Topographical Maps for ALL CANADA

What are Topographical Maps?

Pricing & Formats

Ordering Maps from Dog Ears

What are Topographical Maps?

Topographical maps detail the lay of the land. A topo map identifies both man-made and natural ground features through the use of colours, scales, grids, contour lines, and numerous symbols.

At a glance, a reader can easily identify the elevation of the land and the surrounding vegetation; hills, valleys, wooded areas, clearings, vineyards, orchards, sandy areas. Through the use of symbols one can locate, buildings, churches, schools, campgrounds, ski areas, historical sites, golf courses, highways, secondary and side roads, bridges, railways, powerlines, cut lines, and dams.

When looking at the various symbols used to detail waterways there are: dams, locks, bridges, ferry routes, flooded areas, marshes, lakes, rivers, creeks, falls, rapids, portages, and flow direction. One should also pay close attention to the contour lines which depict the elevation of the surrounding area. Doing this will help travellers locate potential campsites and determine river characteristics (rocky shore, fast flow).

Map sheets are available in two scales:

  • 1:250,000 (1 inch = 4 miles or 1cm = 2.5km) and
  • 1:50,000 (1 inch = 0.8 miles or 1cm = 0.5km)
Basically the 1:250,000 maps cover larger areas with much less detail and the 1:50,000 covers smaller areas in greater detail. The 1:250,000 scale covers the same area of land as 16 1:50,000 scale maps. The 1:50,000 maps are ideal for recreational activities such as hiking, canoeing, fishing, hunting, and orienteering. A large portion of Canada's more northern regions are sparsely populated and are available in monochrome (black & white) only.
If you are considering a trip over 300 km you may wish to use the 1:250,000 scale in order to keep down the number and weight of maps required by the 1:50,000 scale.

Six index maps of the National Topographical System of Canada are used to cover all of Canada.

  • Index 1 - Atlantic Provinces - Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick (all scales)
  • Index 2 - Quebec (all scales)
  • Index 3 - Ontario (all scales)
  • Index 4 - Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta (all scales)
  • Index 5 - British Columbia (all scales)
  • Index 6 - Northern Canada - Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut (all scales)
These are used as a very general guide in pinpointing the area, and thus the map, of interest.

NOTE: Topographical maps will provide everything BUT lake depth information. Fisheries and Oceans only produce water depth maps for the major waterways and major lakes in Canada - no water depth maps are produced for inland lakes. Although, topographical maps don't provide lake depth, they more than make up for the loss in information by pinpointing the hidden lakes and streams that you might not otherwise discover. Who knows, you may just find yourself a fisherman's paradise.

For a much more detailed explanation on topographical maps visit Geomatics, Canada.

Remember, north is always located at the top of the map.

Pricing & Formats (place an order)

Pricing

Please note: The price of topographic maps is increasing from $10.95 to $11.95 as of April 1, 2003. Additionally, Tyvek maps will no longer be produced, by the Canada Map Office. Once their inventory is depleted - that's it, that's all folks.

Click here to view a pdf file of all available tyvek maps

Scale Description Colours Price
1:50 000
1 cm = 0.5 km
 6 $11.95
1:50 000
1 cm = 0.5 km
monochrome
 1 $11.95
1:50 000
Tyvek*
(water & tear resistant)
 6 $14.95
1:250 000
1 cm = 2.5 km
 6 $11.95

* Only the more popular maps are available in Tyvek, such as, vacation areas and some canoe routes. Tyvek maps are folded.

Unfortunately, Dog Ears is unable to accept VISA or MasterCard. We apologize for this inconvenience and we are working on it.

Ontario residents please add 8% provincial sales tax.

The 7% Goods and Services tax is absorbed by Dog Ears.

Once you have placed your order we will contact you with the availability and the total price for your confirmation. This total price will include a shipping and handling fee, Canada - $4.50/order, US - $5.50/order.

Please make certified cheque or money order payable to Dog Ears. If you wish to use a personal cheque, please be aware that we will have to cash it prior to shipping to ensure sufficient funds (this may take up to 7 business days).

    Mail to:
      DOG EARS
      Suite #327
      900 Greenbank Road
      Ottawa, Ontario,
      K2J 4P6
      Canada

Ordering Topographical Maps (pricing & formats)

Topo orders from Dog Ears may be requested as packages or individually. We have attempted to organize these packages as logically as possible, thereby making the process easier for you. Click on the link below which best describes your area of interest.

Canada's MCR Series

Canada's National & Provincial Parks Whitewater Canoeing Packages Flatwater Canoeing Packages Backpacking Trails


  NOTES:
  • If you are not sure of the exact topographical map(s) you wish to order simply email no spam email address with as much information as possible and we will find your map for you.
  • Not all National and Provincial parks are listed here. If you're interested in one in particular that we haven't listed, email us, we'll be more than happy to help you.
  • If you require an Index Map of a particular area, email us at: no spam email address.
  • There are no refunds or exchanges on topographical maps. Unfortunately we ourselves are unable to return topographical maps to our suppliers and as such we are in turn unable to offer any type of refund. We apologize for this inconvenience.


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