I am new to this Permaculture philosophy. I live in Central Texas and would like to know where one goes to
get Topography maps for one's land? I would like to use these maps for swales and the right place to create
a pond. Also, what would be a good book for Permaculture Design for beginners like me?
Most states have GIS (Geographic information systems) data for anyone to use. It depends on the state though.
http://www.tceq.texas.gov/publications/maps.html I didn't check through the website much, but assuming you don't have GIS training, a looked for an online map viewer.
For any area of the country, go to
http://www.mytopo.com/search.cfm?type=pns You can choose Topo, Aerial, or a combo Topo/Aerial.
Follow all 5 steps. You can stop before clicking "Add to cart".
You can also download them directly from the USGS website.
Type a location into the search box, click the pin it places or place a new pin in another quad. In the box that appears click the file size of a 7.5 minute quad to download a zip file containing a pdf. I kinda prefer the old maps to the 2011 revisions but the new ones have their uses too.