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This guide introduces various digital tools for viewing topographic maps of Taiwan (online and offline), comparing satellite imagery, and surveying wilderness areas. These tools are indispensable for planning mountaineering, river tracing and canyoning trips in Taiwan.
In addition to viewing up-to-date topographic maps of Taiwan, various tools allow you to overlay historical maps (GIS Historical Map Viewer), browse several sources of orthophotography (NLCS Map Viewer), and calculate the catchment area of any point on a river (Catchment Area Calculator).
Most of these free-to-use tools are developed by members of Taiwan’s mountaineering community or are public services maintained by the government of Taiwan.
Table of Contents
Mobile Tools
Offline Taiwan Topographic Maps (for phones or mobile devices)
- Taiwan Topo (魯地圖)
Desktop Tools
Online Taiwan Topographic Maps & Historical Maps
- Happyman Map Browser (地圖瀏覽器)
- GIS Center’s Historical Map Viewer (臺灣百年歷史地圖 “100 Years of Maps”)
Online Taiwan Satellite Imagery (Orthographic Maps)
- NLCS Map Viewer (國土測繪中心)
- NLCS Map Service 3D (國土測繪中心3D)
- FNCA Aerial Survey Platform (航遙測圖資供應服務平臺)
- Google Earth Pro
Tools for Water Flow Estimation (useful for canyoning and river tracing)
- Catchment Area Calculator (集水區觀察員)
- CWA Accumulated Precipitation Graph (日累積圖)
Offline Topographic Maps of Taiwan (for Mobile Devices)
Taiwan TOPO (魯地圖) aka “Rudy Map”
Taiwan TOPO (魯地圖) is a free offline topographic map compatible with GPS applications on iOS and Android and certain Garmin devices. The map is updated frequently to reflect trail changes as they are reported by the mountaineering community in Taiwan. In addition to up-to-date trail information, the map also has layers for water sources, campsites, peaks (triangulation points), forestry roads, and points where cellular signal is strong.
The following mobile apps can display the Taiwan TOPO map layer:
- Android: Oruxmaps, Locus Map, GTs 綠野遊蹤, Wadi 蛙弟！
- iOS: Cartograph 2 Maps, 山林日誌
Taiwan Topo Installation Instructions (in Mandarin Chinese)
Download:
Online Topographic Maps & Historical Maps of Taiwan
Happyman Map Browser 地圖瀏覽器
Happyman Map Tool is the BEST hike planning tool for Taiwan.
The Happyman Map Tool (often referred to in Chinese as 地圖瀏覽器 – Map Generator) is a legendary resource among the local mountaineering and hiking community. It is a specialized web-based tool designed primarily for planning hikes in Taiwan’s high mountains and generating high-quality paper or digital topographic maps.
Happyman Map Tool Features
- topographical maps
- historical maps
- satellite imagery
- display GPS routes
- measure distance and elevation change along path
- dual-map overlay function
Dual-Map Overlay Function
The viewer can show a composite rendering of two maps with customizable opacity. The left dropdown menu features a selection of historical maps and satellite imagery (NLCS, FNCA, or Google), that can be overlaid with either the Taiwan TOPO (recommended), 經建1, or 經建3 topographic maps on the right.
The tool also displays: peaks, hot springs, historic (abandoned) Japanese police stations, water sources, historic (abandoned) indigenous villages, mountain cabins, campsites, and suspension bridges.
Display GPS routes
To view GPS tracks, make sure the “行跡” button is enabled on the top left. GPS tracks will be drawn as thin blue tracks on the map. Clicking on any point of a track will allow you to download it.
Happyman Map Tool Useful Maps
These can be found in the left dropdown
- 農航所 – Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency aerial imagery
- 陸側1924新 – high resolution scan of an early Japanese-era topographic map; marks canyons, hot springs, and place names
- 老五萬 1956 – early KMT-era map that marks old trails
- 水利局 1966 – another reference for old trails
- 經建1 1989 & 經建3 2001 – these maps, 經建3 in particular, show the farthest reaches of forestry roads (林道)
- 魯地圖 / Taiwan TOPO – contour lines and waterways are most prominent; marks water sources, mountain entry points, and campsites
- RUDY – the English version of 魯地圖
- 衛星圖 – Google Maps satellite view
Link:
GIS Center’s Historical Map Viewer 臺灣百年歷史地圖
(“100 Years of Maps”)
The GIS Center’s Historical Map Viewer is a unique tool that can overlay historical maps on top of Google Maps for easy reference. In terms of historical maps, it has far more maps to choose from than Happyman Map Browser. It lacks certain features such as the ability to measure distance. As historical maps are often inaccurate in scale, this is not a big deal.
Historical Map Viewer Features
- massive collection of historical maps going as far back as 1907 in the Japanese-era
- historical map overlay function
Historical Map Viewer Useful Maps
Page1
- 1897 – 日治臺灣假製二十萬分一圖 – indigenous settlements, traverse trails
- 1898 – 日治四十萬分之一臺灣全圖 – indigenous settlements, traverse trails
Page 2
- 1907 – 日治五萬分之一蕃地地形圖 – indigenous settlements, canyons; HIGH resolution
- 1921 – 日治二萬分之一台灣堡圖 – indigenous settlements; SUPER HIGH resolution; missing many mountain areas
- 1924 – 日治三十萬分之一台灣全圖(第一版) – indigenous settlements; LOW resolution; rough but complete
- 1924 – 日治五萬分之一地形圖(陸地測量部) – canyons, hot springs, place names well-marked; SUPER HIGH resolution, scale correct; missing mountain areas south of Mugua River
Page 3
- 1934 – 日治三十萬分之一台灣全圖 – indigenous settlements and traverse trails marked
- 1934 – 日治三十萬分之一台灣全圖(第三版) not detailed, uses katakana
- 1939 – 日治三十萬分之一台灣全圖(第五版) not detailed, uses kanji
- 1944 – 美軍五萬分之一地形圖 – location of settlements is very precise on the topographic map
Page 4
- 臺灣省水利工程、水文站及基準點位置圖 – police stations, old traverse trails; inferior to Japanese maps
Page 5
- 92~94年正射影像【NLSC】- historical satellite imagery
Online Orthographic Maps (Aerial Imagery) of Taiwan
The Taiwanese government offers access to several platforms with images different from Google Earth. Due to differences in time of day and satellite position at the time of capture, these are either superior or inferior to Google Earth.
NLCS Map Service 國土測繪中心
NLCS Map Service is an alternative source of aerial photography. While these images aren’t updated as frequently as Google’s satellite imagery, they tend to offer better angles of Taiwan’s mountainous terrain. Specifically, they offer more clear views of most rivers in Taiwan.
NLCS Map Service Features
- satellite imagery
- topographic maps
- measure distances
Link:
NLCS Map Service 3D 國土測繪中心3D
The 3D version of the NLCS Map Service offers limited but high-resolution aerial imagery of some areas, mostly in central Taiwan.
NLCS Map Service 3D Features
- satellite imagery / aerial imagery
- 3D mapping
- measurement elevation change on 3D map (for watercourse / waterfalls)
Activate Aerial Imagery
Click on the “圖層列表” menu option on the upper left. Open the “二維圖層” folder and select “110年正射影像圖”.
Measure Vertical Distance
Click on the “基本功能” menu option on the upper left. In the first menu that appears, select the top option “垂直距離測量”. Navigate to a practical view of a vertical drop. Click once to establish the starting point, and again to establish the ending point. The distance between the two points will be displayed above the top point in meters.
FNCA Aerial Survey Platform 航遙測圖資供應服務平臺
The FNCA Aerial Survey Platform offers high resolution aerial photography of the entirety of Taiwan.
Features
- satellite imagery / aerial imagery
- requesting recent / historical imagery
Google Earth Pro
Google Earth’s satellite imagery is generally updated several times a year. However, for some mountain areas in Taiwan, the timespan is closer to once every 2 to 3 years.
Features
- satellite imagery
- historical imagery
Link:
Water Flow Estimation
Catchment Area Calculator 集水區觀察員
This web app calculates the catchment area of any point on a waterway in km². It is useful for understanding the scope of a river at any point.
Calculate Catchment Area
Zoom in on any river until you can see the waterway outlined in blue. Place your cursor over any point along the blue waterway. The catchment area will be displayed in km².
CWA Accumulated Precipitation Graph 日累積圖
A good reference for determining potential flow of larger watersheds. Useful for planning longer trips. It can be adjusted to view 1, 2, 3, or 4-day timeframes.
