Map Collection
The library holdings include National Topographic Maps for Canada and thematic maps on a variety of subjects (geology, soils, climate, resources, vegetation, land use, forestry, wildlife, etc. (Photographer: R. Cann)
The GIC has approximately 52,000 maps specializing in BC and Canada. The GIC has a collection of National Topographic Maps for Canada at scales from 1:25,000 (large scale) to 1:1 million (small scale). All maps are filed by their N.T.S. number. To locate a map, first find your area on one of the 3 index maps for Canada located on top of the first map chest. Select the scale, decide whether you wish to find a map with a lot of detail and information (1:50,000), or whether you wish to view a larger area in less detail (1:250,000 or 1:1,000,000). Find the correct index map and determine the N.T.S. number, and then go to the number located on the drawers of the map chests to find the map.
Thematic maps on a variety of subjects such as: geology, terrain, soils, climate, resources, vegetation, land use, forestry, wildlife, minerals, etc are available - mainly for BC, other provinces in Canada and Canada as a whole.
To find a thematic map, look for the area sign on the map chest and then locate the drawer labeled with the required topic. Check with the reference desk if you have a problem locating a particular item. Maps are for use in the library only; teaching maps may be borrowed for classroom and seminar use for limited time periods.
Digital Data
The GIC has some data in digital format:
- 1994 Colour air photos for the GVRD at 4m resolution
- Selected NTS 1:250,000 topographic sheets
Other Sources of Digital Data
On-campus
Off-Campus (by application)
- Terrain Resource Inventory Mapping (TRIM) (by application)
TRIM data is free for research purposes to members of the UBC community. You have to fill out an Internet application form. The contact person at MRSM is Susan Lindner. Data access is project specific and cannot be transferred to other research projects. TRIM data must be deleted after the research is completed. The approval may take up to two weeks.
- Forest Cover (by application)
BC Ministry of Forests, Forest Cover data is free for research purposes but has to be applied for and downloaded from the Ministry. The contact person at the MoF is Anja Tolman. (Application
form in Word format)
Off-Campus (free download)
- BC Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management
- GIS Data FTP Site
This site contains provincial datasets at a number of scales, in ArcInfo coverage format, BC Albers projection. Each dataset has an ASCII metadata file.
- Natural Resources Canada - GeoGratis
This site contains federal vector and satellite imagery datasets at a number of scales, formats, and projections. Each dataset has a web metadata page describing the data at different levels of detail. Some of the satellite data can be very large.
- Geobase
Geobase is a national initiative under which federal, provincial, territorial and municipal government data stakeholders agree to cooperate and work collectively, to ensure the availability of high-quality geospatial base information covering the entire Canadian landmass.
- Geocomm's GIS Data Depot
You need to sign up for a free account to download data.
- The Geography Network
This is a global network of geographic information users and providers. It provides the infrastructure required to support the sharing of geographic information among data providers, service providers, and users around the world. You can access many types of geographic content including dynamic maps, downloadable data, and more advanced Web services.
