Topo USA 4.0

Look up obscure country lanes, view 3-D topographical maps of national landmarks like the Hoover Dam or Mount Saint Helen's, and navigate the complicated roadways of America's biggest cities with Topo USA 4.0, a seven CD-set that puts the whole country at your fingertips.

Designed to be compatible with GPS devices and handheld computers like the PalmPilot, Topo USA 4.0 can work out routes for road trips, locate obscure locales within the U.S., and even find hiking trails before you embark on a walking tour. For those with fewer gadgets, the program is still useful--you can build your own maps, customize them to an extraordinary degree, and print them out for trips and outings.

It takes a bit of work to learn the ropes with Topo USA 4.0, and some of its GPS features are available only as extras from the software manufacturer, Delorme. With a bit of practice, however, users will find the program runs smoothly and without glitches, providing topographical and two-dimensional maps of every portion of the United States, at a high level of detail. Add to this the ability to filter out any information that isn't of interest, and the updates to the map database that are available on the Web, and the result is a powerful interactive atlas, a thoroughly useful guide for getting around the USA. --Alyx Dellamonica

Topo USA 4.0 delivers amazing versatility and highly detailed topographical maps of the entire U.S. New with this release is split-screen viewing that lets you look at 2-D and 3-D maps side by side. Hover your cursor over the 2-D map and see its position echoed on the 3-D map. Linked drawing tools mark both maps simultaneously, while the zoom level of each split-screen image adjusts independently. Add your own trails and road routes--a DeLorme exclusive. Draw in trails or roads anywhere on the map and they become part of the routing network--it's that easy. Plus, you receive a free color satellite imagery download.

A range of features makes Topo USA 4.0 a must-have. Newly added trails and roads are listed directly in the program's search engine, making searching simple. It also includes GPS tracking in 3-D and easier waypoint management. Track your position on both 2-D and 3-D maps using your laptop and DeLorme's Earthmate GPS receiver. Its waypoint wizard downloads tracks from Garmin, Brunton, Magellan, and other compatible handheld GPS receivers. Topo USA 4.0 also makes it easy to load other DeLorme data sets and more than 300,000 miles of updated trails, including those of national parks and ranger districts, from its database. Enjoy instant elevation profiles of routes, roads, trails, and other features; 29 new map symbols; and complete printing capabilities that let you print 3-D mural maps and much more.