Sources & terms
Cosmic's Coast Map is free to use and built from government open data (Canada, the US, Norway, Ireland, New Zealand and the Netherlands), OpenStreetMap, community observations and a hand-compiled list of paddling campsites. This page lists every source, the licence it is used under, and the terms you accept by using the map.
This product is not to be used for navigation.
This product was made by or for the User (Brendon, Cosmic Otter Offerings) and contains intellectual property (Data) of the Canadian Hydrographic Service of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The copyrights in the Data are and remain the property of His Majesty the King in Right of Canada and shall not be sold, licensed, leased, assigned or given to a third party. The incorporation of the Data in this product does not constitute an endorsement or an approval of this product by the Canadian Hydrographic Service, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans or His Majesty the King in Right of Canada.
Terms of use
This map is a planning aid, not a navigational chart or a safety authority. Tide and current predictions, wind, wave and weather forecasts are estimates and can be wrong; the curve between a high and a low is an approximation until the official 15-minute predictions load. Campsite, launch and hazard information is compiled from public sources and paddling guides and may be out of date. Carry official charts and tide tables, check the marine forecast from Environment Canada, and confirm access with BC Parks, Parks Canada and the First Nation in whose territory you are travelling.
You are responsible for your own safety and decisions on the water. The map is provided as is, without warranty of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law the author accepts no liability for loss, injury or damage arising from its use.
This app is free and nothing in it is sold. If a "Support this map" link appears, it is a voluntary tip to the project, not a price for any data, and the Canadian Hydrographic Service data it contains is used under a non-commercial licence.
Privacy
Visits are counted with Umami, a cookieless analytics service that stores no personal data and needs no consent banner; it records page views and a few product events, never locations or emails. Calls to the agent API and MCP server are counted the same way: the tool name, whether a pass key was used and the name of the assistant software, never the key, the place asked about or an address.
The map runs in your browser. Your favourite stations, saved forecasts and the offline copy of the map live on your device only. Nothing identifies you to the server; the forecast and marine-weather requests carry only a station's rounded position.
Data sources and licences
| Layer | Source | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| Tide predictions (high/low and 15-minute), current predictions, live water levels | Canadian Hydrographic Service, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Integrated Water Level System API | CHS licence agreement: non-commercial, non-navigational use; see the notice above |
| Wind, gusts, temperature, cloud and rain (HRDPS model); waves and swell (GDWPS model) | Environment and Climate Change Canada, Meteorological Service of Canada, MSC GeoMet | ECCC Data Server End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada. |
| Marine text forecasts, warnings and forecast areas (all of Canada) | Environment and Climate Change Canada, MSC GeoMet (marine forecasts) | ECCC Data Server End-use Licence |
| Coastal survey points: campsites, kayak sites, launches, anchorages, marinas, moorage, aids to navigation, hazards, routes | Province of British Columbia, Coastal Resource Information Management System (1996–2004) | Open Government Licence – British Columbia. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia. |
| Parks, park status, national parks, Indian reserves, recreation sites | Province of British Columbia, BC Geographic Warehouse; BC Parks status API | Open Government Licence – British Columbia |
| Curated paddling campsites | Compiled by the author from BC Parks, Parks Canada, Recreation Sites and Trails BC pages and published paddling guides | Original compilation; facts are not copyrightable, descriptions are the author's own. Not an official source. |
| Otter sightings | iNaturalist contributors, research-grade observations (date, place and species only) | Only observations their observers released under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA are used; each popup links to the original record for attribution |
| Basemap (coastline, roads, labels) | Protomaps extract of OpenStreetMap, self-hosted | © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL |
| Satellite imagery | Esri World Imagery (Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics, and the GIS User Community) | Powered by Esri; Esri terms of use. Attribution shown on the map when the layer is on. |
| US tide and current predictions, live US water levels | NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) | US Government work, public domain. Not for navigation. |
| US wind forecasts, marine zone forecasts and warnings | US National Weather Service (api.weather.gov) | US Government work, public domain |
| Cell coverage on the water, Canada (estimate: BC, Ontario lakeshores, Quebec and Atlantic Canada) | Terrain line-of-sight model from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada site data (macro sites) and AWS Terrain Tiles elevation, built for Cosmic's Camp Map | Open Government Licence – Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. An estimate, not a carrier map. |
| Cell coverage on the water, United States (all US regions; Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) | FCC Broadband Data Collection, mobile coverage as reported by carriers | US Government work, public domain. Carrier-reported, not verified. Some carriers' filings stop at the shoreline: over open water the app extends each carrier's shore coverage (likely within about 1.5 km, possible within about 3.5 km). |
| Norway tide predictions | Kartverket (Norwegian Mapping Authority), tide API | CC BY 4.0. Data from Kartverket. |
| Ireland tide predictions | Marine Institute, Ireland (IMI-TidePrediction via ERDDAP); highs and lows computed from the 5-minute series | CC BY 4.0 |
| New Zealand tide predictions | Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), daily tide prediction tables | Crown copyright, CC BY 4.0. Not official tide tables under Maritime Rules Part 25. |
| Netherlands tide predictions (astronomical, NAP) | Rijkswaterstaat WaterWebservices | Open data, no restrictions on reuse |
| Wind, gusts, temperature, cloud and rain outside North America | MET Norway (Norwegian Meteorological Institute) Locationforecast | CC BY 4.0 and NLOD 2.0 |
| Campsites outside the curated list, boat launches, marinas and seamarks (all regions) | OpenStreetMap, via Overpass | © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL |
| OpenSeaMap chart symbols (optional overlay, online only) | OpenSeaMap tile server | © OpenSeaMap contributors, CC BY-SA 2.0; OSM data under ODbL. Cannot replace official charts. |
| Water temperature (nearest buoy or shore station) | NOAA National Data Buoy Center, latest observations (US stations and Environment Canada buoys) | US Government work, public domain |
| Water temperature (satellite estimate where no buoy is near) | NASA JPL Multi-scale Ultra-high Resolution (MUR) SST analysis, via NOAA CoastWatch ERDDAP | Free and open (NASA Earth science data policy). JPL MUR MEaSUREs Project, PO.DAAC. |
| Fog and thunderstorm forecasts, Great Lakes waves (RDWPS), rain radar and lightning | Environment and Climate Change Canada, MSC GeoMet (HRDPS-WEonG, RDWPS, radar composite, lightning density) | ECCC Data Server End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada. |
| Marine warnings on the map: Norway | MET Norway MetAlerts | CC BY 4.0 |
| Fog and thunderstorm forecasts outside North America | MET Norway Locationforecast | CC BY 4.0 |
| Ferry routes, military danger areas and firing ranges, lifeboat and Coast Guard stations, drying flats | OpenStreetMap, via Overpass | © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Firing ranges are not always mapped: check official notices. |
| Orca vessel-restricted and speed-restricted zones (southern BC) | Transport Canada Interim Order for the Protection of the Southern Resident Killer Whale, 2026, as published in Canadian Coast Guard NAVWARN NW-P-0743-26 | Government of Canada public notice. The Interim Order is the legal reference. |
| New Zealand campsites and huts (fees, bookings, facilities, boat access) | Department of Conservation open data (DOC_Campsites, DOC_Huts) | CC BY 4.0. Crown copyright, Department of Conservation. |
| Ireland paddling centres, providers, clubs and spots | Sport Ireland, Get Ireland Active activity locations (data.gov.ie) | CC BY 4.0 |
| Shellfish harvest-area classification (Canada) | Environment and Climate Change Canada, Shellfish Water Classification Program | Open Government Licence – Canada. Pollution classification only; biotoxin closures are separate. |
| Clam beds (BC) | Province of BC, Coastal Resource Information Management System | Open Government Licence – British Columbia |
| Clam harvesting areas (Maritimes) | Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Maritimes Region | Open Government Licence – Canada |
| Live shellfish closures (Washington, Maine) | Washington State Department of Health biotoxin closure zones; Maine Department of Marine Resources current closures | Public state data. Always confirm with the agency before harvesting. |
| Queensland tide predictions (Whitsundays, Moreton Bay) | Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, predicted interval data (data.qld.gov.au); highs and lows computed from the 10-minute series | CC BY 4.0. Based on Bureau of Meteorology information that has subsequently been modified. The Bureau does not necessarily support or endorse, or have any connection with, the product. |
| Depth contours in Canada (coast, Great Lakes, St. Lawrence) | Canadian Hydrographic Service NONNA bathymetry (CHS NONNA): NONNA-10 packages (10 m, thinned to about 30 m) on the BC coast, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron and Muskoka, NONNA-100 elsewhere; depths below chart datum, drawn as contours with a 0 m drying line. This product was made by Brendon, Cosmic Otter Offerings, and contains intellectual property of the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. This product does not meet the requirements of the Navigation Safety Regulations, 2020 under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001. Charts and publications issued by or on the authority of CHS must be used to meet the requirements of those regulations. The copyright in the data are and remain the property of His Majesty the King in Right of Canada and shall not be sold, licensed, leased, assigned or given to a third party. The incorporation of CHS data in this product does not constitute an endorsement or an approval of this product by the Canadian Hydrographic Service, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans or His Majesty the King in Right of Canada. | CHS NONNA Licence (derivative products with this notice; not for navigation) |
| Depth contours | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: the U.S. Coastal Relief Model, 3 arc-seconds (about 90 m), on US coasts, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hawaii (Coastal Relief Model), and the ETOPO 2022 15 arc-second global relief model (doi:10.25921/fd45-gt74), about 450 m, elsewhere: a guide to the bottom; the shallows and narrow channels are not reliable. Not for navigation. | Public domain (US Government work) |
| Wrecks | OpenStreetMap seamark and historic wrecks, with the chart category, depth and year when tagged. Not for navigation. | ODbL © OpenStreetMap contributors |
| Tidal streams at named passages (UK, Brittany, Channel) | Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information; https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00054 (NW European Shelf physics analysis and forecast, about 1.5 km): a year of hourly surface currents fitted by harmonic analysis (utide). Modelled, not official predictions; narrow sounds run faster than the model shows. | Copernicus Marine Service licence (free, value-added products allowed, with attribution) |
| Tide tables from gauge readings (UK, France, Australia, Asia, Chile, Spain, Portugal) | Predicted by harmonic analysis (utide) of tide-gauge readings: the UK national tide gauge network via the Environment Agency real-time data API (this uses Environment Agency flood and river level data from the real-time data API (Beta)), SHOM / REFMAR tide gauges (data.shom.fr), and University of Hawaii Sea Level Center hourly data for Australia, Asia, Chile, Spain and Portugal (UHSLC; Caldwell, P. C., M. A. Merrifield, P. R. Thompson (2015), Sea level measured by tide gauges from global oceans — the Joint Archive for Sea Level holdings (NCEI Accession 0019568), doi:10.7289/V5V40S7W), gathered from the national agencies that run the gauges. Not official predictions. | Open Government Licence v3.0 (contains public sector information); Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0 (source: SHOM / REFMAR); UHSLC: free use and redistribution, with citation |
| Modelled tides (UK, Brittany, Galicia, Portugal, New South Wales, Tasmania, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Chile) | EOT20, a global empirical ocean tide model from multi-mission satellite altimetry (Hart-Davis, Piccioni, Dettmering, Schwatke, Passaro and Seitz, 2021, DGFI-TUM; doi:10.17882/79489); highs and lows computed in this app at open-coast points. Modelled, not official predictions: checked against official tables and tide gauges, usually within about 15 minutes on open coast and not used inside estuaries or inland seas | CC BY 4.0 |
| Sun and moon times, moon phase | Computed on your device (SunCalc) | BSD-2-Clause |
Contact
Found an error, or a licence concern? Use the Cosmic Otter contact page. Built by Brendon in Victoria, BC. Part of Cosmic Otter.
Made in Victoria, BC, Canada.