, and parts of the Helena Valley. The photography and planimetrics were mapped at two scales; 1"=100 feet and 1" = 200 feet, depending on area. The planimetrics consist of building footprints, road edges, hydrography, utilities, and contours. The digital data are in Montana State Plane Coordinates NAD83 meters.

Planimetric and contour data are available in ArcView shapefile format and AutoCAD rel. 14 format as section (200ft scale -5ft contours) or ¼ section (100 ft scale-2ft contours) tiles.

2001 photography are available upon request in geo-referenced TIFF format and MrSID compressed format (20:1 compression ratio). The uncompressed TIFF photos run approximately 40 MB per photo and may be viewed with any software that can view standard TIFF format. The MrSID compressed files require special software for viewing.

Flight: May 21, Horizontal Accuracy (Meters):2, Map Scale: 2400, Format: B&W tiff, Planimetrics: Yes

Addressing Office

The Addressing Office is responsible for the issuing of new addresses in Lewis and Clark County and the incorporated cities of Helena and East Helena. Duties include maintaining the Address and Road files, approving new road names and readdressing issues for Lewis and Clark County. 

Disclaimer

*IMPORTANT*

These data are NOT the official record

The data contained on our website are NOT the official records and may be inaccurate and incomplete!

Original and official copies of deeds, surveys, plats and ownership information, are available at the Lewis & Clark County Clerk and Recorder office. By using this GIS information, the user acknowledges and accepts full responsibility for verifying the correctness and the completeness of any of the information provided here.

The City of Helena and Lewis & Clark County do not warrant, either explicit or implied, the completeness or accuracy of the information provided. Additionally, the city and county accept no liability of any kind, including but not limited to any losses or damages that may result from the wrongful reliance on this information, and the user also accepts full responsibility for any subsequent use or reuse of the data, and shall be solely responsible for results or any damages which may result from the use of any of these data. This map does not necessarily depict road ownership or maintenance, either public or private. Nor, does it necessarily depict all roadways in the county.

The data shown on our website map were derived from various sources at different scales for a variety of purposes, and there is great variability in the spatial accuracy of the different data sets. Therefore, there may be some mis-alignment between data sets and layers.