Nautical maps are graphic representations of coastal regions and maritime areas.
If the scale of the chart is large enough, it will show the water depths and the topography of the land masses.
It may also display details of the closest coastline, features of the seabed, hazards to navigation and the locations of man-made and natural navigational aids.
In addition, nautical maps may display local details of the magnetic field of the Earth, helpful information on currents and tides, and structures like bridges, buildings and harbors.
These charts are essential for navigation, and some countries actually require vessels like commercial ships to carry them.
Nautical maps may be charts on paper or electronic navigational charts generated by computers.
Recent advances in technology allow you to print a chart on demand, with information updates as recently as the night before you print it.
There is also critical data added to these on-demand nautical maps so that they are up to date when you print them.
Nautical maps are made based on surveys of the area of the sea in the charts. Surveying takes a great deal of time, so some data may be less reliable. Depths may be measured by echo sounding, unless the area being measured has hazardous obstructions.
In these cases, horizontal wires are used to make sure that any projections don’t create danger for vessels above the obstruction.
There are places online where you can get free nautical maps from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . These charts are updated continuously.
These will improve your safety while boating, although the print on demand nautical maps will not generally give you the same detail that NOAA’s full-size charts do.
OpenSeaMap.org is another of the free nautical maps available. It’s part of the same project that is the base for Wikipedia.
Anyone can contribute specific knowledge of harbors and estuaries. OpenSeaMap covers many seas, as well as inland waterways.
This chart will show boaters harbor information, buoys, lights and other nautical data.
