USGS Headquarters, Virginia

The Unites States Geological Survey is part of the Department of Interior, and focused on locating natural resources, and collecting information to help manage natural hazards, such as floods and earthquakes. It was the nation’s principal civilian mapping agency, producing national maps at various scales, including 57,000 separate topographic maps that covered the nation at a 1:24,000 scale (with the exception of much of Alaska). The last of these maps was updated in 1992, and digital mapping resources have replaced them. The USGS is also the official manager of place names in the USA. It divides the nation into 12 regions, and has around 8,500 employees, and a budget just over $1 billion. It is headqurtered in its own office campus in Reston, Virginia, between DC and Dulles Airport.