Official USGS/EROS portal for Landsat, SRTM, and other Earth archives. USGS-authored scientific content is U.S. public domain — strong source for SRTM/3DEP-style heightmaps and satellite textures. Expect GIS reprojection/downsample before runtime use.
At a glance
Licence
public-domain
Commercial use
commercial OK
Credit
Not required
Status
active: License spot-checked at the source; the entry carries dated evidence.
Free account may be required for downloads. Portal had scheduled maintenance notices in Jul 2026.
Third-party / copyrighted embeds on USGS pages are marked separately — those need permission; do not assume every EarthExplorer hit is PD.
SRTM 1″ media on USGS is explicitly labeled Public Domain. For reprocessed global DEMs prefer nasadem.
Evidence
Live USGS Copyrights and Credits (2026-08-24): USGS information/products “are considered to be in the U.S. Public Domain” (with noted exceptions for third-party material).
Live EROS SRTM page / media: “Sources/Usage: Public Domain.” (SRTM product page returned 403 on 2026-08-24; copyrights page is the grant used.)