The National Air Photo Library (NAPL) of Natural Resources Canada archives over six million aerial photographs covering all of Canada, some of which date back to the 1920s. Aerial photographs have many practical uses, such as map compilation, urban and rural planning, environmental impact assessment, civil law cases, real-estate evaluation, outdoor recreation, and even wall art. NAPL indexes and stores federal aerial photography for Canada, and maintains a comprehensive historical archive and public reference centre.

NAPL On-Line allows clients to search and retrieve metadata for over three million air photos using several criteria, including official place name, geographical coordinate, National Topographic System map number, or Roll and Photo number. NAPL On-Line visually depicts the ’footprint’ of air photos on a seamless map background. After a search is completed, the air photos can be ordered from NAPL.