Nautical Maps

Map Collection

Nautical Maps

Typically depicts water depths; shallow areas; navigable channels and passages; shoals, banks and bars; anchorages; fixed and floating navigation aids (e.g., buoys and lighthouses); underwater hazards and obstructions; buildings and manmade structures. Several types are available:


Current Holdings

  • Domestic coastlines and inland waterways are charted by the Office of Coast Survey (OCS). Charts are organized into five geographic regions and shelved in map cases by chart number.
  • International coastlines are charted by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). Charts are organized into nine regions and shelved in map cases by chart number.
  • Inland rivers are charted by the Army Corps of Engineers. Charts exist for several rivers in the U.S., including the Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, and Red.  These are located in the Government Information Atlas collection (with Superintendent of Documents call numbers).

Nautical maps may be found in some cabinets or drawers on the fourth floor of the library.

The cabinet drawers are labeled by nautical chart number. Some cabinets to find Nautical Maps include:

  • Cabinet 41 to 45

Maps Online

Some soil and nautical maps online may be accessed through these links;

Items in this story map were compiled by GIS and Data Librarian, Milan Budhathoki; Student Assistant Xueting Zhang, and John Abban; Map volunteer James Nealis; Former Student Manal Al-Hajji at the University of Maryland Libraries, College Park, MD. The purpose of the story is to walk through the map collection of the University of Maryland Libraries.

Some of the multimedia are copied/downloaded from UMD Library website for educational purpose. Maps and application embed here comes from publicly available resources.

Compiled and Designed by

Milan Budhathoki, Xueting Zhang, John Abban, Manal Al-Hajji, and James Nealis

Maps sources by

Defense Mapping Agency - Hydrographic Topographic Center