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Most Canadians were first introduced to their
country as school children through their Atlas of
Canada. The big, pale pink land mass that was
identified as Canada in printed books has now
emerged in digital format with free online access --
and every colour under the sun. This year, Atlas of
Canada celebrates its 100th anniversary with a
commitment "to provide the most interesting,
dynamic and comprehensive collection of maps and
related information about Canada available anywhere
on the Internet, with effective and intuitive tools
for users to access them."
The First Edition of the Atlas was published in 1906
when Canada was a nation of 7 million, 70 percent of
whom lived in small towns and rural areas. The Sixth
Edition, launched on the Internet in 1999, was one
of the world's first electronic online atlases. The
2006 edition represents a departure from the paper
map to a dynamic collection of interactive maps,
graphics, images and multimedia resources. Atlas
renderings, based on Web Map Service (WMS) software,
are no longer maps in the traditional sense of the
word, instead they are gif files which integrate and
overlay data and layers from diverse sources. For
instance, digital topographic maps draw on over
13,000 individual maps. Although printed versions
are accurate up to the time of printing, digital
maps are continually and automatically revised as
new source information is available. One Atlas
anniversary project involved the recent release of
the latest generation of topographical maps for all
of Canada. Digital Toporama maps represent free
access to the National Topographic System in an
easy-to-use mapping tool. Maps depict, in detail,
ground relief (landforms and terrain), drainage
(lakes and rivers), forest cover, administrative
areas, populated areas, transportation routes and
facilities (including roads and railways), and other
constructed features.
A 1/50,000 scale topographic map, which covers an
area approximately 1000 square kilometres,
accurately shows hills, valleys, lakes, rivers,
streams, rapids, portages, trails and wooded areas
as well as major, secondary and side roads and all
man-made features including buildings, power lines
and dams. This scale is useful for governments,
businesses and consumers in varied applications: *
Disaster prevention, environmental management and
emergency relief such as flood control and forest
fire control * Development and land use such as real
estate planning, development of natural resources,
environmental issues, right-of-way, highway planning
and depiction of crop areas. * Recreational
activities such as cycling, canoeing, snowmobiling,
fishing, camping and hiking * Communication
projects, including directions for visitors. A
1/250,000 scale topographic map provides a detailed
overview of a large area. These maps cover the same
area of land as sixteen 1/50,000 scale maps or an
area approximately the size of Prince Edward Island.
Here's some how-to ideas for Toporama maps: *
Explore Topographic Maps * Search for Names -- city,
town, lake or other feature etc., if necessary. *
Use Topographic Maps using word processing or
drawing/image software, select an image, copy it,
and paste it into your desk application or copy it
to disk. Maps may be modified. For instance,
Toporama has applications in geography and mapping
as a background map to which other information can
be added. * Topographic Mapping Tool Help, just in
case. The Canada Map Office no longer distributes
printed maps directly to the public, but uses a
dealer network available through the Yellow Pages.
Those interested in Digital Topographic Data have
four sources to search:
1. Topographic: National Resources Canada's Centre
for Topographic Information is responsible for the
acquisition, management and dissemination of
topographic information, including free Toporama
maps. 2. Quality, free geospatial information with
unrestricted use -- GeoBase is a federal, provincial
and territorial government initiative "to
ensure the provision of, and access to, a common,
up-to-date and maintained base of quality geospatial
data for all of Canada." For example, almost
1.1 million kilometres of the national road network,
spanning all Canadian provinces and territories, are
available for free downloading. 3. Data for purchase
-- The National Topographic Database is a digital
database for the entire Canadian landmass under
themes which include Hydrography, Vegetation, Power
Network and Manmade Features. 4. Free geospatial
data -- GeoGratis is a web and file transfer
protocol (ftp) site that distributes geospatial data
of Canada to a wide variety of clients familiar with
geographic information systems (GIS) image analysis
or desktop graphics.
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