Kartenbasis

Kartenbasis, or basemap, is the foundational geographic layer of a map or GIS project. It provides general context for location, orientation and scale and is not primarily focused on thematic data. A Kartenbasis can be raster or vector, and may consist of one or more layers such as terrain relief, aerial or satellite imagery, roads and transportation networks, hydrography, land cover, administrative boundaries and place names. The choice of basemap depends on the map’s scale, purpose and the need for legibility.

Data sources and formats: Kartenbasen are supplied by public authorities, commercial providers, or open data projects. Common formats include raster datasets (GeoTIFF, JPEG) and vector datasets (Shapefile, GeoJSON, GeoPackage). In web mapping, basemaps are often delivered as tiling services (XYZ or vector tiles) and rendered on the client side to improve performance and scalability.

Usage and coordination: Basemaps serve as a relatively stable reference frame, while thematic layers such as demographic data, climate information or land use are overlaid on top. When selecting a basemap, users should consider licensing, attribution requirements, update frequency and data provenance to ensure compatibility with the project’s needs and legal constraints.

Best practices: choose a basemap appropriate for the map scale and intended analysis, ensure sufficient contrast with overlaid data, avoid excessive detail that reduces readability, and optimize performance through caching or tiling. Always verify licensing terms and provide proper attribution for any used basemap data.