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NationalBaseMap (MapServer)

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Service Description: The National Base Map delivers seamless, full-colour topographic mapping for all of Australia, encompassing the mainland, outer islands such as Norfolk, Lord Howe, and Macquarie, as well as external territories including Cocos (Keeling), Christmas, Heard and McDonald Islands, and the Australian Antarctic Territory. This comprehensive mapping service integrates authoritative data from a range of providers, ensuring consistent and reliable coverage across diverse geographic regions. The map incorporates a mix of legacy and contemporary datasets. Where new or updated data sources are available, they are integrated to ensure the map reflects the most current information. However, for features that are not subject to frequent change such as geological formations, remote infrastructure, or long-established cultural features or where no newer data exists, older datasets are retained to maintain completeness and continuity. For Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the data is sourced from the Edition 1 NATMAP Topographic Mapping datasets at scales of 1:30,000 and 1:25,000 respectively. Mainland Australia is represented using Geoscience Australia’s GEODATA TOPO 250K product for scales beyond 1:100,000, while OpenStreetMap data is used for scales of 1:100,000 and larger to provide enhanced local detail. Suburb boundaries are derived from the 2018 and 2020 datasets provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. A range of recently updated thematic datasets has been included to enhance its accuracy and relevance. Vegetation data is aggregated from the National Vegetation Information System (NVIS) version 6.0, Forests of Australia (2018), and Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia (2020). Road networks are sourced from Geoscape data as of February 2023, while railway infrastructure, including stations and crossings, is compiled from Geoscape, Foundation Rail (eCat 145400), and Defence datasets from 2019. Protected areas are represented using the Collaborative Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) version 2022. Aircraft facilities have been updated using GEODATA Series 3 and Geoscape data, along with currently unmaintained, select foundation data which still remains relevant for features that are not subject to frequent change. Homestead data is a composite of multiple sources including the Gazetteer of Australia (2023), Heritage Tasmania (2024), NSW Government building complex points (2023), GA data for Victoria - location only verified (2006–2011), QLD Govt - QSpatial Homesteads dataset (2024), and Heritage Victoria, Victorian Heritage Database (2024). Built-up areas are derived from Bing Building Footprints captured between 2013 and 2018. Lighthouse data is compiled from Marine Infrastructure Points GEODATA Series 3, OpenStreetMap Lighthouses (2024), Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) Aids to Navigation (2015), and other online resources. Localities data reflects the latest updates from the AUSTopo 250K maps. The map portrays detailed graphic representations of features that appear on the Earth's surface, including cultural, hydrographic, marine, transport, vegetation, and relief elements. Topographic information was initially checked using satellite imagery in 2008 and supplemented with additional sources in 2025. While originally limited field verification has been conducted, users should note that some information may not be accurate. Elevation data is represented using NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) dataset acquired in February 2000 and released under Creative Commons licensing in 2011. This dataset underwent processing to remove stripes, fill voids, and correct vegetation offsets, as detailed in the SRTM Derived Products User Guide (Geoscience Australia, 2011). Bathymetry imagery is sourced from Natural Earth, which provides free vector and raster map data via naturalearthdata.com. Geoscience Australia gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the Attorney General’s Department (Territories of Australia), the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Parks Australia), and all other data providers who supported the development and enrichment of this mapping product.

Map Name: National Base Map

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Layers: Description: The National Base Map service provides seamless topographic colour mapping for the whole of Australia, including the outer islands of Norfolk, Lord Howe & Macquarie Islands, the external territories of Cocos (Keeling), Christmas, Heard and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic Territory. The service consists of data sourced from Geoscience Australia, Australian Antarctic Division & OpenStreetMap. The data for Christmas Island has been sourced from the Christmas Island Edition 1 NATMAP Topographic Mapping dataset (1:30,000 scale). The data for Cocos (Keeling) Islands has been sourced from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Edition 1 NATMAP Topographic Mapping dataset (1:25,000 scale). Vegetaion for the the Australian continent is an aggregated layer from ACLUMP (Australian Collaborative Land Use and Management Program). The topographic information was checked in 2008 using satellite imagery, and supplemented using other sources in 2009. Limited field checking has been undertaken for these data and therefore some information may not be accurate. Information and assistance was supplied by the Attorney General's Department (Territories of Australia) and Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Parks Australia). Geoscience Australia gratefully acknowledges contibutions to data content.) When viewing the map of mainland Australia beyond 1:100,000 scale, the data is derived from the Geoscience Australia GEODATA TOPO 250K product, except roads which are OpenStreetMap data, and in from 1:100,000 scale the data is derived from OpenStreetMap data ( © OpenStreetMap contributors). The suburbs layer is sourced from the Suburb 2018 and 2020 data, Australian Bureau of Statistics. The map portrays detailed graphic representations of features that appear on the Earth's surface. These features include cultural, hydrography, marine, transport, vegetation and relief themes. The SRTM data was acquired by NASA in February 2000 and was publicly released under Creative Commons licensing from November 2011 in ESRI Grid format. The SRTM DEM has quite different characteristics to DEMs derived by interpolation from topographic data. The SRTM data is derived from radar measurements that are dense (there is essentially a measurement at almost every grid cell) but noisy. The main processing of the SRTM DEM product has included: stripe removal, void filling and vegetation offset removal. Processing methods are further described in the 1 and 3 second SRTM Derived Products User Guide (Geoscience Australia, 2011). The bathymetry image used for this map is sourced from Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

Copyright Text: © Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2025. This product is released under the © Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2025. This product is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. NSW Land Registry Services (LRS), Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development (MRRD), Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), South Australian Department for Environment and Water (DEW), Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE), Western Australian Land Information Authority (Landgate), OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Natural Earth Data, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Attorney-General's Department (Territories of Australia), Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Victorian Department of Transport and Planning (DTP), Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO), Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), ©Ibbotson, J 2001 Lighthouses of Australia: Images from the End of an Era, Australian Lighthouse Traders, Surrey Hills, © Admiralty List of Lights and Fog Signals: Indian and Pacific Oceans, South of the Equator 2004, United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Somerset, Copyright © 2025 OLL - Online List of Lights, © 1999-2025 Garry Searle, © Copyright International Hydrographic Organization 2021, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), World of Lighthouses, © 2018 CC-By (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License) - City of Melbourne Open Data Team, Geoscience Australia and Australian Antarctic Division, © Victorian Department of Transport and Planning

Spatial Reference: 102100  (3857)  LatestVCSWkid(0)


Single Fused Map Cache: true

Tile Info: Initial Extent: Full Extent: Units: esriMeters

Supported Image Format Types: PNG32,PNG24,PNG,JPG,DIB,TIFF,EMF,PS,PDF,GIF,SVG,SVGZ,BMP

Document Info: Supports Dynamic Layers: false

MaxRecordCount: 1000

MaxImageHeight: 4096

MaxImageWidth: 4096

Supported Query Formats: JSON, geoJSON

Supports Query Data Elements:

Min Scale: 5.91657527591555E8

Max Scale: 9027.977411

Supports Datum Transformation: true



Child Resources:   Info

Supported Operations:   Export Map   Identify   QueryLegends   QueryDomains   Find   Return Updates