Maps and Air Photos: Maps

The worldwide map collection of about 500,000 sheets focuses mainly on the physical sciences with subjects such as topography, geology, and land use.  About 60,000 sheets date from before World War II.  We also have an extensive collection of California maps, especially at the local level.  

The maps are located on the 3rd floor, Ocean Side of the Library.  Access to the collection is by appointment only.  

Using UC Library Search to Find Maps

See our Finding and Accessing Materials page for more information on using UC Library Search to find our materials.  Many but not all of our maps are cataloged and findable in the library catalog. Our staff is here to help you utilize the best resources for your research needs.

Map Call Numbers

We use our own call number system for maps at the UCSB Library.  A breakdown of geographic areas and their corresponding numeric code is presented in an outline. We also have a guide for reading map call numbers.  

Local Maps

We have a Ready-Reference Map List for Local Maps, which lists maps held in our collection focusing primarily on the Goleta and Santa Barbara areas.

USGS Topographic Maps

Our USGS Topographic Maps of California page includes information about the California topographic maps from the U.S. Geological Society (USGS) held in our collection as well as other sources for these maps.  All scales and most editions of USGS topographic maps are available online via Topoview(National Geologic Map Database), the USGS Map Locator & Downloader, and the USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer (in partnership with Esri).  Also, see our page on US Topo Quadrangles. 

International Topographical Map Indexes

Our list of International Topographic Map Indexes can be found using our interactive guide.  Scanned indexes to the many medium- and large-scale international topographic maps we collect are available for several of the map sets by clicking the map icon in the first column.  We also have a pdf list of foreign topographic maps in our collection.

Geologic Maps

The UCSB Library collects geologic maps at a variety of scales.  Our page on Geologic Maps lists information about our collection and other resources.