Skip to Main Content

Maps and Atlases: Topographic Maps

This guide helps you find maps and atlases that can be used in course assignments, or for your research.

What are Topographic Maps?

A topographic map is a detailed representation of cultural and physical features on the ground. They show features such as roads, buildings, urban development, water, elevation, vegetation, and place names. Visit the list of our print topographic maps.

Print Topographic Maps: Canada (National Topographic System Maps)

Print topographic maps at the scale of 1:50,000

Step #1: Each topographic map at the scale of 1:50,000 in Canada has a unique code called the National Topographic System (NTS) number.  You need this number to find the map in our collection. To determine the NTS number you need you have one of three options:

  • Option #1: Do a place name (geographic name) search using the Canadian Geographic Names Database. Record the NTS number for the map. For example, the search for Alliston, Ontario, indicates that the NTS code is 031D04. 
  • Option #2:  If you know the approximate geographic location, you can use the map indexes located on top of map cabinets #5 to #10 in the Map Collection.
  • Option #3: You can use the online index map to do a search for the place name and then determine the NTS code of the map. 

Step #2: Go to the Map Collection located on the first floor of Scott Library. The 1:50,000 topographic maps have the call number of Scott Maps G/3400/50, and are located in map cabinets  #4 to #13.  Each drawer in these cabinets has a label indicating the range of NTS maps in the drawer. For example, the topographic map of Alliston [031D04] is located in the drawer labelled, "Canada. National Topographic System. 1:50,000. G/3400/50 (31C - 31D)".  The older editions of 1:50,000 topographic maps of the Greater Toronto Area are located in map cabinet #71. 

 
Print topographic Maps at other Scales

We have a collection of print topographic maps at several other scales at the Map Collection. To locate these, use the online index maps below, and go to the corresponding map cabinet that contains the maps. 

  • Canada National Topographic System 1:25,000. Call Number G/3400/35. Map cabinets #3 and #4. (online index map).
  • Canada National Topographic System 1:63,360. Map cabinet #71 (Greater Toronto Area Only) (online index map)
  • Canada National Topographic System 1:125,000. Call Number G/3400/125. Map cabinet #13. (online index map).
  • Canada National Topographic System 1:126,720. Call Number G/3400/126. Map cabinet #13. (online index map).
  • Canada National Topographic System 1:250,000 . Call Number G/3400/250. Map cabinet #13 to #14. (online index map).
  • Canada National Topographic System 1:500,000. Call Number G/3400/500. Map cabinet #4. (online index map).

We also have some Canadian National Topographic System maps in storage. To determine if we have the map you need, consult one of these three indexes (Index Map 1:253,440, Index Map 1:506,880, and Index map 1:63,360) and record the topographic map number. Send a request to gislib@yorku.ca.

Print Topographic Maps : Ontario and International

Ontario and Toronto

The Map Collection located on the first floor of Scott Library has a collection of print topographic maps of Ontario and Toronto. The indexes are for these maps are located in the map cabinet drawers that contain the maps. 

  • Ontario Basic Mapping Series 1:10,000 (3500/-/10/1980-) (web index)
  • Ontario Basic Mapping Series 1:20,000 (3500/-/20/1980-) (web index)
United States

Our topographic maps for the US include series at 1:24,000, 1:25,000, 1:50,000, 1:62,500, and 1:100,000. These maps can be found at G/3700/24, G/3700/25, G/3700/50, G/3700/62, and G/3700/100. The 1:24,000, 1:25,000 and 1:62,500 holdings and indexes are located on this page.

International topographic maps

Our holdings are organized by regions in the world. For example, if you want a topographic map of Peru, it is found under World and Americas. 

For more information on how to find print maps located in the Map Collection, consult our guide : How to find a map in the Map Collection.

Digital (Scanned) Topographic Maps

The list below is of digitized topographic maps that were originally in print format. For geospatial data of topographic maps, please see the Geospatial Data guide.