LMI (Landmælingar Íslands) — National Land Survey

Vector geodata for Iceland mapping via GeoServer WFS. Pre-cached layers in data/geodata/ for fast map generation.

API

Base URL: https://gis.lmi.is/geoserver/{workspace}/wfs

No authentication required. WFS 2.0.0 protocol. Supports GeoJSON, GML, KML, Shapefile, GeoPackage output.

Workspaces

Workspace	Description	Scale
ERM	EuroRegionalMap — core topographic vectors	1:250,000
EBM	EuroBoundaryMap — administrative boundaries	1:100,000
ni	Náttúrufræðistofnun — geology, nature, vegetation	1:600,000
LMI_vektor	Misc — municipalities, volcanic hazards, contours	varies
LHG	Landhelgisgæslan — maritime zones, depth contours	varies

WFS Request Pattern

https://gis.lmi.is/geoserver/{workspace}/wfs?service=WFS&version=2.0.0&request=GetFeature&typeName={layer}&outputFormat=application/json&srsName=EPSG:4326

Example

curl "https://gis.lmi.is/geoserver/ERM/wfs?service=WFS&version=2.0.0&request=GetFeature&typeName=ERM:Landmask&outputFormat=application/json&srsName=EPSG:4326" > Landmask.geojson

Pre-Cached Core Layers

Downloaded via uv run python scripts/lmi.py download into data/geodata/:

Layer	Features	Size	Use
ERM:Landmask	104	1.0 MB	Iceland land polygon (base fill)
ERM:CoastalLine	123	1.0 MB	Coastline outline
EBM:AdministrativeUnit_level2	128	4.1 MB	Municipalities with names (namn field)
ERM:AdministrativeAreas	2,713	5.6 MB	Small admin zones (code-based, no names)
ERM:RoadLines	2,918	3.4 MB	Road network (classified by rtt)
ERM:WatercourseLine	28,536	27.2 MB	Rivers and streams
ERM:Lake_Reservoir	2,376	5.2 MB	Lakes and reservoirs
ERM:LandIceArea	188	0.8 MB	Glaciers (jöklar)
ERM:BuiltupAreaPoints	98	0.1 MB	Settlements with population (ppl field)
ERM:BuiltupArea	22	0.0 MB	Urban area polygons
ERM:NamedLocation_gnamel	616	0.3 MB	Place names
ERM:IslandArea	281	0.5 MB	Islands
ERM:Airport_Airfield_points	61	0.0 MB	Airports
ERM:Port	11	0.0 MB	Harbors
ERM:NatureParkArea	40	0.7 MB	National parks and reserves

Total: ~50 MB cached

Key Field Schemas

EBM Municipalities (AdministrativeUnit_level2)

• namn — Municipality name (Icelandic, e.g., "Reykjavíkurborg")
• shn — Code (e.g., "IS0000")
• desn — Type (always "Sveitarfélag")

ERM Roads (RoadLines)

• namn1 — Road name, rtn — Route number
• rtt — Route type: 1-3 = major, 4-10 = secondary, >10 = minor
• rsu — Surface type, len — Length in km

ERM Settlements (BuiltupAreaPoints)

• namn1 — Settlement name, ppl — Population count
• use — Classification (2=town, 3=village)

ERM Named Locations (NamedLocation_gnamel)

• namn1 — Icelandic name, nama1 — ASCII transliteration

Extra Layers (Fetch on Demand)

uv run python scripts/lmi.py fetch ERM:WetlandArea

Available extras: WetlandArea, VegetationArea, PowerTransmissionLine, SpringPoint, WaterfallLine, PhysiographyPoint, SeaArea, Building, FerryCrossing, and more. Run uv run python scripts/lmi.py list for the full catalog.

Geology (ni namespace)

• ni:ni_j600v_berg_2_jardlog_2utg_fl — Bedrock geology polygons (1:600k)
• ni:ni_j600v_berg_2_brotalina_1utg_li — Fault lines
• ni:ni_j600v_berg_2_gosspr_1utg_li — Eruptive fissures
• ni:ni_j600v_berg_2_gigar_1utg_p — Volcanic craters

Regions

• LMI_vektor:landshlutar — Regions of Iceland (Landshlutar)

Script Usage

# List available layers and cache status
uv run python scripts/lmi.py list

# Download all core layers (~50 MB)
uv run python scripts/lmi.py download

# Fetch a specific extra layer
uv run python scripts/lmi.py fetch ERM:WetlandArea

# Generate interactive HTML map
uv run python scripts/kortagerð.py html -o reports/iceland-map.html

# Generate static PNG map
uv run python scripts/kortagerð.py static -o reports/iceland-map.png

# Zoomed map with municipality highlight
uv run python scripts/kortagerð.py static --bounds capital --highlight "Reykjavíkurborg" -o reports/rvk.png

Coordinate Systems

All cached files use WGS84 (EPSG:4326). The native Icelandic CRS is ISN93 (EPSG:3057). Reproject if needed for precise area/distance calculations.

Caveats

• ERM data is at 1:250,000 scale — good for country/region maps, not street-level detail
• AdministrativeAreas (ERM, 2713 zones) has NO name field — use AdministrativeUnit_level2 (EBM, 128 municipalities) for named boundaries
• NamedLocation returns 0 features; use NamedLocation_gnamel instead
• WatercourseLine is the largest layer (28k features, 27 MB) — may be slow to render in interactive maps
• Icelandic characters (þ, ð, æ, ö) are preserved in GeoJSON; ensure UTF-8 encoding