How it Works
The National Topographic System (NTS) divides Canada into a grid. Each 1:50,000 sheet is identified by a 6-character ID:
- Block (3 digits): e.g.,
072 encodes latitude bands
- Letter (A–P): e.g.,
O encodes column (west to east)
- Number (2 digits): e.g.,
01 encodes sub-division
Example: 072O01 is sheet 072O, sub-square 01.
Color Bands (by latitude)
- ■ Tropical / Southern Canada
- ■ Temperate
- ■ Boreal
- ■ Arctic / Northern
Keyboard Shortcuts
G
Cycle grid mode (All → Radius → None)
L
Toggle sheet labels
S
Toggle satellite view
R
Reset map to default view
/ or Ctrl+K
Focus search bar
?
Open this help menu
Esc
Close dialogs or PDF panel
+ / =
Zoom map in
−
Zoom map out
Tips
- Right-click any sheet for quick details and options
- Search supports partial IDs: type
072 to highlight all sheets in block 072
- Place-name search uses OpenStreetMap's Nominatim geocoder
- Sheets are color-coded by their position in the NTS grid
Data & Attribution
Canadian sheet metadata sourced from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) under the Open Government Licence – Canada. US sheet metadata from the USGS National Topographic Map collection — public domain, U.S. Government Work. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Version: v1.0