2010 Land Cover of Canada

Land cover information is necessary for a large range of environmental applications related to climate impacts and adaption, emergency response, wildlife habitat, etc. In Canada, a 2008 user survey indicated that the most practical land cover data is provided in a nationwide 30 m spatial resolution format, with an update frequency of five years. In response to this need, the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) has generated a 30 m land cover map of Canada for the base year 2010, as the first of a planned series of maps to be updated every five years, or more frequently. This land cover dataset is also the Canadian contribution to the 30 m spatial resolution 2010 Land Cover Map of North America, which is produced by Mexican, American and Canadian government institutions under a collaboration called the North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS). This land cover dataset for Canada is produced using observation from Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) Landsat sensors. An accuracy assessment based on 2811 randomly distributed samples shows that land cover data produced with this new approach has achieved 76.60% accuracy with no marked spatial disparities.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Last Updated April 17, 2026, 21:01 (UTC)
Created April 17, 2026, 21:01 (UTC)
contact_email geoinfo@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca
contact_person {"en": "Government of Canada; Natural Resources Canada; Canada Centre for Remote Sensing,,geoinfo@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca", "fr": "Gouvernement du Canada; Ressources naturelles Canada; Centre canadien de télédétection,geoinfo@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca"}
criticality_level []
data_dictionary ["geoscientific_information"]
geographic_scope []
open_canada_collection fgp
open_canada_date_published 2017-12-01 00:00:00
open_canada_keywords {"en": ["Land Cover", "Remote Sensing", "Landsat", "Reflectance", "Mid-latitude", "Western Hemisphere", "Northern Hemisphere", "North America", "Canada", "Geographical maps"], "fr": ["Couverture terrestre", "Télédétection", "Landsat", "Réflectance", "Latitude moyenne", "Hémisphère occidental", "Hémisphère septentrional", "Amérique du nord", "Canada", "Carte géographique"]}
open_canada_subject ["form_descriptors", "nature_and_environment", "science_and_technology"]
sensitivity_level unrestricted
title_fr Couverture des terres du Canada 2010
update_frequency as_needed