The National Institute of Geographic and Forestry Information is launching Cartes IGN, its new mobile application intended to help people discover France differently than from Google Maps, for example. All the richness of the application lies in its agricultural and forestry data as well as its historical maps.
IGN Maps is in fact an update of the old Géoportail application. Its ambition is to make it possible to better discover the territory and its developments, while relying on data from the IGN of course, but also from numerous public partners for everything concerning agriculture or forests, as well as the ‘OpenStreetMap for businesses.
Many practical features
The application offers a wide range of cartographic and photographic funds covering a multitude of themes: agriculture, forestry, protected areas, natural risks, real estate and urban planning, sea and coastline, transport, public and administrative services, etc. It also offers many practical features, starting with “where am I?”, which returns the address, coordinates and altitude of where you are, but also the creation and saving of points landmarks, “nearby” search and route calculation. In this case, it is notably possible to choose a route on foot, with all the topographical information highlighted.
On the other hand, the application is very practical for observing the evolution of the territory, by comparing maps or aerial views at different periods. At any time, users of the application can also make a report or contribute to improving IGN data.
This application can be downloaded for free from Google Play (Android) and the App Store (iOS). Compared to an application like Google Maps, IGN Maps stands out for its richness of cartographic resources and its discovery orientation of the territory.
