What's New on the Geoscience Atlas? Click Here
Or select from the help topics below for guidance on how to use
the various features of the Atlas:
Atlas Tutorial (overview of the Atlas layers and tools)
Navigating the map (Zoom in and out, Pan)
Tools (Share
Map, Draw Graphics, Spatial Search, Add Map Service, Download, Queries)
Search (Location, Layers)
Base Maps (Topographic, Scanned
Topo, Outline Topo, Grey Topo, Grey Topo DEM)
Legend
Contents
Measure (Point coordinates, Line, Polygon)
Print (To Scale, Image, PDF, Legend)
Bookmarks
Help (Help, Contact, Department Website, Atlas Version)
Overview Map (Map location, Pan)
Link to other help files:
Search and Query Examples
General Email: GeoscienceOnline@gov.nl.ca
Navigating the Map
There are several ways to zoom and pan around the map:
- Hold down the shift key and drag a box on the map to zoom in
- Hold Down Ctrl+Shift to zoom out
- Roll your mouse roller to zoom in/out
- Drag the zoom slider to zoom in/out
- Click the map and drag your mouse to pan the map, while continuing to hold the mouse button down. Release the button to stop panning.
- Click the shaded box in the overview map and drag it to a new location to quickly pan the map.
Tools
- click on the Tool icon to roll down the list of tools; click on the icon again
to roll up the list.
1. Share Map
Creates a URL of the viewer at the current map extent. You can copy and paste this URL into an email to share with
clients and colleagues.Internet Explorer has a limit to the size of a URL. It is possible to create a URL that exceeds this limit when there
are many selected features.
2. Draw Graphics
Point: Click the Point icon, then to choose color and transparency options click on the small arrow next to the icon. Click any location on the map to place a
point symbol at that location.
Line: Click the Line icon, then to choose color and transparency options click on the small arrow next to the icon. Click on the map where to start the line, hold and drag to draw line, release to finish.
Polyline: Click the Polyline icon, then to choose color and transparency options click on the small arrow next to the icon. Click on the map where to start the line, click again to add vertices, double-click to finish.
Polygon: Click the Polygon icon, then to choose color and transparency options click on the small arrow next to the icon. Click any number of points on the map to create a polygon with many vertices. Double-click the mouse to finish the polygon.
Text: Click the Text icon, then click on the small arrow next to the icon to bring up the text options: Type the desired text in the ''free text'' box, choose the size, colour and transparency. Click a location on the map where you would like the text to appear.
Clear Drawing: Click the Clear Drawing icon. Select the item from the graphics list to remove and click the Clear Selected button to remove that object from the map, or select the Clear All button to remove all objects.
Stop Drawing: Click the Stop Drawing icon to indicate that you are finished adding lines, points and polygons to the map. Click Close to close the Draw Graphics box.
Line: Click the Line icon, then to choose color and transparency options click on the small arrow next to the icon. Click on the map where to start the line, hold and drag to draw line, release to finish.
Polyline: Click the Polyline icon, then to choose color and transparency options click on the small arrow next to the icon. Click on the map where to start the line, click again to add vertices, double-click to finish.
Polygon: Click the Polygon icon, then to choose color and transparency options click on the small arrow next to the icon. Click any number of points on the map to create a polygon with many vertices. Double-click the mouse to finish the polygon.
Text: Click the Text icon, then click on the small arrow next to the icon to bring up the text options: Type the desired text in the ''free text'' box, choose the size, colour and transparency. Click a location on the map where you would like the text to appear.
Clear Drawing: Click the Clear Drawing icon. Select the item from the graphics list to remove and click the Clear Selected button to remove that object from the map, or select the Clear All button to remove all objects.
Stop Drawing: Click the Stop Drawing icon to indicate that you are finished adding lines, points and polygons to the map. Click Close to close the Draw Graphics box.
3. Spatial Search
Select which feature to query from the dropdown list. A spatial search can be performed on features in the map display using either Graphic selection or Current selection.
Graphic: This type of search is based on graphics that have been drawn on the map display using the Draw tool. Previously created graphics are listed in a dropdown list and can be selected for use. Any features that overlap this selected feature will be highlighted on the map, while the records will be returned in the Results window. Click the Add icon to the right of the dropdown list to create a new graphic.
Current Results: This option bases a new search on any features overlapping a current selection. Once features have been returned in the results window, another feature can be selected from the dropdown list . Any features that overlap the current selection will be highlighted and their results will populate the Results window.
Once the type of selection has been established, you have the option to select a buffer distance and select the unit of measurement. Click the OK button to run the query.
Graphic: This type of search is based on graphics that have been drawn on the map display using the Draw tool. Previously created graphics are listed in a dropdown list and can be selected for use. Any features that overlap this selected feature will be highlighted on the map, while the records will be returned in the Results window. Click the Add icon to the right of the dropdown list to create a new graphic.
Current Results: This option bases a new search on any features overlapping a current selection. Once features have been returned in the results window, another feature can be selected from the dropdown list . Any features that overlap the current selection will be highlighted and their results will populate the Results window.
Once the type of selection has been established, you have the option to select a buffer distance and select the unit of measurement. Click the OK button to run the query.
4. Add Map Service
Click the Add Map Service tool to add, remove or reorder internal and/or external map services (REST services) in the viewer. The
dialog window will present the user with several tabs: Add, Remove and Reorder.
Add: Select the type of service required from the drop down; it will present ArcGIS Server, OGC (WMS) and GeoRSS as possible types. Type in the URL of the GIS server, WMS service or GeoRSS. There may be predefined URL's available in the dropdown such as ESRI's ArcGIS Online REST services. Click ‘Get Services ’. The URL for the NL Land Use Atlas is https://www.gov.nl.ca/landuseatlasmaps/rest/services. A list of available map services will appear in the drop down list; choose which service to add and click the ‘Add Service’ button. Go to the bottom of the Contents panel to see the new service and turn on the relevant layer. Some layer information is scale dependent and will only be displayed when zoomed in. When choosing the GeoRSS types it will allow you to choose from different colour symbols for your feeds. The map service or the GeoRSS feed will display in the viewer and will be added to the lists of services in the contents window.
Remove: From the list of added map services in the drop down, choose which service you would like removed and click the ‘Remove Service’ button. The map service will be removed from both the viewer and the lists of services in the contents window.
Reorder: Highlight a map service from the list of currently displayed map services, click the up or down arrow to move the service upwards in the list, click the ’Refresh Map’ button to change the draw order of the services as requested.
Add: Select the type of service required from the drop down; it will present ArcGIS Server, OGC (WMS) and GeoRSS as possible types. Type in the URL of the GIS server, WMS service or GeoRSS. There may be predefined URL's available in the dropdown such as ESRI's ArcGIS Online REST services. Click ‘Get Services ’. The URL for the NL Land Use Atlas is https://www.gov.nl.ca/landuseatlasmaps/rest/services. A list of available map services will appear in the drop down list; choose which service to add and click the ‘Add Service’ button. Go to the bottom of the Contents panel to see the new service and turn on the relevant layer. Some layer information is scale dependent and will only be displayed when zoomed in. When choosing the GeoRSS types it will allow you to choose from different colour symbols for your feeds. The map service or the GeoRSS feed will display in the viewer and will be added to the lists of services in the contents window.
Remove: From the list of added map services in the drop down, choose which service you would like removed and click the ‘Remove Service’ button. The map service will be removed from both the viewer and the lists of services in the contents window.
Reorder: Highlight a map service from the list of currently displayed map services, click the up or down arrow to move the service upwards in the list, click the ’Refresh Map’ button to change the draw order of the services as requested.
5. Download Data (Extract)
Click the ‘Download Data’ tool to extract data from the layer of interest within the current window extents.
NOTE: Only features within the current window extents are downloaded .
Remember that downloaded data is no longer connected to the Geoscience Atlas. Replacing your downloaded data periodically will help ensure that you have the most recent data. Alternatively, connect to the Atlas data via its REST endpoint: https://dnrmaps.gov.nl.ca/arcgis/rest/services/GeoAtlas
The projection of most of the downloaded data is geographic (latitude-longitude; NAD27 datum), but some datasets may be projected into the UTM coordinate system (NAD27 datum).
Remember that downloaded data is no longer connected to the Geoscience Atlas. Replacing your downloaded data periodically will help ensure that you have the most recent data. Alternatively, connect to the Atlas data via its REST endpoint: https://dnrmaps.gov.nl.ca/arcgis/rest/services/GeoAtlas
The projection of most of the downloaded data is geographic (latitude-longitude; NAD27 datum), but some datasets may be projected into the UTM coordinate system (NAD27 datum).
6. Attribute Query
Click the Attribute Query tool to search for data from the layer of interest.
Select which layer to query from the drop down list (the order matches the order in the Contents panel).
Select the attribute (field) of interest.
Select an operator (e.g. Equal To; Note that the 'Like' operator is for text string comparisons which is case sensitive).
Click on 'Get Sample Values' to get a drop down list of some, but not all, unique values, and select one of the values OR
Click on the round button on the next line and type a value in the empty box. Note that text string comparisons are case sensitive.
Click on 'Add to Query Expression'. Use the brackets, AND, OR or NOT buttons to make more complex queries. These cannot be edited in the query window.
Click Run Query button.
The tabular results will be listed in a Search Results pop-up window where the features can be zoomed to, any links to Geofiles etc. can be viewed (click on the 'Link' hyperlink on the left side of the Search Results window) or the data can be downloaded.
Select which layer to query from the drop down list (the order matches the order in the Contents panel).
Select the attribute (field) of interest.
Select an operator (e.g. Equal To; Note that the 'Like' operator is for text string comparisons which is case sensitive).
Click on 'Get Sample Values' to get a drop down list of some, but not all, unique values, and select one of the values OR
Click on the round button on the next line and type a value in the empty box. Note that text string comparisons are case sensitive.
Click on 'Add to Query Expression'. Use the brackets, AND, OR or NOT buttons to make more complex queries. These cannot be edited in the query window.
Click Run Query button.
The tabular results will be listed in a Search Results pop-up window where the features can be zoomed to, any links to Geofiles etc. can be viewed (click on the 'Link' hyperlink on the left side of the Search Results window) or the data can be downloaded.
7. Custom Queries
Click the ‘Custom Queries’ tool to search for data using pre-prepared forms for a layer of interest.
Select which layer to query from the Custom Query drop down list (e.g. 'Map Staked Claims').
Fill in one or more fields in the form (e.g., set the Start Stake Date to the previous week to see what claims have been staked within the last week). Note that text is NOT case sensitive, so names can be lower case.
Click Run Custom Query button.
The tabular results will be listed in a Search Results pop-up window where the features can be zoomed to, any links to Geofiles etc. can be viewed (click on the 'Link' hyperlink on the left side of the Search Results window) or the data can be downloaded.
View the Custom Query Help link for more information and examples on custom queries.
Select which layer to query from the Custom Query drop down list (e.g. 'Map Staked Claims').
Fill in one or more fields in the form (e.g., set the Start Stake Date to the previous week to see what claims have been staked within the last week). Note that text is NOT case sensitive, so names can be lower case.
Click Run Custom Query button.
The tabular results will be listed in a Search Results pop-up window where the features can be zoomed to, any links to Geofiles etc. can be viewed (click on the 'Link' hyperlink on the left side of the Search Results window) or the data can be downloaded.
View the Custom Query Help link for more information and examples on custom queries.
Search - click on the Search icon to open the search box; click on the icon again to close it.
The search box can be used to find any item from all the layers in a group or an item from an individual map layer:
- Use the drop down list to select Location, or the group or layer you want to search.
- Enter the search text, then press enter or click the magnify glass icon to initiate the search. Searching for locations is based on place names (e.g. cities, lakes) and is not case sensitive. Some place names may require province and country to be added in the search text box (e.g., st. john's, nl, canada).
- A search results window will display with one or more items listed. Click on the ‘Zoom’ option, to the left of the record, to zoom in to the result.
Base Map Options
Click the Base Maps icon to change your base map. Base map options include:
- Topographic - at the most detailed level contains all features except wetlands and vegetation, water has blue fill;
- Scanned Topo - scans of the original paper topographic maps (note that some maps are based on the NAD83 datum, though registered in the NAD27 datum, so their UTM grids will be offset - turn on the Map Layers > UTM Grid Lines layer to see the difference);
- Outline Topo - same features as Topographic but water has no fill, all features are grey scale;
- Grey Topo - a simple grey fill for land area with white water features;
- Grey Topo DEM - a hillshaded digital elevation model (source: 30m SRTM) with overlaid white water features
Legend
Click the Legend icon to see the symbols currently used on the map and their meaning.
Contents
Click the Contents icon to open the Contents panel to control what layers are displayed on the map. Turn on or off a group or a layer by clicking its checkbox.
See the List of Layers for a brief description of all available layers.
Measure
Click the Measure icon to open the measure window. The following measure tools are available:
Point: Click any point on the map to get its coordinates in UTM and Longitude/Latitude coordinate systems. All coordinates are reported referencing the NAD27 datum. The coordinates can be highlighted and copied and pasted to a document such as MS Word or Excel.
Line: Select the unit of measurement using the arrow next to the line icon. Then, click on the map and drag to create a measured line. The default measurement unit is kilometres (km).
Polyline: Polyline measures continuous lines with multiple segments, i.e. tracing a winding path. Click any number of points on the map to create the line; double-click to finish. The default measurement unit is kilometres (km).
Polygon: Select the unit of meaurement usign the arrow next to the polyline icon.Click multiple points on the map to digitize the polygon shape; double-click to finish. The tool measures both perimeter (default unit: km) and area (default unit: sqkm)
Clear Drawing: Click the Clear Drawing icon to remove all points, lines, polylines and polygons from the map.
Stop Drawing: Click the Stop Drawing icon to indicate that you are finished measuring. Note: closing the Measure window will also clear all drawings.
Point: Click any point on the map to get its coordinates in UTM and Longitude/Latitude coordinate systems. All coordinates are reported referencing the NAD27 datum. The coordinates can be highlighted and copied and pasted to a document such as MS Word or Excel.
Line: Select the unit of measurement using the arrow next to the line icon. Then, click on the map and drag to create a measured line. The default measurement unit is kilometres (km).
Polyline: Polyline measures continuous lines with multiple segments, i.e. tracing a winding path. Click any number of points on the map to create the line; double-click to finish. The default measurement unit is kilometres (km).
Polygon: Select the unit of meaurement usign the arrow next to the polyline icon.Click multiple points on the map to digitize the polygon shape; double-click to finish. The tool measures both perimeter (default unit: km) and area (default unit: sqkm)
Clear Drawing: Click the Clear Drawing icon to remove all points, lines, polylines and polygons from the map.
Stop Drawing: Click the Stop Drawing icon to indicate that you are finished measuring. Note: closing the Measure window will also clear all drawings.
Print
Click the Print icon to print a map showing your current map extent and active layers. There are two map print options:
Custom Map
Opens in new window. Fill in the Map Title and select Map Layout (landscape or portrait). If desired, enter a new map scale and click ‘Update Print Preview’ to refresh map. Note that the map will retain its center point when scale is changed. Click the ‘Create Map’ button. when the custom pdf map has been processed, click Open PDF to view the map and print.
Quick Map
Print Image - This option will open the browser's print dialog and display a map preview. The map will print as is with no title or north arrow.
Print Legend - The legend will open in a new browser tab, listing only visible layers. Click Print to open the browser's print dialog.
Save Image - The image will open in a new browser tab, allowing the user to save it as a png or bmp file. Right-click the image to copy for use in another application. Saved image has no title, north arrow, or scale bar. Notice 2024-January - this option is currently unavailable.
Save Image as PDF - The image will open in a new browser tab as a PDF document, which can be saved locally. There is no title, north arrow or scale bar. Notice 2024-January - this option is currently unavailable.
Custom Map
Opens in new window. Fill in the Map Title and select Map Layout (landscape or portrait). If desired, enter a new map scale and click ‘Update Print Preview’ to refresh map. Note that the map will retain its center point when scale is changed. Click the ‘Create Map’ button. when the custom pdf map has been processed, click Open PDF to view the map and print.
Quick Map
Print Image - This option will open the browser's print dialog and display a map preview. The map will print as is with no title or north arrow.
Print Legend - The legend will open in a new browser tab, listing only visible layers. Click Print to open the browser's print dialog.
Save Image - The image will open in a new browser tab, allowing the user to save it as a png or bmp file. Right-click the image to copy for use in another application. Saved image has no title, north arrow, or scale bar. Notice 2024-January - this option is currently unavailable.
Save Image as PDF - The image will open in a new browser tab as a PDF document, which can be saved locally. There is no title, north arrow or scale bar. Notice 2024-January - this option is currently unavailable.
Bookmarks
Click the Bookmarks icon to see the drop down menu of pre-defined Bookmarks; and click again to close. Bookmarks are a collection of direct links to
predefined map extents and the option to create your own. Click on a bookmark from the list and the map will zoom to the extents of that bookmark.
Three bookmarks are pre-defined: Labrador, Newfoundland and Initial Extents (all of Newfoundland & Labrador).
To add new bookmarks, click Add Bookmark from the drop down menu. All bookmarks, including user-generated bookmarks, can be edited and removed. Bookmarks are stored in the broswer cache.
To add new bookmarks, click Add Bookmark from the drop down menu. All bookmarks, including user-generated bookmarks, can be edited and removed. Bookmarks are stored in the broswer cache.
Help
Atlas Help - the link to this help file
Contact - opens a new page with contact information (email, phone) for the Geoscience Atlas
Home - link to Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Industry, Energy and Technology
About Atlas - pop-up box provides information about the current Atlas version and build contractor.
Contact - opens a new page with contact information (email, phone) for the Geoscience Atlas
Home - link to Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Industry, Energy and Technology
About Atlas - pop-up box provides information about the current Atlas version and build contractor.
Overview Map (bottom right)
The overview map provides the current extents in a larger map view to graphically display the map viewer location.
Click the small arrow at the bottom right of the map viewer to open and close the overview map.
To quickly pan the main map to a new locationn, click red rectangle in the overview box, which indicates the current map extent, and drag it to a new location in the Province.
To quickly pan the main map to a new locationn, click red rectangle in the overview box, which indicates the current map extent, and drag it to a new location in the Province.
Link to other help files:
Frequently Asked QuestionsList of Layers
Search and Query