science

Géoportail

Géoportail is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Géoportail rather than just read about it. In short: Géoportail is a comprehensive web mapping service of the French government that publishes maps and geophysical aerial photographs from more than 90 sources for France and its territories. The service, first developed by two public agencies (the IGN and the BRGM), was officially inaugurated on 23 June 2006 by president Jacques Chirac.

Key takeaways

Géoportail belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Géoportail to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Géoportail from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Géoportail is a comprehensive web mapping service of the French government that publishes maps and geophysical aerial photographs from more than 90 sources for France and its territories. The service, first developed by two public agencies (the IGN and the BRGM), was officially inaugurated on 23 June 2006 by president Jacques Chirac. Though the French service has sometimes been described as a competitor or rival to Google Maps, it is different from Google's mapping service (launched one year before in February 2005), since they have different objectives. Geoportail makes some unusual cartographic sources available, such as the renowned 18th-century Cassini maps and the Napoléonic-period Minutes État-Major, in addition to IGN road maps, administrative maps, topographic maps, cadastral and building surveys, public service utility maps, transportation maps, hydrographic maps, atmospheric and weather maps, geological maps, land use maps, maps of cultural sites, and much more. All maps and aerial photographs at Geoportail may be combined and viewed in transparent layers controlled by the user. The highest resolution of aerial photography, in general, is higher than what is available at Google Maps. Place names are identified and searchable for smallest villages and physical locations, beyond what is found on similar sites. Since its inception in June 2006, the French service has progressively added new data and has undergone significant updates. The latest major upgrade became available in summer 2012.

Origin of the project The project originated for two main purposes:

INSPIRE (Infrastructure for spatial information in Europe) European directive and ADELE French programme aim at the development of on-line administrative information; the success of other online projects like Google Maps, in which navigation in maps and satellite views is possible.

Partners The DGME (French General Directorate for State Modernisation) is in charge of the project, with implementation managed by two state entities: IGN developed the visualisation interface, with the background of its own data (maps and photos), French Office of Geological and Mineral Research BRGM developed the catalog and search system. Geoconcept IDEE (Spain) SwissImage Swisstopo

History of the portal

Project The project was launched during summer 2005 in the IGN. The goal for the opening of the Géoportail was set as summer 2007. On 6 January 2006, in Metz, the former President of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac, expressed the wish to open the Géoportail during the year. In early March 2006, the IGN launched an advertising campaign about the Géoportail.

Launch problems On 23 June 2006 the site was launched by Jacques Chirac and other ministers. In this first release, users could browse in 2D over:

the orthophoto (corrected aerial photographs) of France, including a great part of French overseas departments and territories, with an image resolution of 50 cm; the IGN maps, at a scale adapted for the chosen zoom (up to 1:25000 with a zoom of 1/3000). After the site was first launched, connection requests were 5 times greater than expected by the project team, which led to a crash of the servers. A message was posted apologizing for this problem while a solution was found. On 1 July access to the site was restored.

See also Google Earth Google Maps NASA World Wind

References

External links Official website Press release of the IGN Geoportail plugin for NASA World Wind adds 3D navigation to geoportail.fr imagery

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Géoportail

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Géoportail claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Géoportail before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Géoportail ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Géoportail

In research: Géoportail appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Géoportail in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Géoportail is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Geography of France, Web mapping, Web portals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Géoportail outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Géoportail in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Géoportail means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Géoportail out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Géoportail in simple terms?

Why does Géoportail matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Géoportail?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Géoportail.