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Working with Vector Tiles

Vector tiles are a modern approach to delivering map data that offers significant advantages over traditional raster tiles. Unlike raster tiles, which are pre-rendered images, vector tiles contain raw geographic data that you can styled dynamically client-side. This means you can customise the colors, labels, and visibility of features without requesting new tiles from the server.

Why use Vector Tiles?

  • Customization

    Style your maps on-the-fly - change colors, fonts, and feature visibility.

  • Flexibility

    Rotate maps and apply custom styles without server requests.

  • Performance

    Smaller file sizes compared to raster tiles at equivalent quality.

  • Scalability

    Vector tiles scale infinitely without pixelation, making them perfect for high-resolution displays.

Which LINZ Basemaps' use Vector Tiles?

We have two sets of vector tiles, each defined by a different tile matrix: one in NZTM2000Quad, and one in WebMercatorQuad. For each set, we have three vector basemaps based on the same underlying data, but styled differently using separate stylesheets:

Labels Topolite Topographic

We have three guides for working with vector tiles: