New Zealand’s Basemaps elevated to 3D

People can now view peaks and plains across the country in 3D following upgrades to an award-winning digital map by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).

Basemaps is an open digital service that allows people to explore New Zealand and create maps using the latest publicly available data.

LINZ Head of Location Information Aaron Jordan says the latest Basemaps development will help build our understanding of landscapes across New Zealand through easy to view detailed contours, hill shades and slopes.

People can also use the service to display their own data in 3D.

“The new feature means everyone can view New Zealand in 3D, helping provide a more in-depth perspective of how our lands are shaped from the mountains to the sea.

“We’re excited to offer this feature to the public as part of our commitment to providing open access to high quality land information.

“We’re one of the few countries in the world where this type of service and the underlying data is available at no cost to users.

“Having easily accessible high quality mapping information helps everyone – from those building a home through to farmers and city planners – make informed decisions regarding land use.

“It also helps connect people with parts of the country that are difficult to access, or they’d love to visit from the comfort of their own home.”

Mr Jordan says the underlying elevation and imagery data available from the LINZ Data Service is of benefit to a range of users, including councils and regional industries for planning purposes and will help with land and resource management, flood and landslide hazard mapping and emergency response.

“The opportunities to utilise the data to support land management are endless,” says Mr Jordan.

The 3D function was formed through overlaying high-resolution images over elevation data.

The detailed elevation was collected using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. LiDAR involves pulsed light sensors mounted to an aircraft to measure the distance to the land below.

“People are now able to zoom right down to 1 metre resolution in most areas,” says Mr Jordan.

To explore the 3D feature, visit basemaps.linz.govt.nz and click the mountains icon on the left-hand side.

A large amount of the precise elevation data was collected over the past five years through funding from the Provincial Growth Fund LiDAR Programme, which was managed by LINZ and co-funded by councils and Kānoa, the Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.