XYZ Basemap Tile Service

last updated: March 23, 2023

XYZ Basemap Tile Service Request Structure

https://tiles{0-3}.planet.com/basemaps/v1/planet-tiles/{mosaic_name}/gmap/{z}/{x}/{y}.png?api_key={api-key}
Parameter Value
mosaic_name The name of mosaic.
z Tile zoom level.
x Tile row in the grid.
y Tile column in the grid.
api_key API key for authentication.

As an example, a complete URL for a tile request for the global mosaic global_monthly_2016_05_mosaic would look like the following:

XYZ Basemap Tile Service Example

https://tiles0.planet.com/basemaps/v1/planet-tiles/global_monthly_2016_05_mosaic/gmap/0/0/0.png?api_key={api-key}

False-color visualizations & indices

Optionally, you may also include the proc={index value} parameter to specify a dynamically-rendered false color visualization.

As an example, a complete URL for a tile request for an NDVI visualization for the surface reflectance mosaic taiwan_analytic_sr_may_2019_mosaic would look like the following:

https://tiles0.planet.com/basemaps/v1/planet-tiles/taiwan_analytic_sr_may_2019_mosaic/gmap/0/0/0.png?api_key={api-key}&proc=ndvi

Learn more about false-color visualizations in Planet Basemaps here, or reference this list of Index Legends for a complete list of available indices and corresponding query parameter index values.

XYZ Protocol Overview

The XYZ protocol describes how a mapping client (often from within a browser) can access tiled imagery. This is the same protocol that Planet Explorer uses to display tiled imagery. It provide a pyramid of tiles at 16 zoom levels so that it can efficiently be displayed in web browsers. As with other XYZ tiling services, Planet XYZ tiles have these attributes:

  • Tiles are 256 × 256 pixels.
  • Tiles use the Web Mercator coordinate reference system (EPSG:3857).
  • Tiles are available between zoom levels 0 and 18.
  • Tiles are rendered in the PNG format with an alpha channel for transparency.
  • Grid is a rectangle with 2*z rows and 2*z columns, where z is the zoom level.
  • Grid uses 0,0 as the top, left corner in the grid.
  • Tiles are found at the path z/x/y.png, where z is the zoom level, and x and y are the positions in the tile grid.
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