Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for web browsers.
For managing, analyzing, editing, and visualizing geographic data.
A compilation of geospatial-related web frameworks, tools, demos, applications, data sources and more.
- 👨💻 JavaScript Libraries
- 💾 Data sources
- 📒 Notebooks
- 🗺️ Web maps
- 🌐 Web apps
- 🎨 Colour advice
- 📍 Icons
- 📺 Videos
- 📚 Further reading
- 🤝 Contributing
Libraries for creating web maps:
- antvis L7 - Large-scale WebGL-powered Geospatial Data Visualization.
- ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript - Modern JavaScript API and web component library for building interactive 2D and 3D web apps for the browser.
- ArcGIS REST JS - Compact, modular JavaScript wrappers for the ArcGIS REST API that run in Node.js and modern browsers.
- Bertin.js - A JavaScript library for visualizing geospatial data and making thematic maps for the web.
- Cesium.js - An open-source JavaScript library for world-class 3D mapping of geospatial data.
- d3-geo - A library for creating maps based on D3.js.
- d3-geo-projection - Extended geographic projections.
- d3-geo-voronoi - Voronoi diagrams and Delaunay triangulation for the sphere.
- datamaps - Customizable map visualizations in one file.
- Deck.GL - WebGL2 powered geospatial visualization layers.
- Eurostat-map - Data-driven maps.
- globe.gl - This library is a convenience wrapper around the three-globe plugin, using ThreeJS/WebGL for 3D rendering.
- Google Maps - JavaScript API for Google Maps.
- gridviz - A package for visualizing gridded data.
- HERE maps API - Build web applications with feature-rich and customizable HERE maps.
- iTowns - A Three.js-based framework written in JavaScript/WebGL for visualizing 3D geospatial data.
- Leaflet - The leading open-source JavaScript library for mobile-friendly interactive maps.
- Map Forecast API - Simple-to-use library based on Leaflet 1.4.x. It allows you to show wind maps.
- Mapbox GL JS - JavaScript library that uses WebGL to render interactive maps from vector tiles.
- maplibre - It originated as an open-source fork of mapbox-gl-js, before their switch to a non-OSS license in December 2020.
- MapTalks.js - An open-source JavaScript library for integrated 2D/3D maps.
- OpenLayers - A high-performance, feature-packed library for creating interactive maps on the web.
- react-simple-maps - An SVG mapping component library for React, built on top of d3-geo.
- Tangram - WebGL map rendering engine for creative cartography.
- TerriaJS - A library for building rich, web-based geospatial data explorers.
- Wrld.js - Animated 3D city maps based on Leaflet.
Libraries that help you analyse and process geospatial data:
- Arc.js - Calculate great circles routes as lines in GeoJSON or WKT format.
- awesome-GeoJSON - Catalogue of GeoJSON tools.
- Euclid.ts - 2D Euclidean geometry classes, utilities, and drawing tools.
- flatbush - A really fast static spatial index for 2D points and rectangles in JavaScript.
- FlatGeoBuf - A performant binary encoding for geographic data based on flatbuffers.
- flatten-js - For manipulating geometrical shapes, finding intersections, checking inclusion, calculating distance, transformations, and more.
- Galton - Lightweight Node.js isochrone server.
- gdal3.js - Convert raster and vector geospatial data to various formats.
- geoblaze - A blazing fast JavaScript raster processing engine.
- geobuf - A compact binary encoding for geographic data.
- GeoTiff.js - Parse TIFF files for visualization or analysis.
- geolib - Library to provide basic geospatial operations.
- geopackage-js - The GeoPackage JavaScript library provides the ability to read GeoPackage files.
- geoparquet - Encoding geospatial data in Apache Parquet.
- geotoolbox - Provides several GIS operations for use with geojson properties.
- geojson-merge - Merge multiple GeoJSON files into one FeatureCollection.
- geojson-vt - A highly efficient JavaScript library for slicing GeoJSON data.
- Geometric.js - A JavaScript library for doing geometry.
- JSTS - JavaScript Topology Suite.
- koop - A JavaScript toolkit for connecting incompatible spatial APIs.
- math.gl - JavaScript math library focused on Geospatial and 3D use cases.
- Proj4js - Transform coordinates from one coordinate system to another.
- rbush - A high-performance JavaScript library for 2D spatial indexing.
- spl.js - Makes it possible to use SpatiaLite functionality in JavaScript.
- statsbreaks - Split a quantitative dataset into classes for thematic mapping.
- Turf.js - A JavaScript library for spatial analysis.
- topoJSON - Convert GeoJSON to TopoJSON for use in D3 maps.
- Wicket - A modest library for moving between Well-Known Text (WKT) and various framework geometries.
Tools for visualizing point clouds with web browsers:
- Plasio - Drag-n-drop In-browser LAS/LAZ point cloud viewer.
- Potree - WebGL point cloud viewer for large datasets.
- Potree & Cesium.js - Rezt, Austria LIDAR viewer.
- Three.js - Point cloud data loader.
Resources for frontend earth observation and remote sensing:
- EOSDIS Worldview - Interactive interface for browsing global, full-resolution satellite imagery.
- Google Earth Engine - Geospatial processing service.
- Sentinel Hub custom scripts - A repository of custom scripts to be used with Sentinel Hub.
- sentinelhub-js - Download and process satellite imagery using Sentinel Hub services.
- Spectral - Awesome Spectral Indices for the Google Earth Engine JavaScript API.
A collection of geospatial open data sources:
Data available for download:
- ArcGIS Hub - Over 380,000 open datasets.
- Copernicus global DEM - Global elevation tiles.
- Copernicus open access hub - Copernicus satellite imagery download.
- ETOPO1 - 1 arc-minute global relief model of Earth's surface.
- European population grids - GISCO - Population figures in grid cells.
- European Postcodes Point Data - Location of postal codes across Europe.
- Geoboundaries - The world's largest open, free political boundaries database.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - Open access to biodiversity data.
- Global Climate Monitor - Global open climate data.
- Global power plant database - Open source database of power plants.
- Galileo - Geospatial data discovery and management platform.
- Healthcare Services in Europe - Locations of healthcare services in Europe.
- HydroSHEDS - Consistent hydrographic data for global applications.
- NASA Earth Data - Search, discover, visualize, refine, and access NASA Earth Observation data in your browser with Earthdata Search.
- Natural Earth - Free vector and raster map data.
- OpenAerialMap - Open service for accessing licensed imagery.
- OpenMapTiles - Free OpenStreetMap Vector Tiles.
- OpenStreetMap - Free, world-wide geographic data set.
- Open Topography - High-resolution topography data and tools.
- Ookla internet speed data - Global network performance metrics.
- Sentinel Hub custom scripts - Repository of custom scripts for Sentinel Hub.
- USGS Earth Explorer - Query and order satellite images and more.
- World Atlas TopoJSON - Natural Earth's vector data as TopoJSON.
- World Bank - Free access to global development data.
- WorldPop - Open access spatial demographic datasets.
Restful APIs for consuming geospatial data on the fly:
- Address API - Pan-European address data with geocoding and reverse-geocoding.
- API Geo - Official French geographical data API.
- ArcGIS location services - Basemaps, Geocoding, Places, routing, and GeoEnrichment.
- bng2latlong - Converts British National Grid to latitude and longitude.
- breezometer - Air Quality, Weather, Pollen, and Environmental data.
- Country State City API - Database of city, state, and country data.
- Geoapify - Geospatial services such as maps, geocoding, and routing.
- geonames - Supports placename lookup and reverse geocoding.
- Geocode.xyz - Reverse geocoding, forward geocoding, and geoparsing API.
- GISCO data distribution API - European Commission data source for administrative regions and boundaries.
- GraphHopper Route Optimization API - Solves various vehicle routing problems.
- movebank-api - Platform for animal tracking data.
- OpenAQ - Largest open-source air quality data platform.
- Open Charge Map API - Public registry of electric vehicle charging locations.
- OpenCage - Forward and reverse geocoding API using open data.
- Open-Meteo - Global weather forecast API.
- Open Notify - ISS location and number of people in space.
- Open Postcode Geo API - British postcodes with geospatial data.
- OpenSky API - Retrieve live airspace information.
- openrouteservice - Directions, isochrones, and geocoding services.
- OpenStreetMap - Retrieve OpenStreetMap data via Overpass API.
- opentopodata API - Open Topography Data API.
- Overpass API - Retrieve OpenStreetMap data.
- RainViewer - Free weather radar and satellite data API.
- REST countries - Get country information via a RESTful API.
- Sunrise and sunset - Provides sunset and sunrise times for locations.
- TomTom - Geocoding, routing, traffic, and more.
- USGS earthquake data - Search earthquake data by various parameters.
- ZipCheckup API - Free REST API for US ZIP-level environmental safety data: water quality, air quality, PFAS, radon, lead, flood risk.
- what3words - Converts 3-word addresses to coordinates.
- PostalCodes - Global postal code search, country exports, and address validation data.
Compilations and repositories of open geospatial datasets:
- awesome-public-datasets - An awesome repository full of open datasets from an abundance of different categories.
- Free GIS data - Links to over 500 sites providing freely available geographic datasets.
- Public APIs - A collective list of free APIs for use in software and web development.
- WRI - World Resources Institute.
- David Rumsey map collection - Historical map archives.
Some JavaScript notebooks to help you code:
- Hello, Leaflet - ObservableHQ.
- Hello, Bertin.js - Nicolas Lambert.
- Hello, Mapbox GL - Mike Bostock.
- Hello, eurostat-map.js - Joe Davies.
- Hello, gridviz - Nicolas Lambert.
- World Tour - D3.
- Choropleth - D3.
- How to make a nice scalebar - Julien Gaffuri.
- #GISCHAT Twitter Users with MapBoxGL - Globe Projection - Chris Marx.
- Hexgrid maps with d3-hexgrid - Larsvers.
- Bivariate Choropleth with Continuous Color Scales - Stephanie Tuerk.
- Visualizing Eurostat grid data using Three.js & D3 - Joe Davies.
- Try to impeach this? Challenge accepted! - Karim Douieb.
- Bars and pubs in Paris - Nicolas Lambert.
- Brussels Street Gender Inequality - Karim Douieb.
- Animating voting maps with regl - Benjamin Schmidt.
- Election maps as dorling striped circles - Julien Gaffuri.
- GeoParquet on the web - Kyle Barron.
- Interactive Regl wind demo - Daniel Kao.
- Dorling cartogram of the Spanish Presidential election - Adrián Blanco.
- Visualizing earthquakes with Three.js - Joe Davies.
- GeoArrow and GeoParquet in deck.gl - Kyle Barron.
A compilation of interesting web maps:
- Map of notable people - Topi Tjukanov.
- Submarine cable map - TeleGeography.
- Radio Garden - 3D Globe Radio Tuner.
- Map of every building in the United States - New York Times.
- Map of the Roman transport network - The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World.
- WebGL Wind - A WebGL-powered visualization of wind power. Capable of rendering up to 1 million wind particles at 60fps.
- Statistical Atlas - A leaflet-powered atlas showcasing Eurostat's statistics.
- ShadeMap - Every mountain, building and tree shadow in the world simulated for any date and time.
- ClimateArchive - An interactive visualisation of climate model data across time and space.
- Old Maps Online - Browse historical places and search for old maps with timeline.
- chronotrains - Where can you go by train in 8h?
- Castlemap - The world's 7,044 great castles, fortresses and palaces on one night map, built from Wikidata.
- Europe Beach Map - Every notable European beach on one map, with sea temperature, sand and best season for each.
- Detourmap - Waterfalls, caves, volcanoes and lonely coasts, plus the ruins, tombs, ghost towns and shipwrecks people left behind, on one world map, built from Wikidata.
- Planetary Atlas - Zoomable maps of 14 worlds built from open NASA, USGS, ESA and JAXA imagery, with the IAU nomenclature and 69 surface mission landing sites.
- FilmMap - Where films and television were actually shot: 15,272 filming locations across 161 countries, each one traced to a Wikidata statement.
- Forest Fires Map - Interactive web map of forest fires.
Plug-and-play geospatial web apps:
- city roads - Render every single road in any city at once.
- Datawrapper - Create charts, maps, and tables.
- Fantasy Map Generator - Free web application for creating and editing fantasy maps.
- GeoLibre - A lightweight, cloud-native GIS platform for visualizing, exploring, and analyzing geospatial data across desktop and web environments, with a responsive layout for mobile screens.
- geotiff.io - Provides quick access to easy-to-use raster processing.
- IMAGE - Tool for generating thematic maps.
- Kepler - A powerful open-source geospatial analysis tool for large-scale datasets.
- magrit - An online application for thematic mapping.
- mapshaper - Online editor for map data.
- MapOnShirt - Create colorful designs from maps and turn them into products.
- Maputnik - Free and open visual editor for Mapbox GL styles.
- mapus - Tool for collaboratively exploring and annotating maps.
- Peak Map - Visualizes elevation of any area on the map with filled area charts.
- Plasio - Drag-n-drop in-browser LAS/LAZ point cloud viewer.
- StoryMap JS - Open-source alternative to ESRI's Story Map application.
- TopoExport - Export 2D contour lines and 3D topography using open-source datasets.
- uMap - Create maps with OpenStreetMap layers and embed them in your site.
- bboxFinder - Helper page for finding bbox values from a map.
- geojson.io - A quick, simple tool for creating, viewing, and sharing spatial data.
- GeoJSONLint - Use this site to validate and view your GeoJSON.
- Pharos AI - Open-source real-time intelligence dashboard for geopolitical conflict tracking with interactive DeckGL/MapLibre geospatial visualization. (Source Code)
- Pumperly - Open-source fuel price comparison and EV charging route planner using MapLibre GL JS, PostGIS, Valhalla routing, and Photon geocoding.
- gpx studio - Online tool for GPX editing.
Colour usage is very important in data visualisation and cartography. Here are some tools to help you choose the best colours for your maps:
- CartoColor - A set of custom color palettes built on top of standards for color use on maps.
- Chroma.js Color Palette Helper - Chroma.js-powered tool for mastering multi-hued, multi-stop color scales.
- ColorBrewer - Colour advice for maps, based on Dr. Cynthia Brewer's research.
- Dicopal.js - Discrete color palettes for JavaScript.
- Textures.js - JavaScript library for creating SVG patterns, designed for data visualization.
- viz-palette - Tool optimized for tweaking, copying, and pasting colors in and out of JavaScript.
Icons to add to your GIS websites:
- font-GIS - A very very cool icon font set for use with GIS and spatial analysis tools.
- Map Icons Collection - A set of more than 1000 free and customizable icons to use as placemarks for your POI (Point of Interests) locations on your maps.
- Material Symbols - Over 2,990 glyphs in a single font file with a wide range of design variants.
- Geoapify map marker playground - The Marker Icon API lets you create beautiful icons and use them as Map Markers.
Videos of web mapping presentations and tutorials:
- Mapping Geolocation with Leaflet.js - Working with Data and APIs in JavaScript - The Coding Train.
- 10 Maps, and the Tech and Stories Behind Them - Maarten Lambrechts.
- Intermediate Three.js Tutorial - Create a Globe with Custom Shaders - Chris Courses.
- Statistical Cartography - Design principles for statistical map design - Julien Gaffuri.
- Fundamentals of Data Visualization - Claus O. Wilke.
- A Workbook for Interactive Cartography and Visualization on the Open Web - Robert Roth, Carl Sack, Gareth Baldrica-Franklin, Yuying Chen, Rich Donohue, Lily Houtman, Tim Prestby, Robin Tolochko, Nick Underwood.
- Thematic Mapping: 101 Inspiring Ways to Visualise Empirical Data - Kenneth Field.
- Color use guidelines for mapping and visualization - Cynthia A. Brewer.
- Geospatial Network Visualization - A collection of visualization techniques for geospatial network data.
Contributions are welcome, just follow the guidelines.
If you have any questions about this list, please don't hesitate to contact me @joewdavies on X (formerly Twitter) or open a GitHub issue.