| What are the differences between nautical charts and road maps? | |
|---|---|
| Nautical Charts | Road Maps |
| Provide detailed information about hidden dangers so navigators don’t hit anything or run aground! | Provide no information about the conditions of a road. |
| Are used by navigators to plot their own courses through open bodies of water and highly trafficked areas. | Are reference guides that show predetermined routes like roads and highways. |
Do show
|
Don't show
Do show geographic information, such as the political boundaries of cities, states, and countries. |
| Because nautical charts are so important to safe navigation, commercial vessels — vessels that travel the ocean professionally to ship products or fish commercially, for example — are required by law to have updated nautical charts on board. | Commercial vehicles on land, like long-haul trucks, are not required by law to have updated road maps. |
An electronic navigational chart (ENC) displayed on an Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) on NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson.
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