mantle placeHow to get aerial imagery for site context
Where site-context aerial imagery comes from, what resolution to expect, and how to get it ready to use.
For site context you want orthorectified aerial or satellite imagery covering your area, at a resolution fine enough to read streets, buildings, and ground cover. In the US, sub-meter NAIP aerial imagery is the workhorse; elsewhere, satellite imagery at around ten metres is the global baseline. The catch is getting it ready to use: raw tiles arrive in provider-specific formats and projections that still need clipping, stitching, and aligning to your other layers. Mantle Place packages imagery for the exact area you draw — NAIP where it is available, global imagery otherwise — clipped to your extent and delivered as files that drop into your design tools alongside matching terrain and basemap, so the ground texture lines up with everything else.
how to do it
Pick the area and resolution
Decide the extent you need and how fine the imagery must read. Tighter areas keep file sizes manageable while preserving detail.
Choose a source
Use sub-meter NAIP for US sites and global satellite imagery elsewhere. Mantle Place selects the best available source for your area automatically.
Clip to your extent
Crop the imagery to your area so it matches the terrain and basemap rather than shipping a whole oversized tile.
Bring it into your tool
Drop the GeoTIFF or draped imagery into your design tool so the ground texture aligns with your model.
frequently asked
What resolution is aerial imagery for site context?
In the US, NAIP provides sub-meter aerial imagery; globally the baseline is around ten-metre satellite imagery. Mantle Place uses the finest source available for your area.
Is the imagery ready to use or do I have to process it?
Mantle Place clips the imagery to your area and delivers it ready to drop in, so you skip the stitching, reprojection, and alignment that raw provider tiles require.
Can I use the imagery commercially?
Yes. Every bundle ships with clear license and attribution, delivered as a Produced Work so it is cleared for commercial site-context work.
Get the data for your site.
Draw your area, see the price, and download an owned bundle — terrain, imagery, and basemap ready for Unreal Engine, Blender, and your CAD tools.