Library Guides: Maps & Air Photos: Nautical Charts

Digital Charts

NOAA On-Line Chart Viewer
View online up-to-date NOS charts for U.S. coastal and Great Lakes waters and NGA charts for international coastal waters.
Historical Map & Chart Collection
Digitized historical charts of U.S. coastal waters from the Office of the Coast Survey and its predecessors.
U.S. Coast Survey Maps of California
Interactive map that provides access to digital versions of T-sheets, GIS layers of streams and wetlands based on the maps, and related tools to support their use. T-sheets' depictions of coastal wetlands and estuaries prior to major development are valuable tools for coastal zone planning and estuary management and form an important foundation for more detailed investigations of historical extent and condition of coastal wetlands.
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A project from the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) and the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP).

Finding Physical Nautical Charts

Find Nautical Charts in the Library

Nautical charts can be difficult to find, so please do not hesitate to ask us for assistance. Listed below are some common nautical chart sets in our library.

Domestic

United States nautical charts [National Ocean Service]
Call Number: G3701.P5 svar .U51 (Case B and folio)
These charts cover U.S. domestic waters and are produced by the NOS and its predecessors, the U.S. Coast Survey and the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey. Our collection includes many charts from the late 1850s to the present.
Topographic Survey Charts (or T-Charts)
Call Number: G3700 svar .U5 (Case B)
These charts cover U.S. coastal waters and were produced by the U.S. Coast Survey from 1835-1927

International

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Charts
Call Number: G9096.P5 svar .U4 (Case B)
These charts cover foreign coastal waters and are produced by NGA and its predecessors. Our collection includes the oldest and most recent charts for most areas of the world.

You can find other nautical charts in our collection by using the Advanced Keyword Search in UC Library Search to search for subject keywords [nautical charts place name] (e.g., nautical charts japan). You can find other ocean-related keywords in the list of common subject keywords for maps.

Chart Conversions

National Ocean Service National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

*To learn more about these charts read the Information about Chart Conversions box on this page.

Timelines

Both the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency & the National Ocean Service (Office of the Coast Survey) have undergone numerous title changes throughout the years along with reorganizations. The below timelines provides information on their past names.