Interior unveils build-your-own-map public site

Federal weather maps, soil maps, wetlands maps and more—all can be found at the new Geospatial Platform website unveiled by the Interior Department and other federal agency partners this week.

The website makes it possible for users to create customized maps using federal geospatial data and common geographic maps. They also can integrate their own data into the maps, and share the maps through Web browsers and mobile applications.

“New Geospatial site is now live,” the Interior Department announced on Twitter on Nov. 9. “Has tools for the public to create maps, share information.”

The mapping platform will provide a “user-friendly ‘one-stop shop’ for place-based data you can trust, and the tools to display that data on a map platform," Anne Castle, Interior’s assistant secretary for water and science, said in news release.

The platform was developed by the Federal Geographic Data, an interagency committee chaired by the Secretary of the Interior. The panel also includes members from the Office of Management and Budget, Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The platform makes it possible for users to quickly visualize combinations of various data sets. For example, a user may overlay a map of coastal environmentally-sensitive zones with historic hurricane data.

The new website also will integrate and display geospatial information from Data.gov.