 |
 |
 Early
European explorers of this country's vast geography made maps using a
variety of instruments, from compasses to survey chains. Cartography,
the science of mapping, is now high-tech.
 |
Cadastral or legal surveyors measure and establish
property boundaries and other land rights in the form of cadastral
parcels. Using modern mapping technology, the Legal Surveys Division
of Natural Resources Canada creates and maintains digital parcel mapping
information on Canada Lands. Canada Lands include First Nation Lands,
National Parks, the territories and the off-shore areas of Canada.
As well, the International Boundary Commission, as part of this group,
maintains the 8,891 kilometre-long U.S./Canada border. See more about
what this group does at www.lsd.nrcan.gc.ca
|
 |
Measuring and surveying the countryside is the first step in making
a map. Today surveyors often rely on global positioning system
(GPS) to pinpoint the latitude, longitude and elevation of
any where on earth. Commonly used GPS receivers read transmissions
from orbiting satellites to get an accuracy of +/- 100 meters. When
combined with other special techniques, an accurate reading to within
centimetres can be reached.
|
 |
Geodesy is the science of locating and relating
the position of objects on the earth and in relation to each other.
It all begins with a fixed reference point, and the most stable non-moving
object in the universe is a deep space quasars. The Geodetic Survey
Division uses the position of quasar, plus GPS satellite tracking
stations, to set up a network of permanent reference points which
are linked together to make a reference framework. These framework
points, or coordinates, are the fundamental skeleton which allows
surveys, maps, images and other digital information to fit together
when a map is made. To learn more, check out www.geod.nrcan.gc.ca
|
 |
Topographic Maps accurately show the topography,
or terrain features of an area. This includes mountains, hills, valleys
and plains. Topographic maps also show hydrographic features, such
as lakes, rivers and streams. Many features built by people are shown
on the maps, such as cities and towns, schools, buildings, roads,
railways and power lines. Since they are very detailed, topographic
maps are useful for recreational activities like canoeing, fishing,
hiking, orienteering and snowmobiling. They are also used by governments
and industries to respond to emergencies, manage natural resources
and study the environment.
|
 |
National Topographic System of Canada divides the
entire country into a grid of individual topographic map sheets, determined
by the area's latitude and longitude. They come in two scales, 1:250,000
and 1:50,000. A 1:250,000 scale map covers a large area with a medium
level of detail, while a 1:50,000 scale map has more geographic detail,
but covers a smaller area. Natural Resources Canada's topographic
maps are available both on paper and on CD-ROM. To find out more about
topographic maps, check out the Maps 101 site at maps.nrcan.gc.ca
|
 |
To make maps Canada has been photographed from the air for over
70 years. Every square kilometre of country has now been photographed
and many areas have been re-photographed several times. Aerial
photographs have been used by the federal government to produce
topographic maps through a process called "stereo-compilation".
Aerial photos are also used for environmental assessment, urban planning
and for land claims. Over six million aerial photographs are archived
at the National Air Photo Library in Ottawa, and are available to
the public. Visit their web site at: airphotos.nrcan.gc.ca
|
 |
When a geographic area is very remote Canada's RADARSAT satellite
takes remote sensing images and collects data for
map makers. The Canada Centre for Remote Sensing uses earth observation
satellite information for many other things, such as monitoring crops,
vegetation and forest fires. RADARSAT 2, with state-of-the-art Canadian
systems and technologies, will be launched in 2001. Learn more about
it at www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca
|
 |
Toponyms, or geographical names, are added to
maps to identify landscape features. They may sometimes also reveal
interesting things about the local history of an area. In Canada,
place names on official maps must be authorized through the Geographical
Names Board of Canada. To find out more about place and feature
names in Canada, visit their web site at: geonames.nrcan.gc.ca
|
 |
Computers and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
software bring together the diverse data from surveys, position readings,
aerial photographs, satellite images and geographical names to make
a map. The information is layered on top of each using the geodetic
framework to help them fit together properly. Titles, legends and
other cartographic information are then added to make a map. Although
many of the resulting maps are still printed on paper, digital maps
are now very popular. Most of the maps produced by Natural Resources
Canada are available in either format.
|
 |
For over one hundred years, the National Atlas of Canada
has described Canada's physical, economic and social geography with
a collection of maps, graphs and tables. The Atlas's sixth edition
is now available entirely on the Internet, where users can view and
download up-to-date maps, build their own maps, and have access to
a wide variety of related information services. Classes can even join
the Canadian Communities Atlas network of schools. Check it out at
www.atlas.gc.ca |
|
