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The Nova Scotia Atlas is a dynamic set of thematic maps that represents the people, places, and history of Nova Scotia. The Atlas is an expanding suite of material, growing in content as the GeoNOVA Portal increases in popularity.
This service delivers a collection of maps portraying the essential facts about Nova Scotia, its people and its resources. These themes are a valuable tool for educators, investors, and the general public encouraging all to investigate the province's history, natural resources and investment potential. Nova Scotia has a comprehensive and progressive provincial mapping program that encourages data to be shared amongst all users within the Province.
Application Help
The Nova Scotia Thematic Map interface was designed to be simple and intuitive. The following section describes the functionality contained in the application.
Main Map Window
Map Extent - Click this button and the entire province will be displayed
Identify - Click on a map feature you would like to see more information for. For example, click on a highway and receive the highway number.
Display Bar - The Display Bar is broken into ten increments. The scale associated with each increment is shown in the table below. The graduation representing the current display scale will be marked by a fill color. If you select a graduation for the current display scale the map will not refresh.
| Scale Level |
Display Scale |
| Level 1 |
1:10,000 |
| Level 2 |
1:50,000 |
| Level 3 |
1:100,000 |
| Level 4 |
1:250,000 |
| Level 5 |
1:500,000 |
| Level 6 |
1:1,000,000 |
| Level 7 |
1:2,000,000 |
| Level 8 |
1:2,500,000 |
| Level 9 |
1:3,000,000 |
| Level 10 |
1:4,000,000 |
| Maximum Scale |
1:5,000,000 |
Re-centre Map - Use this tool to centre the map on a particular location. Similar to the "Pan" arrows around the map window: the re-centre button pans to the middle of the map
Pan North - Automatically pans you north
Pan East - Automatically pans you east
Pan South - Automatically pans you south
Pan West - Automatically pans you west
Scale Indicator - Displays the relative scale of the map
Scale - Shows the current map scale
Cursor Indicator - The current ground location of the cursor in the Map Window will be displayed at the bottom of the Map Window in a status bar. Cursor location is displayed in the geographic coordinates (i.e. latitude and longitude)
Thematic Maps Help
To date, the following are the thematic maps displayed in the application.
Overview Map
The Overview Map is the "default" map that is displayed when you launch the Nova Scotia Thematic Atlas. The Overview Map is not itself a thematic map, but serves as a reference map and contains information from the Nova Scotia Topographic Database (NSTDB). One of the features of the Thematic Atlas is you can toggle between thematic maps and your scale and map location remain the same. Therefore, if you are viewing a particular thematic map, you can click on Overview Map and see detailed topo data for the area.
As with other thematic maps, the more you zoom in, the more information you see.
Agriculture Areas
An inventory of farmland throughout the province of Nova Scotia is highlighted in this thematic map.
Airports
All airports, strips, and helicopter landings are displayed in this thematic map.
Contours
The Contour Thematic Map is extracted from the Nova Scotia Topographic Database. The contour interval in the topographic database is 100m until you reach a scale of 1:525000. After that threshold, you will see more detailed contours, with intervals at every 25m.
Counties
Nova Scotia's eighteen counties are highlighted in this thematic map.
Crown Lands (at 1:250,000)
All of the provincial, or crown lands are highlighted in this thematic map.
Fire Towers
Provincial fire tower locations are displayed in this map.
Forested Areas (at 1:250,000)
Highways
Nova Scotia has three basic classes of highways: Arterial, Trunk, and Collector. Arterial highways generally speaking are access controlled, meaning you may only enter them via an interchange.
Arterial highways are the "100-series highways", and have blue signage on Nova Scotia roads. The exception is the Trans Canada Highway, which has green signage.
Trunk highways are secondary highways, typically two-lanes without access control. Signage is white with black trim.
Nova Scotia's tertiary highways are referred to as Collector highways. Collector highways typically connect Nova Scotia's rural communities with trunk and arterial systems. Signage is brown for this type of highway.
The highway thematic map uses the same colours for the different highways as are used by the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation for its road signage.
High Precision Network Monuments
The Nova Scotia Coordinate Referencing System (NSCRS) database is the primary source for all land-related measurements and the location of geographic information in the province, providing the framework for all provincial topographic, property, and thematic mapping programs in Nova Scotia. This thematic map displays all of the high precision network monuments in the NSCRC.
Hospitals
This thematic map displays the boundaries for the District Health Authorities (DHA's) in the province. By zooming in further, hospital locations and names are displayed.
Municipalities
Nova Scotia has fifty-five municipalities including regions, towns, counties, and districts. Please note that a county can be a municipality: the separate thematic map for counties represents traditional, non-incorporated county boundaries.
Ecological Land Classification
The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources has prepared the Ecological Land Classification (ELC) to assist in the planning and management of sustainable forests. In this framework of mapped ecosystems the ELC provides an understanding of ecosystem form and function and the dependent biodiversity by linking the physical and biological environment of each system. Ecosystems on the landscape represent the effects of the interactions of climate, landform, water and soils and thus the distribution of biodiversity.
Railways
Railways have a long history in Nova Scotia. This map is extracted from railroad features in the Nova Scotia Topographic Database. It highlights both active and abandoned railroads in Nova Scotia.
Transmission Lines
All of the transmission lines for the province are depicted.
Water Supplies
Three types of water supply are displayed to create this thematic map: Private Surface Water, Public Surface Water, and Public Ground Water.
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