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Vancouver IslandGeomatics

Insights

Field questions, answered.

The questions we hear on real projects, answered in plain English — written from field experience on Vancouver Island, not recycled from a manufacturer's brochure.

Featured — Local Knowledge

How Vancouver Island Terrain Affects Surveying and Mapping

Canopy, coastline, mountains and weather — what makes Island fieldwork different, and how to plan for it.

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Snowmelt rapids cutting through Vancouver Island forest
Robotic total station set up on an active industrial site
Construction

What Is Construction Surveying?

What construction surveyors actually do on site, and why layout accuracy sets the tone for the whole build.

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Field controller on a survey rod beside a river channel
Mapping

What Is a Topographic Survey?

The existing-conditions survey every design starts from — what it captures, and what to ask for.

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Fixed-wing mapping drone staged beside a GNSS base
Technology

Drone Mapping vs. LiDAR: Which One Does Your Project Need?

Photogrammetry and LiDAR both fly on drones — but they measure different things. Here's how to choose.

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Top-down aerial image of a residential street
Mapping

What Is an Orthophoto?

Why a drone photo you can measure beats a drone photo that just looks good.

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Colour-shaded terrain model derived from point-cloud data
Technology

What Is a Point Cloud?

Millions of measured points make a 3D site you can open on a laptop. Here's what that gets you.

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Aerial imagery used for volume measurement
Earthworks

How Are Stockpile Volumes Calculated?

From drone flight to defensible cubic metres — how modern volume surveys actually work.

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Control station and layout stakes on a cleared site
Construction

What Information Is Needed for Construction Layout?

A checklist that saves layout day: what your surveyor needs before the first stake goes in.

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RTK rover recording an as-built measurement at a curb
Construction

What Is an As-Built Survey?

The survey that proves what was actually built — and why it's worth far more than a filing requirement.

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