To Find and Print 1:50000 Topographic Maps

1. Print these instructions. (Click on "Save page as PDF" below or copy it to a Word file and then print it.)

2. Create a folder in which to store your maps.

3. Go to http://geogratis.ca/geogratis/en/product/search.do?id=8147

4. Locate an area of interest > by geographic location.

5. Click on the map (probably 3 times) to find the map you want (example 42D11). Note the number, you’ll be using it later.

6. Go to Download directory (on the left).

7. Choose Raster Data>Scanned Maps.

8. Click Digital Topographic Maps of Canada ftp

9. Open the 50K_300dpi folder.

10. Open successive folders to find the folder for the map you want (example - for 42D11 the first folder to open is 042).

11. Double click on the folder, and save it in the folder you created in Step 2.

12. Choose Open Folder, a new zipped folder has been created within the folder you created earlier.

13. Open the zipped folder, there will be one large file, and several small ones.

14. Right click on the large file and open it (it should open in MS Office Imaging).

So there is your map but (as far as I know) you are quite limited in what you can do by way of printing. Perhaps you require only a portion of the map, printed at a reasonable scale on 8 _ x 11 paper; read on…

15. Use the Select (arrow) tool on the left end of the toolbar to select the map area that you are interested in.

16. Choose Edit > Copy Image.

17. Open MS Word (or another program of your choosing) and paste in the copied image. You can now work with the map as you would any other picture.

It may be awkward getting your maps to print at exactly 1:50000 scale. If you are successful the blue UTM gridlines will be 2 cm apart. For seat-of-the-pants navigation (as is often done from a canoe or kayak) it may be sufficient to know that regardless of the scale, the spacing of the gridlines represents 1 km on the ground.

donandvivhall@sympatico.ca