to Infodome homepage
Research
 About Us Services Computing Information For

Nautical Charts

See also: Map Collection | Map Basics


Nautical charts are produced for marine navigation. They contain information about navigational aids, including buoys, beacons, lighthouses, radio and radar stations, shipping channels, and restricted areas. Water depths are recorded as soundings, in meters, feet or fathoms. Near-shore depths are shown by contours and layered tints. In addition, physical features such as shorelines, shallows, reefs, submerged rocks, kelp beds, and ocean bottom sediments are shown for some areas.

Nautical charts were designed for navigation, but must be kept up to date with any changes listed in the weekly Notice to Mariners in order to be accurate. Because the library does not make these changes, the charts may not be up to date and so are stamped "Not to be used for navigational purposes." We keep only the most current edition. Some historical charts are available online from NOAA's Historical Map & Chart Project.

The charts are very useful for the physical features and bathymetry they show. They can also be a valuable source of information for coastal settlements, and sometimes as general or topographic maps of coastal or island areas. In fact, for some islands, they provide the only topographical information available.

Chart No. 1: Nautical Chart Symbols, Abbreviations, and Terms is a useful guide to the unique symbols found on nautical charts. It is located on the Map Index Table(C 44.402:SY 6).

The Dates of Latest Editions listing provides the date of the latest edition as well as the date when the next edition will be effective.


How to find the charts


Nautical charts are located in the Map Collection, which is located in the Reference Services Division (1st floor, Library Addition). Assistance is available during reference hours at the reference desk by coming in person or by calling (619) 594-6728.

The nautical charts collected by the library are produced by two separate government agencies. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) produces charts covering domestic waters and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) produces charts of foreign waters. They are indexed separately but interfiled in the map cases by chart number (see below).


Domestic waters

Indexes Charts
Charts and Publications (C55.418:) located on the Map Index Table:  
1. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Library does not own
2. Pacific Coast including Hawaiian, Mariana, and Samoa Islands Filed by chart #
3. Alaska including the Aleutian Islands Library does not own
4. Great Lakes and Adjacent Waterways Library does not own

Foreign waters

Indexes Charts
National Imagery and Mapping Agency Nautical Charts (TD 4.82:) located on the Map Index Table:  
Region#1 United States and Canada Filed by chart #
Region#2 Central and South America Filed by chart #
Region#3 Western Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and the Arctic Filed by chart #
Region#4 Scandinavia, Baltic, and Russia Filed by chart #
Region#5 Western Africa and the Mediterranean Filed by chart #
Region#6 Indian Ocean Filed by chart #
Region#7 Australia, Indonesia, and New Zealand Filed by chart #
Region#8 Oceania Filed by chart #
Region#9 East Asia Filed by chart #

Search This Site Send Feedback

This page http://infodome.sdsu.edu/research/guides/maps/nautical.shtml is maintained by Megan Dreger. Please use our Feedback Form for your questions, comments, and suggestions.

File saved 08/03/07 10:16 PDT