National Topographic System
Encyclopedia
The National Topographic System or NTS is the topographic
system used by Canada
for providing general purpose map
s of the country. NTS maps are available in 1/50,000 and 1/250,000 scales. The maps provide details on landforms and terrain
, lake
s and river
s, forested areas, administrative zones, populated areas, roads and railways, as well as other man-made features. These maps are currently used by all levels of government and industry for forest fire and flood control (as well as other environmental issues), depiction of crop areas, right-of-way, real estate planning, development of natural resources and highway planning.
A map sheet is further divided in blocks, units and quarter units.
A series generally has a width of 8 degrees of longitude and 4 degrees of latitude from north to south.
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
system used by Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
for providing general purpose map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
s of the country. NTS maps are available in 1/50,000 and 1/250,000 scales. The maps provide details on landforms and terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
, lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s and river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s, forested areas, administrative zones, populated areas, roads and railways, as well as other man-made features. These maps are currently used by all levels of government and industry for forest fire and flood control (as well as other environmental issues), depiction of crop areas, right-of-way, real estate planning, development of natural resources and highway planning.
Subdivisions
A map sheet is defined by a string containing:- Series number
- Map Area
- Map Sheet
A map sheet is further divided in blocks, units and quarter units.
A series generally has a width of 8 degrees of longitude and 4 degrees of latitude from north to south.
- A Series is divided into 16 Map Areas, marked sinusoidally from A to M starting from the south-east corner of the Series. Ex 96-M.
- A Map Area is divided into 16 Map Sheets, marked sinusoidally from 1 to 15 starting from the south-east corner of the Map Area. Ex 96-M-16.
- A Map Sheet is divided into 12 Blocks, marked sinusoidally from A to L starting from the south-east corner of the map Sheet. Ex L/96-M-16.
- A Block is divided into 100 Units, marked from 1 to 100 starting with 1 at the south-east Corner of the Block, with numbers increasing from east to west, then from south to north. Ex 98-L/96-M-16.
- A Unit is divided into 4 Sub-units, marked sinusoidally from a to d starting in the south-east corner of the block. Ex d-50-L/96-M-16.