NimbleMap

Free for Mac and Windows

Found map data online? Drag it into NimbleMap.

Shapefiles, GeoPackages, NetCDF, GeoTIFFs, GPX, KML, CSVs with coordinates: the files you download from NASA, USGS or your city’s open-data portal. NimbleMap opens them as a map in seconds. No GIS training, no setup.

Download Try in browser Where to find data

Available for Mac (Apple silicon, macOS 13+) and Windows 10/11 (x64). The browser version needs no install, and your files stay on your computer. Download for Windows

NimbleMap with the file IBTrACS_storm_tracks_1980-2026.shp open: 4,999 storm tracks over Asia and the Pacific, coloured by top wind, with the layer card listing the file name and legend.

map data

IBTrACS_storm_tracks_1980-2026.shp: 4,999 storm tracks, coloured by top wind

A 72-second film of NimbleMap: map files dragged in and opened, nearly 5,000 storm tracks searched, an earthquake clicked, a summer heatwave played day by day, and a question answered with Pro.

NimbleMap in 72 seconds: drag in a file, explore it, ask it a question.

Where to find data

Hand-picked public datasets, from live earthquakes to Roman roads. Most download in one click.

See all 34 datasets →

The files you actually download

  • .shp

    Shapefile

    Boundaries, roads, storm tracks. Keep the .dbf, .shx and .prj files beside it.

  • .zip

    Zipped Shapefile

    Open it as it is, no unzipping needed.

  • .gpkg

    GeoPackage

    One tidy file that can hold many layers.

  • .geojson.json

    GeoJSON

    The web’s map format, from open-data portals and APIs.

  • .csv.tsv.xlsx

    Tables

    CSV, TSV or Excel with latitude and longitude columns.

  • .kml.kmz

    KML and KMZ

    Placemarks, paths and areas from Google Earth.

  • .gpx

    GPX

    Runs, rides and hikes from your watch or phone.

  • .tif.tiff

    GeoTIFF

    Elevation, land cover, satellite and drone images.

  • .nc

    NetCDF

    Climate and weather grids, played with a time slider.

Double-click opens Shapefiles, GeoPackages and NetCDF files in NimbleMap. Other files open in other apps when double-clicked, so drag them into NimbleMap, or right-click › Open With › NimbleMap.

Looking for a specific viewer? Shapefile · GeoTIFF · GeoJSON · GeoPackage · NetCDF · CSV to map.

Then explore

Thousands of storm tracks crossing the South China Sea and the Philippines, zoomed in, coloured by top wind.

Zoom and pan

Scroll, pinch and drag, from the whole planet down to a single coast.

The layer card's search box with “Haiyan” typed in: 3 found, and the three storm tracks named Haiyan drawn bold on the map.

Search places or your data

Type a city to fly there, or a name to find it in your file: here, every storm called Haiyan.

An object card: the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake’s magnitude of 9.10 is higher than 99% of 14,537 earthquakes.

Click anything

See what it is and how it compares. The 2011 Tohoku earthquake was stronger than 99% of 14,537.

Heatwave intensity on 16 July 2023 over the Americas, Africa and Europe, with the time slider at step 46 of 92.

Play time

Files with time steps get a slider. Press Play and watch a summer of heatwaves move.

Every number comes from all your data, not just what’s on screen, and every step can be undone.

PRO

NimbleMap Pro: ask your data questions in plain words. Unlocks when you sign in inside the app, free with an account.

What Pro adds →

New to maps? Practise on eight built‑in examples

NimbleMap with 4,999 typhoon tracks over Asia and the Pacific; Typhoon Haiyan is selected and its card says its top wind of 170 knots is higher than 99% of 4,547 storms.

Typhoons and hurricanes

4,999 storm tracks since 1980. Haiyan’s 170-knot winds beat 99% of 4,547 storms.

Try it step by step → IBTrACS v04r01
The walls of Beijing in 1866 over satellite imagery, with a card saying the city covered 35.3 km², more than 99% of the 1,789 walled cities.

Walled cities of China, 1866

1,789 city walls. Beijing’s enclosed 35.3 km², larger than 99% of them.

Try it step by step → Xue et al. 2021 · CC BY 4.0
Heatwave intensity over Europe and North Africa on 16 July 2023, with one cell selected and the time slider below.

Heatwaves, summer 2023

Press Play and watch the heat move across the world.

Try it step by step → Copernicus GDO / JRC · CC BY 4.0

Also built in: earthquakes since 1900, volcanoes, airports, power plants, world cities, countries and elevation.

Explore real data about the planet.

Download Try in browser