Online Mapping

This page describes various ways of producing maps for backcountry navigation using online mapping tools.

GeoGratis CanMatrix

CanMatrix

GeoGratis has a large selection of geospatial data and maps for free, including Scans of the NTS topo maps (the same maps you would purchase). You can search by mapsheet (eg. 92j3) and click on the map you want.

iMapBC

iMapBC

iMapBC is a comprehensive online mapping application with numerous features, great for making your own maps. It is possible to import GPS waypoint data, mark locations, add UTM gridlines, create PDFs of maps, and lots more. For an example of what is possible see the PDF maps on the Brew Hut page under Access.

Adding UTM gridlines

1. Click Layers -> Add -> Base Layers
2. In the pop-up window, select the gridlines you want to add, e.g. "UTM Gridlines (1:1,000)"
3. In the main window, click "Refresh Map"

Marking locations on the map

1. Click Toolsets -> Markup
2. To add a location where you know the coordinates (e.g. a single GPS waypoint), click the "Add Coordinates to Map" button, then enter the coordinates
3. To add a point to the map by clicking on the location, use the "Add XY Location to Map" button

Importing multiple GPS waypoints

First create a spreadsheet of the waypoints, with an initial column numbering the waypoints, e.g.:

1	-123.31381	49.92509
2	-123.32506	49.93141
3	-123.33503	49.93537
4	-123.33706	49.93935

Save this as a .csv file, then you can import the waypoints into iMapBC as a new layer on the map:

1. Click Toolsets -> Analytical
2. Click the "Upload CSV" button ("a" on a page with an upload arrow)
3. Select the file and follow the instructions

TrailPeak

TrailPeak

It's possible to extract the GPS waypoint data from the google maps on TrailPeak (and then import them into iMapBC, for example). To do this (in firefox), the procedure is as follows:

1. right click on the small preview map
2. click "This Frame" -> "Show Only This Frame"
3. view the page source (CTRL+U)
4. The GPS data is in the Javascript - copy and paste into your favourite text editor
5. remove the latitudes and longitudes and paste into a spreadsheet
6. save as a .csv file
7. import into iMapBC as described above

Bivouac

Bivouac

(Somebody who has an account please describe mapping using Bivouac.)