Maps

• Online maps
  • Historical map collections
  • Google Maps and Google Earth
• Maps in the Library

Online maps

Online maps and mapping tools are useful for finding:

• topographic maps - show information about the shape of the land, and can be used to obtain precise measurements of distance, direction, area and quantity
• aerial photography and satellite images - use in natural resource management, vegetation mapping, geological applications as well as urban, regional and property planning
• cadastral maps - land boundary maps.

View all online maps and satellite imagery databases

You can also search government and council websites to find a range of maps and interactive mapping tools, most of which are made freely available to the public. Some key websites include:

• Brisbane City Council maps
• Queensland Government maps
• GeoScience Australia - Maps of Australia

Historical map collections

Local councils and historical societies as well as state and national libraries are also good options for searching for maps, particularly historical map collections. Many of these have been digitised and made freely available online.

Google Maps and Google Earth

Google Maps as well as Google Earth provide good options for finding maps. You can also use the Google Advance Search and restrict searches to the Google Earth file types (e.g. .kml, .kmz).

Maps in the Library

Hardcopy maps are available in the Gardens Point Map collection.

You can search for maps in Library Search by location or topic (e.g. Brisbane or dam) and select the Maps format to filter results.