Australian National Base Map with Topographic and Land Use Data

The National Base Map service provides seamless topographic colour mapping for Australia and its external territories. The data is sourced from Geoscience Australia, the Australian Antarctic Division, OpenStreetMap, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and other government programs. The topographic information was checked in 2008 and supplemented in 2009, with contributions acknowledged from multiple Australian government departments.

Use Cases

• Create national-scale topographic visualizations based on cultural, hydrography, marine, transport, vegetation and relief themes.
• Analyze land use patterns based on the aggregated vegetation layer from the Australian Collaborative Land Use and Management Program (ACLUMP).
• Integrate high-resolution road network data for mainland Australia derived from OpenStreetMap.
• Study terrain using SRTM-derived elevation data processed for stripe removal, void filling and vegetation offset removal.

Strengths

• Covers the entire Australian continent, its outer islands, and external territories including Antarctic territory.
• Integrates data from multiple authoritative sources including Geoscience Australia, OpenStreetMap, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
• Includes detailed SRTM-derived elevation data processed with specific methods described in a user guide.

Limitations

• Limited field checking was undertaken; the description states some information may not be accurate.
• Topographic information was primarily checked and supplemented in 2008-2009, which may affect current accuracy.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, Australian Antarctic Division, OpenStreetMap, Australian Bureau of Statistics, ACLUMP.

Collection Method

Aggregated from multiple mapping datasets, satellite imagery, and other sources.

Time Range

Topographic data checked in 2008, supplemented in 2009. SRTM data acquired February 2000. Suburb data from 2018 and 2020.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 21:58:19.898101; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Australia, including Norfolk, Lord Howe, Macquarie, Cocos (Keeling), Christmas, Heard and McDonald Islands, and the Australian Antarctic Territory.