Why Use Images and Maps? Images and maps can clarify or support written information. Consider including them in your research or consult a map or image to help make connections. Remember it is important and easy to cite maps - get help with citing maps.

Make a Map: Suggested sites: Google My Maps or Graphics for Conservation: How to illustrate your story

Images and Photos

Online Maps

  • Fire Insurance Plans Canadian fire insurance plans, printed between 1876 and 1973, were made to provide information for insurance purposes. They have become increasingly useful and valuable as beautifully detailed historical records for towns and cities. The plans show building footprints, construction materials as well as streets, neighborhoods, business and commercial areas. Please note: The 90 year copyright restriction applies to all Fire Insurance Plans.
  • Geology Maps (Carleton University Library GIS)
  • GSC "A" Series maps: 2140A, 1506A, 1508A, 1425A, 1038A, 852A, 588A, 414A.
  • GeoOttawa (City of Ottawa) The interactive map tool lets you search by address, intersections, streets, facilities, or park names to find a location. Different map layers include parks, schools, City facilities, property parcels, roads, zoning, and aerial photos dating back to 1928.
  • Illustrated historical atlas of the county of Carleton (McGill University) "Canadian County Atlas Digital Project: In Search of your Canadian Past" Provides maps and text for late 1880's. Print atlas version available in Ottawa Resource Collection.
  • Locate Ottawa (City of Ottawa)Find the optimal location for a business in Ottawa. Users can search for available commercial buildings and sites, as well as generate site-specific demographic and business analytics reports.
  • Mapping the Ottawa River, the "original Trans-Canada Highway" (Canadian Geographic June 28, 2018) Map of Ottawa River watershed.
  • Old Maps Online A catalogue of historical maps found on the web by the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and Klokan Technologies in Switzerland. Browse and search old maps by panning and zooming, along with a search bar and a slider for time. Enter Ottawa in searchbox.
  • Ottawa 1892 (Digital Archive Ontario)
  • Ottawa Neighbourhood Study (ONS) Click on the map to identify a neighbourhood in Ottawa about which you would like to find more information.
  • CityProtect Maps data for Homicide, Break and Enter, Vehicle Break and enter, Robbery theft, Vehicle Theft, and Assaults.
  • Ottawa Topographic Maps (Carleton Library) Scanned and vectorized hardcopy maps with contours and building footprints at large (detailed) scales and assorted file formats:
  • Soil Maps (Carleton University Library GIS) "Soil Map of Carleton County", "Soils, Capability and Land use in the Ottawa Urban Fringe", "Soils of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton - excluding the Ottawa Urban Fringe" and "Agricultural Land Use Systems of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton".
  • Walkscore Maps (Walkscore) See the walkability of your neighbourhood.
  • Ward Maps (City of Ottawa)

Print (paper) Maps

The Carleton Library's print map collection, curated over the last 60 years, is a legacy collection on a variety of topics, dates and scales, useful for layering current data and information. Timelines can reveal trends or patterns, vital for in-depth research. For details on scanning print maps, ask staff in Archives and Special Collections.

Print (paper maps) are searchable in OMNI. Just add "map" to your search term.

For help finding paper maps of the Ottawa area, contact staff in Archives and Special Collections.

Content last reviewed: