> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.plantpredict.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Basemap and Overlays

> Visualize satellite imagery, terrain data, and publicly available GIS data about land characteristics and infrastructure

This page documents the basemap imagery and overlay layers available in the Map Interface. The basemap provides the foundational satellite or terrain imagery upon which your design is visualized, while overlays display publicly available GIS data about land, environmental features, and infrastructure in and around your project site. Together, these layers help inform site design decisions by revealing topography, flood zones, wetlands, transmission infrastructure, slope characteristics, and other critical factors.

## Overview

The Map Interface supports two interchangeable basemaps—Satellite and Terrain—that serve as the visual foundation for your design. Additionally, multiple overlay layers can be toggled on or off using the checkbox next to each layer name. Some layers include sub-options for labels or specific feature types. When enabled, overlay data is rendered on the map canvas using the color scheme defined in the Color Breakdown column.

***

## Basemaps

The map interface provides two basemap options that can be toggled via the Satellite/Terrain control on the map canvas.

### Satellite

**Source:** World\_Imagery (ArcGIS Online)

World Imagery provides one meter or better satellite and aerial imagery in many parts of the world and lower resolution satellite imagery worldwide. The map includes 15m TerraColor imagery at small and mid-scales (\~1:591M down to \~1:288k) for the world. The map features Vantor imagery at 0.3m resolution for select metropolitan areas around the world, 0.5m resolution across the United States and parts of Western Europe, and 1m resolution imagery across the rest of the world. In addition to commercial sources, the World Imagery map features high-resolution aerial photography contributed by the GIS User Community. This imagery ranges from 0.3m to 0.03m resolution (down to \~1:280 in select communities).

<Info>
  For more information, visit [ArcGIS World Imagery](https://goto.arcgisonline.com/maps/World_Imagery)
</Info>

### Terrain

**Source:** World\_Topo\_Map (ArcGIS Online)

This map is designed to be used as a basemap by GIS professionals and as a reference map by anyone. The map includes administrative boundaries, cities, water features, physiographic features, parks, landmarks, highways, roads, railways, and airports overlaid on land cover and shaded relief imagery for added context. The map provides coverage for the world down to a scale of \~1:72k. Coverage is provided down to \~1:4k for the following areas: Australia and New Zealand; India; Europe; Canada; Mexico; the continental United States and Hawaii; South America and Central America; Africa; and most of the Middle East. Coverage down to \~1:1k and \~1:2k is available in select urban areas.

This basemap was compiled from a variety of best available sources from several data providers, including the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. National Park Service (NPS), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN), GeoBase, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Garmin, HERE, Esri, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community.

<Info>
  For more information, visit [ArcGIS World Topo Map](https://goto.arcgisonline.com/maps/World_Topo_Map)
</Info>

***

## Layer Reference

<table>
  <colgroup>
    <col style={{width: "18%"}} />

    <col style={{width: "25%"}} />

    <col style={{width: "42%"}} />

    <col style={{width: "15%"}} />
  </colgroup>

  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Layer Name</th>
      <th>Layer Description</th>
      <th>Color Breakdown</th>
      <th>Source</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>

  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>**Flood Hazard Zones (USFEMA)**</td>
      <td>FEMA flood hazard zone data indicating areas with varying levels of flood risk based on annual probability of flooding. This layer displays Flood Hazard Areas from the Flood Insurance Rate Map created by FEMA as part of the National Flood Insurance Program's floodplain management. To improve performance, Flood Zone values "Area Not Included", "Open Water", "D", "NP", No Data, and areas with Flood Zone value "X" subtype "Area of Minimal Flood Hazard" were removed from the layer.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#1a237e", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 1% Chance Annual Flood Hazard<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#64b5f6", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 0.2% Annual Chance Flood Hazard<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#00838f", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Regulatory Floodway<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#78909c", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Special Floodway<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#cfd8dc", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Future Conditions 1% Annual Chance<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#fdd835", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Area with Reduced Risk Due to Levee
      </td>

      <td>[FEMA](https://www.fema.gov/)</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Wetlands-Vectors (USFWS)**</td>
      <td>This layer displays wetlands of the United States from the National Wetlands Inventory produced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, updated by Esri annually.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#004d40", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Freshwater - Forested and Shrub wetland<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#00796b", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Freshwater Emergent wetland<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#1976d2", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Freshwater pond<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#7b1fa2", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Estuarine and Marine wetland<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#00bcd4", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Riverine<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#03a9f4", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Lakes<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#ba68c8", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Estuarine and Marine Deepwater<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#80cbc4", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Other Freshwater wetland
      </td>

      <td>[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service](https://www.fws.gov/program/national-wetlands-inventory/wetlands-data)</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Parcels**</td>
      <td>Property parcel boundaries from public records showing land ownership divisions. Data covers 160.2 million parcels across more than 3,229 counties and over 99% of the U.S. population. **(Subscription required - included in PlantPredict license)**</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", border: "2px solid #616161", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Parcel boundary outlines
      </td>

      <td>[ReportAll USA](https://reportallusa.com)</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Roadways/Railways (Census)**</td>
      <td>Transportation infrastructure including primary roads, secondary roads, local roads, and railroads.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#c62828", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Interstate/State Route<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#ef6c00", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> State Highway<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#424242", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Local Street/Trails<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#212121", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle", borderTop: "1px dashed #212121"}} /> Railway (dashed)
      </td>

      <td>[U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb](https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/tigerwebmain/TIGERweb_main.html)</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Survey**</td>
      <td>Elevation survey data showing relative elevation compared to site average. If user-supplied survey data is not provided, the layer uses WorldElevation3D/Terrain3D which provides global elevation with orthometric heights (in meters) based on multiple sources ranging from 1000m to 50cm resolution. See [Elevation Coverage Map](https://esriurl.com/elevationcoveragemap) for details.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#fff59d", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> > 20% above average elevation<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#81c784", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> > 5% above average elevation<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#388e3c", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Average elevation<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#00695c", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> > 5% below average elevation<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#0d47a1", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> > 20% below average elevation
      </td>

      <td>[ArcGIS Terrain3D](http://goto.arcgisonline.com/elevation3d/WorldTerrain3D/Terrain3D)</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**KML Import**</td>
      <td>Display imported KML/KMZ files containing custom geographic data such as boundaries, points, or polygons.</td>

      <td>
        Colors and styles as defined in the imported KML file
      </td>

      <td />
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Site Boundaries**</td>
      <td>Project site boundary definitions created within the map interface.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", border: "2px solid #1565c0", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Site boundary polygons
      </td>

      <td />
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**DC Flood**</td>
      <td>DC flood analysis results showing array configurations and capacity status. Includes optional Labels toggle.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#757575", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Standard array<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#212121", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Non-standard array<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#c62828", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Out of bounds array<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#ad1457", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> PCS
      </td>

      <td />
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Constraints**</td>
      <td>Site constraints including setbacks, exclusion zones, and user-defined restricted areas. Includes optional Labels toggle.</td>

      <td>
        Colors vary by constraint type (linear, area, point)
      </td>

      <td />
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Transmission Lines**</td>
      <td>Electric power transmission lines in the United States. Transmission lines are the system of structures, wires, insulators and associated hardware that carry electric energy from one point to another in an electric power system. Lines are operated at relatively high voltages varying from 69 kV up to 765 kV, and are capable of transmitting large quantities of electricity over long distances. Underground transmission lines are included where sources were available.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#6a1b9a", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Transmission Line (over 115KV)<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#c62828", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Sub-Transmission Line (115KV or less)<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#757575", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Transmission Line (Unknown voltage)
      </td>

      <td>[HIFLD](https://hifld-geoplatform.opendata.arcgis.com/)</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Substations**</td>
      <td>Electric substation geospatial data layer displaying the locations of substations in the USA for grid interconnection planning.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#ef6c00", borderRadius: "50%", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Generation/Receiving Station (over 115KV)<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#fdd835", borderRadius: "50%", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Substation (115KV or less)<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#9e9e9e", borderRadius: "50%", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Substation (Unknown voltage)
      </td>

      <td>—</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Crude Oil Pipelines**</td>
      <td>Crude oil trunk pipelines utilizing data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The network of crude oil pipelines in the U.S. includes approximately 55,000 miles of crude trunk lines with diameters between 8 to 24 inches. These larger cross-country crude oil transmission pipelines deliver crude oil from producing areas to refineries and markets throughout the U.S.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#424242", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Pipeline
      </td>

      <td>[EIA](https://www.eia.gov/)</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Natural Gas Pipelines**</td>
      <td>Major natural gas transmission pipelines in the U.S. including interstate, intrastate, and gathering pipelines. The U.S. natural gas pipeline network has about 3 million miles of mainline and other pipelines linking natural gas production areas and storage facilities with consumers. Two-thirds of the lower 48 States are almost totally dependent upon the interstate pipeline system for their supplies of natural gas. Data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration from sources including FERC Form 567 and other external sources.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#c62828", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Interstate<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#1565c0", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Intrastate<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "3px", backgroundColor: "#2e7d32", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Gathering
      </td>

      <td>[EIA](https://www.eia.gov/)</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Earthwork**</td>
      <td>Cut and fill visualization for terrain grading analysis. Includes optional Labels toggle.</td>

      <td>
        Cut and fill volumes visualized on the map
      </td>

      <td />
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Slope Constraints**</td>
      <td>Slope-based constraints highlighting areas where terrain slope direction may impact solar performance or construction feasibility.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#1565c0", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> North facing slope constraint<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#c62828", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> South facing slope constraint
      </td>

      <td />
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Slope Bands**</td>
      <td>Terrain slope visualization using graduated color bands to identify areas of varying slope grade.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#eceff1", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 0% - 1% slope<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#b0bec5", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 1% - 2% slope<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#c5e1a5", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 2% - 3% slope<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#7cb342", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 3% - 4% slope<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#c0ca33", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 4% - 5% slope<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#fdd835", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 5% - 6% slope<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#ffb300", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 6% - 7% slope<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#fb8c00", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 7% - 8% slope<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#f4511e", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 8% - 9% slope<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#e53935", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> 9% - 10% slope<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#b71c1c", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> > 10% slope
      </td>

      <td />
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Post Analysis**</td>
      <td>Post-layout analysis results showing tracker post positions relative to grading tolerances.</td>

      <td>
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#e91e63", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Post below tolerance (cut)<br />
        <span style={{display: "inline-block", width: "12px", height: "12px", backgroundColor: "#4caf50", marginRight: "6px", verticalAlign: "middle"}} /> Post above tolerance (fill)
      </td>

      <td />
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>**Annotations**</td>
      <td>User-created text annotations and labels placed on the map for documentation purposes.</td>

      <td>
        User-defined text and styling
      </td>

      <td />
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>