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National Land and Water Information Service

On-line Mapping Applications and Open Geospatial Web Services

Interactive Applications

Web Browser Requirements for Interactive Maps:
Applications were designed using Internet Explorer 6, and Firefox Browsers. Other browsers may work, but they are not tested. Requires Javascript and sometimes Java to be enabled. Please contact us (infocansis@agr.gc.ca) if you have problems.

Soil Landscapes of Canada

Version 3.0
Interactive Map

Click for Interactive Map! Version 2.2
Interactive Map
Soil Landscapes of Canada (SLCs) describe the major characteristics of soil and land for the whole country. SLCs were compiled at a scale of 1:1 million, and information is organized according to a uniform national set of soil and landscape criteria based on permanent natural attributes. More Info
Ecosystem Framework
Click for Interactive Map! Interactive Map

Open Web Services:
WMS GetCapabilities
WFS GetCapabilities
Ecozones Context Document
The National Ecological Framework provides a consistent, national spatial context within which ecosystems at various levels of generalization can be described, monitored, and reported on. The use of such a framework of standard ecological units provides for common communication and reporting between different jurisdictions and disciplines, and provides a common ground to report on the state of the environment and the sustainability of ecosystems in Canada. More Info
Plant Hardiness Zones
Click for Interactive Map! 1967: Interactive Map

Open Web Services:
WMS GetCapabilities
Download Context Document
Click for Interactive Map! 2000: Interactive Map

Open Web Services:
WMS GetCapabilities
Download Context Document
The Plant Hardiness Zones map outlines the different zones in Canada where various types of trees, shrubs and flowers will most likely survive. It is based on the average climatic conditions of each area. In 1967, Agriculture Canada scientists created a plant hardiness map using Canadian plant survival data and a wide range of climatic variables. The 2000 map reflects the updated map created by Natural Resources Canada's Canadian Forest Service using the same variables and more recent climate data (1961-90). More Info
Cropheat Units for Eastern Canada
Click for Interactive Map! Interactive Map

The Corn Heat Unit system, now also known as Crop Heat Units (CHU), was developed in the 1960's and is used to recommend corn hybrids and soybean varieties which are best suited for production in specific CHU zones in various regions of Canada. More Info
Agro-Pedological Atlas of South Eastern Montreal Plain, Quebec
Click for Interactive Map! Interactive Map

Open Web Services:
WMS GetCapabilities
WFS GetCapabilities
The Agro-Pedological Atlas is a set of interactive maps which show the characteristics, the fertility, the quality of the water regime, the vulnerability to degradation and the potential of the agricultural soils and land in the Monteregian region of the province of Quebec.

Interactive Data Download

Detailed Soil Survey Index
Click for Interactive Map! Interactive Map
Soil surveys have been published for most of the agricultural areas, and many surrounding areas, across Canada. Data from these surveys comprise the most detailed soil inventory information in the NSDB. More Info
Canada Land Inventory for Agriculture Index
Click for Interactive Map! Interactive Map
The Canada Land Inventory is a comprehensive multi-disciplinary land inventory of rural Canada, covering over 2.5 million square kilometers of land and water . In the late 1990's, CanSIS converted the original CLI Agriculture datasets to a component-based file structure. This site provides access to those datasets. More Info

Open Geospatial Web Services

What are Open Geospatial Web Services?
Open Geospatial Web Services are online services that allow others to access data and maps hosted by another group using interoperable technology. The specifications for serving these services are defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).

There are several types of services and documents defined by OGC. Web Map Service (WMS), Web Feature Service (WFS) and Web Map Context Documents are a few of these. WMS Services are more commonly used to serve maps and map layers, and perform basic queries about these layers. WFS allows for data features (as GML) to be accessed directly. Web Context Documents are standard documents that describe a particular map derived from WMS Layers.

The services listed above can be used by any WMS/WFS enabled client application.

Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) GeoConnections is a national partnership initiative working to build the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI), which will make Canada's geospatial databases, tools and services readily accessible on-line. GeoConnections maintains a searchable registry of data sets and services available for use. Online training is also available from CGDI.
Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) The Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC) is a member-driven, non-profit international trade association that is leading the development of geoprocessing interoperability computing standards. OGC works with government, private industry, and academia to create open and extensible software application programming interfaces for geographic information systems (GIS) and other mainstream technologies.


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