Maps of the National Series
Produced by the Chief Directorate of Surveys and Mapping

The 1:50 000 topographical maps are the largest scale maps providing full coverage of South Africa. The series consists of a total of 1916 sheets. They accurately depict the location of natural and man-made features by means of symbols and colour, and elevation by means of spot heights and contours (20 m interval). Additional information added are place names, boundaries, magnetic data, etc. These maps contain essential information for planning and decision making but also have many other uses.

The 1:50 000 topographical maps are generally compiled from aerial photographs. A standard 1:50 000 map sheet covers a rectangle of 15 minutes of latitude by 15 minutes of longitude or approximately 640 square kilometres.

click on map for enlargement

The 1:250 000 topo-cadastral maps show topographical detail with the addition of names, numbers and boundaries of original farms, the boundaries of magisterial districts, and provincial and international boundaries. Elevation, depicted by means of contours at 100m intervals, is further enhanced by hypsometric tints, i.e. shades of brown becoming progressively darker as elevation increases. This series is a firm favourite for regional planning and administrative purposes.

These sheets are generally derived from the larger scale 1:50 000 topographical maps with some detail of necessity being generalised, i.e. thinned out to show only the more important features. 70 maps of this series cover South Africa with each sheet generally covering an area of one degree of latitude and two degrees of longitude.

The 1:500 000 topo-admin maps depict similar information as the 1:250 000 maps but without the cadastral information. Magisterial districts are shown. This map is useful for national and regional planning but is also used for purposes such as route planning and travelling.

The 23 sheets of this series are more generalised in detail than the 1:250 000 sheets and generally cover the area of four such sheets or 2º of latitude and 4º of longitude.

Projection :

Lambert Conformal Conic with 2 standard parallels -
Sheets north of latitude 25º South : 17º30' South and 23º30' South
Sheets south of latitude 25º South : 26º40' South and 33º20' South

Sheet area covered:
Spheroid:

2º x 4º (generally)
Clarke 1880 (modified)