What information can I find in NRInfo?
You can use NRInfo to view:
- soil-landscapes, land systems, land capability, land qualities and data confidence
- hydrology (natural drainage lines and surface water catchments, hydrozones for groundwater trend and salinity risk assessment)
- native vegetation (type, pre-European extent, current extent, interim biogeographic regions of Australia).
Other layers of information include:
- OpenStreetMap
- aerial and satellite imagery
- topographic contours
- Digital elevation model (DEM).
Launch NRInfo
We recommend that you read all information on this page before using NRInfo for the first time.
Launch NRInfo map applicationWhere does NRInfo data come from?
NRInfo data and maps are derived from databases maintained by the department and other government agencies, including Landgate:
- Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage
- Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
- Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
- Environmental Protection Authority
- Geoscience Australia
Who uses NRInfo?
This information may be used for regional and strategic planning, for all sectors of agriculture to promote sustainable resource use, and for identifying areas needing more intensive assessment.
Always use other sources of information and professional advice with these maps
Users should not make significant decisions relying only on information obtained from this mapping and data:
- Make your own investigations.
- Consult relevant property owners and obtain updated professional advice relevant to individual circumstances.
This mapping is periodically updated. Note the date that this information is accessed.
The soil-landscape maps and other features reliant on it are designed for use at publication scales, typically between 1:50,000 and 1:250,000; the scale and method of linework capture will influence how uniform a map unit is and accuracy of the lines.
The underlying data is of varying quality and will influence accuracy of the descriptions and attributions.
Hydrozones are based on the soil-landscape zone mapping. However, there are instances where adjacent soil-landscape zones are differentiated by soil or landform attributes that vary at a finer scale than is required for regional groundwater assessments. Where this occurs, the soil-landscape zones are aggregated to form a single hydrozone.
The pre-European vegetation mapping is designed for use at publication scale, 1:250 000, and as such, is useful for broad scale area mapping only.
FAQs
Soil-landscape mapping
No, this is a soil-landscape map. Because of the challenges of mapping an area of land as large and diverse as Western Australia, the soil-landscape map unit is based on the estimated proportion of soils and landforms found within large geographic areas, and does not show the individual soils within the map unit. The estimates are based on data collected from each soil survey conducted across the state.
To achieve a good representation of soil types and their locations, NRInfo uses the best estimate of the proportion of soils and their associated landscape position in each map unit, at a level of detail which is dependent on the scale of mapping.
The numbers and letters are part of a mapping classification system used throughout Australia. It is a nested hierarchy, which means that every part of the symbol points to a different level of detail in the mapping.
For example, a map unit symbol may be 224MhMJ and it has 3 parts:
- 224: the first 3 numbers are the code for the soil-landscape zone that the map unit belongs to. The soil-landscape zone is the broadest level of soil-landscape mapping used in Western Australia.
- Mh: the next 2 letters are the code for the soil-landscape system, which is a more detailed level of mapping that sits within a soil-landscape zone.
- MJ: there may be another 2 letters, or a number and a letter, which is the code for the most detailed level of mapping, the soil-landscape subsystem, which sits within a soil-landscape system.
The map unit 224MhMJ is the Arrowsmith (224) soil-landscape zone, the Mount Horner (Mh) soil-landscape system, and the Munja (MJ) subsystem.
Many originally published maps pre-date the current Western Australian soil-landscape mapping hierarchy model. Original map unit names and labels, and some linework, had to be altered to create a seamless map across Western Australia. The current nested hierarchy of map units was established to deal with the diverse levels of information resulting from varying scales of mapping.
More information on the soil-landscape mapping hierarchy is in Chapter 2.2.4 of Link Soil-landscape mapping in south-western Australia: an overview of methodology and output (RMTR 280).
Many of the original surveys were published decades ago. To create a seamless soil-landscape map of Western Australia in a digital format, some of the originally mapped and described areas had to be altered. Alterations included edge-matching of survey linework, revision of linework to fix errors in the original cartography, improved mapping made possible with new information and from new technology, and improved understanding of different landscapes. NRInfo contains the most up-to-date mapping available.
One of our ongoing tasks is to manage the evolution of mapping technology which has progressed from hand-drawn soil maps in the pre-digital era to 3-dimensional digital imagery and GPS coordinated locations. Some linework in older maps may not match layers of information in modern GIS mapping. Also, some areas of land may have changed as a result of natural forces, such as flooding.
When we work on specific projects around the state, we review mapping and related data for the area. Sometimes we find we need to improve soil or landform quality and element details for a map unit. These alterations can change land capability or land quality ratings, which change the maps' appearance.
The ‘best available’ soil-landscape mapping in NRInfo is the most up-to-date version at the most detailed level available for Western Australia.
These maps are only a starting point for assessing particular areas of land. Because of the scale of the mapping, on-ground assessments are needed to identify characteristics of the property or parcel of land. Individual areas may perform better or worse than the land capability and land quality maps suggest, depending on seasons, soils and management. There will be some variation within each polygon or mapping unit because soil types, landforms, rainfall and water resources are rarely consistent across an entire area. In some areas, landholders may have amended the original soil type or landform with landfill, imported soil or earthmoving.
Properties and boundaries
Open the Administrative/Properties icon window and choose either the Agricultural Properties or Pastoral Properties layers. These layers will only work when zoomed into the right scale. Switch other layers off.
The agricultural layer shows the property boundaries, and clicking in that boundary will show the property ID, name and area in hectares. The pastoral layer will show the boundaries and station name, and clicking in that boundary will show the station ID, name and area in hectares.
You can search on a property name to find it on the map.
Open the Administrative/Properties icon window and choose Local Government Authorities (LGA). You can search on an LGA name to find it on the map.
Hydrozones
Hydrozones are areas of similar geology, hydrology, soils and landscapes and are used for regional groundwater resource and risk assessment. They are based on the soil-landscape zone mapping; however, there are instances where adjacent soil-landscape zones are differentiated by soil or landform attributes that vary at a finer scale than is required for regional groundwater assessments. Where this occurs, the soil-landscape zones are aggregated within a hydrozone.
Related content
- Soil-landscape mapping in south-western Australia: an overview of methodology and outputs
- Soil groups of Western Australia: a simple guide to the main soils of Western Australia (4th edn)
- Land evaluation standards for land resource mapping: assessing land qualities and determining land capability in south-western Australia
- Soil-landscapes of Western Australia's rangelands and arid interior
View Pastoral Remote Sensing (PRS) information
Visit the Pastoral remote sensing web page for up-to-date seasonal information for every WA pastoral station.
Go to PRSContact Us
-
NRInfo enquiries
-
Geographic Information Services
-
Soil-map enquiries