Looking for detailed Ocean Map

[dvbl]

Imagine the best, most detailed map of the world you've ever seen. Now imagine a map with that level of detail for all the world's oceans and seas and major bays, showing trenches and ridges and depths. That's what I'm looking for. Anyone know a company, website, etc that provides this type of map? Thanks in advance. The practical reason...because I'm a total map geek. The impractical reason...I imagine that all the water and land in the world is reversed (US, Canada, Greenland, South America, etc are all bodies of water...and the Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean, etc are land masses). Then I imagine where the best hiking and canoeing would be. For example, the Mariana Trench would be "The Grand Canyon". The Rocky Mountains would be an island chain.

This is what I do at work when I feel like slacking.

 

[Oldsmores]

Have you tried National Geographic ?

 

[nartreb]

For my part, when bored I like to use Google to find the answers to questions I know nothing about...

NOAA has several maps, plus they make their raw data available on CD-ROM.
You can also select a custom map area online and they'll generate a data file on the fly (you have to download a viewer).

Overview map and links:

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/fliers/97mgg03.html

My favorite of theirs is this interactive map:

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/2minrelief.html

The UN Environmental Programme also has an interactive viewer based on some of the same data sets, but I found it too slow to use.

PS NOAA's Coastal Relief series just happens to include some decent colorized elevation maps of New England - useful if you're looking for a non-copyright-encumbered overview of the region's mountain chains.

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/coastal/grddas01/grddas01.htm

 

[sardog1]

Have I got a deal for you.

The University of New Hampshire sponsors an annual GIS Day (part of nationwide celebration.) It's on November 1 this year, and the featured attraction is the NOAA Ocean Mapping and Exploration Map Collection. It includes:

Ocean Bathymetry Maps
Ocean Navigation Maps
Archeological and Shipwreck Maps
Marine Species Habitat Maps
Satellite Images
Physical Ocean Characteristic Maps
Deep Sea Research Maps and Photos
Deep Sea Exploration Wallcharts
Ocean Infrastructure Maps

And it's FREE! Scroll down on the linked page to find the home page for the event with more details.

 

[Grandaddy]

Have you tried National Geographic ?

I have fond memories of thumbing through the National Geograpic World Atlas as a kid and checking out the ocean floor maps. I blew my mind away that Mariana Trench, in the Pacific, is nearly 7 miles deep!

 

[Jeff-B]

Several years ago National Geographic magazine issued this map of the world's oceans just as you described.
It's a two sided 24"x36"(or close ?) map labeled "The World Physical" which shows the ocean floor peaks, ridges, plains and trenches, and on the other side is labled "The World Political" which shows country borders and cities, with more info for oceans regarding the currents.
Map was produced copywrite 2003 and has labeled; "info requests for more maps to inquire to NG direct".
I saved every new map they ever produced from the last 10 years,
I too am a map junkie....

 

[TCD]

For a long time, the *really* detailed maps of the ocean floor were unavailable to the public, because of military security concerns that enemy subs could use them for silent navigation. Don't know if that's still the case.

 

[paul ron]

Try a marine supply or marine book store. They are called charts, not maps.

Good luck.

 

[Raymond]

I don't think he wants to navigate by them, just look at them.

I still have a set of the four maps of the ocean floor that were published back in the 1960s or 1970s by the National Geographic. Painted by Heinrich Berann, I think, off the top of my head. The reverse side had a regular map covered with notes of interest. Great stuff.

Edit: Hey! I was right. And here's a link.