About NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 (Formerly NATMAP Raster)

Overview Major features Contents of NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 (DVD-ROM) What features have been updated in the 2008 versions? Are upgrades available for users of previous versions? What previous releases have there been of this product? System requirements Product components Map layers Accuracy and reliability maps Creation process Map image specifications DVD layout Conditions of use How to order Disclaimer

Cnr Jerrabomberra Avenue and Hindmarsh Drive, Symonston ACT 2609 GPO Box 378, Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia Phone: +61 2 6249 9111 Facsimile: +61 2 6249 9999 Email: @ga.gov.au Web: www.ga.gov.au ABN 80 091 799 039

Overview
NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 is the next generation of Geoscience Australia's popular NATMAP Raster 1:250 000 scale topographic digital maps. NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 are exact digital copies of Geoscience Australia's NATMAP topographic maps. They cover the whole of Australia at 1:250 000 scale, and are current to 2006. NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 comprises an improved Map Viewer and latest release 1:250 000 scale topographic digital maps which are ideal for a range of professional and recreational uses. The digital maps are provided in Enhanced Compressed Wavelet (ECW) image format, a type of 'Raster' format - the term Raster is used frequently throughout this guide and refers to tools and map data used in NATMAP Digital Maps 2008. NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 have a wide variety of professional and recreational uses, including: real-time navigation with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) route and adventure planning as backdrops in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), where other information is overlaid and analysed map-based presentations convenient and compact method of storing maps.

NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 contains all the software needed to use the maps on the Microsoft Windows 98, ME, 2000 or XP as well as Vista operating systems and Internet Explorer 5.5 or later (refer minimum system requirements). This product has not been developed or tested on Macintosh operating systems.

Major features
Includes all published 1:250 000 scale NATMAPs up to July 2006.

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Landsat 7 satellite image of Australia. Load maps by selecting from more than 322,000 place names, coordinates, NATMAP name or by using the index map. Transition viewer allows one map to be placed over another with a variable transparency slider tool included (new in 2008). Split View allows two maps or a map and satellite image to be viewed and compared side by side (new in 2008). Measure distances on-screen. Display coordinates as latitude/longitude or grid coordinates on either the Geodetic Datum of Australia (GDA) or Australian Geodetic Datum (AGD). Image resolution 200dpi. Overview windows provide convenient indication of the location of the map on display in relation to the surrounding region and Australia. Includes software to select, view and manage the digital maps. Compatible with select GPS software such as OziExplorer or TrackRanger. Compatible with many GIS and graphics packages, either by direct viewing or by exporting to GeoTIFF, TIFF, JPEG, Bitmap, or PNG formats. Print maps for area of interest. Dynamic scale bar changes as you zoom. Ideal for laptop or desktop computers. OziExplorer: http://www.oziexplorer.com/ TrackRanger: http://www.advantechdesign.com.au/overview

Contents of NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 (DVD-ROM)

Eight MGA94 maps provided as a single mosaic for each UTM zone (UTM zones 49-56) suitable for measuring distances and areas. All 514 mapsheets joined into a seamless map mosaic at 1:250 000 scale (Geographic/Equirectangular projection) - suitable for location based activities. Small scale reference maps at 1:1 million; 1:5 million and 1:20 million scales. 2005 Landsat Satellite image of Australia (25 metre pixel size). Natmap Digital Maps 2008 Viewer software (version 1.6).

What features have been updated in the 2008 versions?

Inclusion of maps revised to July 2006. Improved installation and software setup. Microsoft Vista compatibility. One (Premium equivalent) version only, replacing standard and premium versions. Updated place names - Gazetteer of Australia 2008 Release. New Transition Viewer allows one map to be placed over another with a variable transparency slider tool included. New Split View allows two maps or a map and satellite image to be viewed and compared side by side. Gazetteer of Australia 2008: http://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&catno=65589

Are upgrades available for users of previous versions?

If you want the updated maps and functionality found in NATMAP Digital Maps 2008, you will need to buy the new version. No upgrades are available for this product.

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What previous releases have there been of this product?

Name and Version Relea sed Images Cell Size No. of CDs/ DVDs 7 CD Production Method Coords

AUSLIG GEODATA Raster-250K v1.0

May 97

LZW compresse d 8-bit TIFF ECW with exporter

150dpi

Scanned

None

AUSLIG GEODATA Raster-250K 2000 v1.1 AUSLIG GEODATA Raster-250K 2000 Release 2 v1.2 NATMAP Raster 250K Mapsheets 2002 v1.3

Oct 00

150dpi

2 CD

Scanned Geocoded

Lat/long AGD66

Jul 01

ECW with exporter

150dpi

2 CD

Scanned Geocoded

Lat/long AGD66

Sep 02

ECW with exporter

200dpi

2 CD

EPS graphics file conversion (70%) Scanned (30%) All images rectified EPS graphics file conversion All images rectified EPS graphics file conversion All images rectified EPS graphics file conversion All images rectified EPS graphics file conversion All images rectified

Easting & Northing; MGA Zone number

NATMAP Raster Mapsheets v1.4 2003 Edition

Sep 03

ECW with exporter

200dpi

2 CD

Easting & Northing; MGA Zone number

NATMAP Raster Mosaic v1.4 - 2003 Edition

Sep 03

ECW with exporter

200dpi

2 CD

Lat/Long GDA94

NATMAP Raster, 2005 Release v1.5

March 05

ECW with exporter

200dpi

4 CD

Easting&Northin g (MGA94) and Lat/Long (GDA94) Easting & Northing (MGA94) and Lat/Long (GDA94)

NATMAP Raster Premium, 2005 Release v1.5

March 05

ECW with exporter

200dpi

2 DVD

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System requirements
Geoscience Australia provides easy to follow self-help resources for users. The User Guide contains useful troubleshooting tips and a list of frequently asked questions. For troubleshooting advice you are encouraged to seek solutions from the Troubleshooting page. However, if you continue to encounter problems or cannot resolve a problem, Geoscience Australia offers a limited telephone support service for registered products for a period of one year from the date of purchase. Recommended CPU Intel 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 or faster (or equivalent) 256 MB or more 9 GB Minimum Intel 333 MHz Pentium II (or equivalent)

RAM Free Disk Space Display Optical Drive Web Browser Operating System

64 MB 40 MB (Viewer only, maps run from DVD)

1024 x 768 with true colour DVD-ROM 4x or faster

800 x 600 with 64K colours DVD-ROM

Internet Explorer 6.0 or later

Internet Explorer 5.5

Microsoft Windows XP or Vista

Microsoft Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP or Vista

If your system does not meet, or is incompatible with, the Minimum or Recommended system requirements described above, you may be unable to operate the Product, or you may experience functional problems when using the Product. In such cases, Geoscience Australia is not required to provide support, advice or assistance of any kind, and Geoscience Australia will not be liable for costs or losses of any kind which you may incur in using the Product. Geoscience Australia is not responsible for maintaining the Product or for updating, modifying or configuring the Product to suit your system requirements. Troubleshooting: http://www.ga.gov.au/nmd/products/maps/raster250k/help2008/troubleshooting.jsp

Product components
NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 Release consists of the following components. Product User Guide and associated documentation. Digital map images (*.ecw format). These are organised into layers, with each layer equivalent to a specific map series, scale or product. Software for viewing, exporting and data management. The NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 VIEWER is the software which is used for selecting and viewing maps. The standalone NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 EXPORTER can be used to export the ECW map images into other graphic formats such as GeoTIFF, TIFF, JPEG, Windows Bitmap (BMP) and PNG. The NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 MANAGER allows you to manage where your maps are stored so that you are not restricted to storing all maps in the one location. For example, if

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you have limited disk space you may wish to have some maps stored locally on your hard drive, while others are stored on DVD-ROM or network drives.

Map layers
Landsat 7 Satellite Image of Australia Layer Name in the NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 Viewer: 'Satellite-Mosaic' The Landsat 7 Picture Mosaic of Australia was produced by the Australian Greenhouse Office (now the Department of Climate Change), as part of its National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS), from data acquired by Geoscience Australia. More information on Landsat satellites. Department of Climate Change: http://www.climatechange.gov.au/ National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS): http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/ncas/index.html Landsat Satellites: http://www.ga.gov.au/remote-sensing/satellites-sensors/landsat/

1:250 000 scale Topographic Map Series Layer Name in the NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 Viewer: '250K-Maps' and '250K-Mosaic' The NATMAP 1:250 000 scale maps included in NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 have been produced by Geoscience Australia's National Mapping Division and its predecessor, the Australian Surveying and Land Information Group (AUSLIG), in conjunction with the private sector. This is the largest scale at which published topographic maps cover the entire continent. The maps have been revised using a variety of data sources, including Single Point of Truth (SPOT) and Landsat satellite imagery, other government agency information and data supplied by private companies and individuals. The 250K Maps layer includes maps joined together into eight Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) zone mosaics. The 250K Mosaic has all maps joined into a single mosaic based on GDA94 geographic projection. For more information on the types of features shown on these maps, please refer to the 1:250 000 scale NATMAP legend. Additional information on map specifications, new maps and the current status of NATMAP revision can be found on the New and Upcoming Topographic Maps and Data page. 1:250 000 Scale NATMAP legend: http://www.ga.gov.au/nmd/products/maps/raster250k/help/legend250k.jsp New and Upcoming Topographic Maps and Data: http://www.ga.gov.au/about-us/news-media/new-maps-data.jsp

1:1 million scale Topographic Map Series Layer Name in the NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 Viewer: '1M-Maps' The International Map of the World (IMW) Australia series was Australia's contribution to a common effort by many international mapping agencies to map the world at 1:1 million scale. It was conceived initially for planning economic development, but has been used as the basis for many other maps, including aeronautical charts and thematic mapping. The series was completed in 1978 and was revised regularly until the mid-1980s (average currency 1976). Small Scale Reference Maps Layer Name in the NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 Viewer: '5M-Maps' The smaller scale general reference maps provide a general overview of Australia, but still contain

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similar information to the larger scale maps. These maps have been revised regularly since the mid1990s, with the revision information sourced from the same sources as the 1:250 000 scale maps. The Locator map used here is derived from GEODATA TOPO-10M, which is freely available from the Geoscience Australia website. The 1:5 million scale General Reference Map of Australia is used for the 5M Map layer and the Magnifier map.

Accuracy and reliability Maps

The 1:250 000 scale map images used in NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 are constructed from digital topographic data with a basic horizontal accuracy of approximately +/-120 metres. Therefore, the accuracy of positions reported by the software should approach that of the original paper map. Topographic information included in the map images has been checked from multiple sources including satellite imagery. Most maps have not been field checked so some information may not be accurate or up-to-date, especially rapidly changing features such as telecommunication towers and homestead names. Every effort has been made to make the map images a useful reference. If you discover errors or omissions on the map, please contact Geoscience Australia (mapfeedback@ga.gov.au) or send your annotated NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 printout to us showing the map error. The reliability of individual map sheets can be found on the Map Reliability page. Map Reliability: http://www.ga.gov.au/nmd/mapping/newmaps/250k_list.jsp

Gazetteer data (Place Name Search) The Gazetteer of Australia 2008 Release is a compilation of 296 636 (plus 33 069 variants) geographical names of Australia as at June 2007, provided by members of the Committee for Geographic Names in Australasia. Gazetteer of Australia 2008: http://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&catno=65589 Committee for Geographic Names in Australasia: http://www.icsm.gov.au/icsm/cgna/

Postcode data The postcode information contained in the Place Name Search tool has been reproduced with Australia Post's permission from the Australia Post Postcode Database and has a November 2004 reliability date.

Creation process
The 1:250 000 scale topographic maps available in NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 were produced directly from Geoscience Australia's National Topographic Database, GEODATA TOPO-250K Series 3 in July 2006. Geoscience Australia's MapMaker application was used in an ESRI ArcMap environment to extract GEODATA TOPO-250K Series 3 vector data for individual 1:250 000 scale maps and construct each map with correct symbology. Each of the 514 maps was then exported into TIFF image format and then geo-referenced in ER Mapper. This gives the images a spatial position encoded with coordinates and projection information to create a GeoTIFF. All GeoTIFF's were then imported, clipped and reprojected into ER Mapper format (ERS) where the mosaics were created before being exported as compressed ECW images.

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Why are some features not shown on 1:250 000 scale NATMAPs? Some features on maps, especially small scale maps, are subject to what is known as 'cartographic generalisation'. It refers to a group of techniques used by map makers which allow the level of information to be retained while the amount of data shown on the map is reduced. These techniques include: pre-selection of representative features reshaping or smoothing lines removing small features aggregating many small features into a few large features, such as showing a group of buildings as a single building selecting certain features that maintain an overall shape, such as reducing the number of streams in a stream network without losing the overall pattern of drainage enlarging important features which may otherwise be too small to show moving features relative to each other (displacement).

More on displacement Closely adjacent features may be located on the Earth's surface in such a way that they cannot be separated at the scale of the map. To make sure that the map is readable, one feature is kept in its true position and the rest are displaced. On NATMAP maps the following list of features may be displaced when one or more are adjacent. The higher a feature is on the list, the more likely it is that it has been held in the correct position over those lower on the list. hydrographic lines such as coastlines, watercourses and lakes railways principal roads secondary roads minor roads tracks buildings vegetation boundaries. If two features need to be offset relative to one another and neither is listed above, the position of the feature with greater landmark value will be maintained. For example, if a railway and road are coincident at the scale being produced, the road will be displaced. Where two or three features are close and adjacent, one may be displaced by up to 225 metres at 1:250 000 scale. In the worst case, when all these features are close together, one may be displaced by up to 675 metres at 1:250 000 scale. However, any features which have been displaced must maintain their relative position. Generalisation is not a completely automatic process and some human judgement is required. Decisions are usually based on the significance of the feature at the scale of the map being produced as well as on the number of similar features nearby and the purpose of the map. One major impact of generalisation is when using maps with global positioning systems (GPS). When a GPS track is overlaid on a map, the track may not match the road as it is shown on the map because of the displacement described above. This is not an error in the position of the road as such, but one of the consequences of trying to make the map clear and readable. Feature masking If you have a close look at any recent paper NATMAP map you would see that most rivers can be seen 'underneath' or 'on top of' the roads. The digital process used to manufacture the map images in NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 can show one layer only in each pixel (picture element) of the image, hence some features will be masked. The order in which the layering occurs is fixed and in some maps this may produce some illogical results or effects that will not appear on the paper map. Significant illogical effects, such as canals covering roads, have been edited but may be incomplete.

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Map rotation (applies to the '250K-Maps' layer in NATMAP Raster) The map images in this layer appear tilted because they are geo-referenced to the Map Grid of Australia (MGA). Each map's boundaries are based on latitude and longitude but these boundaries do not always correspond to MGA gridlines. In order to match the map image to MGA, the image has to be rotated and stretched. Note that the blue MGA gridlines on the map are orientated vertically and horizontally in the Viewer, while lines of latitude and longitude will be shown at an angle. Join lines The Landsat Satellite image is made up of many individual images, or 'scenes'. Most of these scenes are cloud free and, in order to achieve this, images were taken at different times of the year. While every effort is made to colour match the images, matching in some cases is not perfect because of differences in ground conditions or the time of year that the images were taken. Note on improving image clarity The map images in NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 have been compressed. Images which are compressed have information that has been removed from the image using a particular technique or algorithm to reduce the file size. Depending on the compression technique, some information may be lost from the image altogether when it is compressed. This is called 'lossy' compression. ECW, JPEG and MrSID are common lossy compression techniques. The images in NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 use ECW compression. This will mean that some features will lose some of their clarity, in particular, very thin lines such as tracks and watercourses may become blurry. Colours also may not be uniform within areas (e.g. forest areas shown as green on the paper map may, on the image, contain traces of other colours). These effects are called 'artefacts'. Other factors affecting image clarity include your monitor specifications, the software being used to view the map images (if not using the NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 Viewer) and the zoom scale. If viewing in other software packages there often is an option to 'zoom to raster resolution'. This zoom level will give the clearest view of the image. Zooming in too far will cause pixellation and artefacts will appear to be very significant. Clarity is reduced also if zooming out too far. For the best results, you should set your zoom to around the same level as if you were looking at the paper map version at the same viewing distance. The scale bar will assist this process. While every effort has been made to minimise the number and extent of artefacts within each map image, users should be aware that artefacts exist as a result of fitting all of the NATMAP 1:250 000 scale maps onto minimal digital media at an affordable price. The map images in this product are not intended to be exact replicas of the paper map in terms of quality, but do contain the same information as shown on the paper version.

Map image specifications

File naming convention All images in the 250K-Maps layer are named according to the UTM zone; for example zone54mga.ecw. Mosaic or individual map images are named according to scale, that is 250K.ecw, 1M.ecw, 5M.ecw, 20M.ecw. The Landsat 7 satellite image mosaic of Australia is named ls7_mosaic.ecw. Positional accuracy Each identifiable coordinate pixel should be within four pixels of the calculated position. The production of maps involves cartographic generalisation of features, which adds additional inaccuracies into the images.

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A full listing of dataset accuracies is provided below. Dataset 1M-Mosaic 5M-Mosaic 250K-Mosaic Satellite-Mosaic 250K-Maps Pixel size The size of a pixel in metres for any of the Mosaic layers varies with the degree of latitude. Location Torres Strait (Qld) Darwin (NT), Weipa (Qld) Cairns (Qld), the Kimberleys (WA) Townsville (Qld), Tennant Creek (NT), Port Hedland (WA) Rockhampton (Qld), Alice Springs (NT), Carnavon (WA) Brisbane (Qld), Oodnadatta (SA), Leonora (WA), Geraldton (WA) Newcastle (NSW), Broken Hill (NSW), Port Augusta (SA), Perth (WA) Adelaide (SA), Albury (NSW) King Island (Tas) Hobart (Tas) Legends Legends are included for each of the following scales and images: 1:250 000 scale Expanded 1:250 000 scale 1:1 million scale 1:5 million scale Landsat Satellite Image Mosaic of Australia Gazetteer of Australia - Place Name Types 250K 35m 35m 34m 33m 1M 127m 126m 124m 121m 5M 615m 610m 600m 586m 20M 2.6km 2.6km 2.5km 2.5km Satellite 44m 44m 43m 42m Image resolution 0.00116 degrees 0.00470 degrees 0.00032 degrees 0.00025 degrees 29 metres Positional accuracy 0.0047 degrees 0.0220 degrees 0.0012 degrees 0.0018 degrees 127 metres

32m

118m

570m

2.4km

41m

31m

114m

551m

2.3km

39m

30m

109m

530m

2.2km

38m

29m 27m 26m

104m 99m 93m

505m 478m 450m

2.1km 2.0km 1.9km

36m 34m 32m

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DVD layout
NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 is organised on the media as follows: NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 (2 DVDs) Disc 1 Map Viewer Software and installation files User Guide files 1:250 000 scale Mosaic of Australia 1:20 000 000 map* 1:5 000 000 scale map* Landsat satellite images of Australia (25 metre pixel size) Reference Map* Maps of each MGA zone at 1:250 000 scale

Disc 2

Maps labelled * are part of the installation files, and become useable upon installation to your hard drive where they are visible in your chosen installation directory. Maps (except for those labelled * in the table above) are stored in the Maps folder. Within this folder is another folder which is named with the appropriate layer name. See the table below. NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 Maps Maps Maps Maps > > > > 1M-Mosaic > NATMAP-DVD1 250K-Maps > NATMAP-DVD2 250K-Mosaic > NATMAP-DVD1 Satellite-Mosaic > NATMAP-DVD1

Conditions of use
Please refer to the Licence Agreement for details on the conditions of use for NATMAP Digital Maps 2008. Licence Agreement: http://www.ga.gov.au/nmd/products/maps/raster250k/help2008/licence.jsp

How to order NATMAP Digital Maps 2008

NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 are sold through Geoscience Australia's Sales Centre. Simply fill out and submit the order form, quoting the product no. 65047. Alternatively, contact one of our Map Retailers, located throughout Australia. Price is $99.00 plus postage. Sales Centre (Ordering and payment information): http://www.ga.gov.au/sales/ordering_payment.jsp Map Retailers: http://www.ga.gov.au/nmd/products/purchasing/retailers.jsp

Disclaimer
Topographic information included in the map images have been checked from multiple sources including satellite imagery. Maps have not been field checked and some information may not be accurate. Every effort has been made to make the map images a useful reference. The custodians of the data for the Gazetteer of Australia do not guarantee that the data is free from errors and omissions.

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