# AWS map styles and features ## Map styles overview To request a map, you must choose first a map style. Map styles define the visual appearance of the rendered map, including the styling for map tiles, glyphs, and sprites. Map tiles can be either vector (MVT) or raster (image). While the style may change as you zoom in or out, it generally maintains a consistent theme. You can override parts or the entire style before passing it to the map rendering library. ## AWS map styles AWS map styles adhere to industry standards, offering a sophisticated and professional look. These styles reduce time-to-market and eliminate the need for dedicated cartographers to create map styles from scratch. These predesigned styles enable you to quickly and effectively create visually appealing maps for your end users. By leveraging the predesigned AWS map styles, you can bypass the time-consuming and resource-intensive process of designing and constructing map styles from scratch. This accelerates your development process, allowing you to focus on core functionalities. | Map style name | Description | Color scheme | Supports Dynamic Map | Supports Static Map | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Standard | Colored map style | Dark and Light | Yes | Yes | | Monochrome | Grey scale map styles | Dark and Light | Yes | No | | Hybrid | Road and label overlay on satellite imagery | Not Applicable | Yes | No | | Satellite | Satellite imagery-based map style | Not Applicable | Yes | Yes | Amazon Location Service provides styles following the [MapLibre GL style specification](https://maplibre.org/maplibre-style-spec/). ## Standard map style The Standard map style is a clean and modern general-purpose map design that fits beautifully and functionally into almost any application or website. To learn more, see [Standard map style](standard-map-style.md). ![\[Map of Boston showing neighborhoods, streets, and waterways in standard and dark modes.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/map-standard.png) ## Monochrome map style The Monochrome map style is a minimalist canvas with a constrained color palette, designed for use with data visualization overlays. The Monochrome style offers both light and dark modes, communicating all the essential information needed for geographic context. To learn more, see [Monochrome map style](monochrome-map-style.md). ![\[Two maps of North America, one light and one dark, showing countries and major bodies of water.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/map-monochrome.png) ## Hybrid map style The hybrid map style combines global satellite imagery with clear labels and configurable POI categories from our vector maps. To learn more, see [Hybrid map style](hybrid-map-style.md). ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/map-hybrid.png) ## Satellite map style The Satellite map style presents high-resolution, real-world imagery captured by satellites, offering a realistic view of landscapes, buildings, and terrain. This style typically includes minimal labels or overlays to keep the focus on geographical details. ![\[Satellite view of Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asian islands surrounded by deep blue oceans.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/map-satellite.png) # Standard map style The Standard map style offers a clean, modern, and general-purpose map design that can seamlessly fit into almost any application or website. ## Color scheme The Standard map style comes in both light and dark modes. The light mode is versatile and can fit into any context, while the dark mode features a constrained palette, designed to show details clearly and maintain readability in darker environments. This ensures minimal distractions, especially in scenarios such as night-time navigation. ------ #### [ Forest ] ![\[Map of Washington state and Vancouver area showing coastal regions and major cities.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/color-scheme-forest.png) ------ #### [ Road ] ![\[Map of Bronx area showing highways, neighborhoods, and landmarks in light and dark modes.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/color-scheme-road.png) ------ #### [ City ] ![\[Map of Boston showing neighborhoods, streets, and waterfront areas in light and dark modes.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/color-scheme-city.png) ------ #### [ Neighborhood ] ![\[Map of Montreal showing districts, landmarks, and streets in light and dark modes.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/color-scheme-neighborhood.png) ------ ## A pleasing, modern palette Soft colors provide important land-use context without overwhelming the map, offering useful information at both high and low zoom levels. Zoomed out, features such as forests, deserts, and glaciers add richness to the map. When zoomed in, a range of colors highlights important landmarks like schools, hospitals, recreation areas (like parks and sports facilities), and urban districts like commercial and industrial zones. The overall style features a cohesive color palette, including POI markers that complement their respective land-use areas. The road network is displayed in shades of gray, providing detail without overwhelming the map with bright, distracting colors. ------ #### [ Highway ] ![\[Map of San Francisco Bay Area showing cities and highways in standard and dark modes.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/modern-highway.png) ------ #### [ Beach ] ![\[Map of Malibu area showing Pacific Coast Highway, Legacy Park, and Malibu Lagoon State Beach.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/modern-beach.png) ------ #### [ Island ] ![\[Map of Oahu island showing major highways, Honolulu, and surrounding areas in day and night views.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/modern-island.png) ------ #### [ Neighborhood ] ![\[Map of downtown Honolulu showing streets, landmarks, and neighborhoods in light and dark modes.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/modern-neighborhood.png) ------ #### [ Intersection ] ![\[Map of Lower Manhattan showing City Hall Park, streets, and landmarks in light and dark modes.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/style-intersection.png) ------ #### [ Roundabout ] ![\[Map of Washington Circle area showing streets, landmarks, and points of interest in light and dark modes.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/style-roundabout.png) ------ ## Rich points of interest (POI) The Standard map style supports a rich array of configurable points of interest (POIs). With just a few lines of code, you can select the POI categories relevant to your use case. ![\[Map showing various points of interest in Midtown Manhattan, including businesses and landmarks.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/poi-toggle-animation.gif) ## Designed for the world The Standard style supports different political views, ensuring that maps display the correct borders for your users. The style also allows easy language switching for map labels, with dozens of supported languages and writing systems. To learn more, see [Localization and internationalization](maps-localization-internationalization.md). ------ #### [ Languages ] ![\[Map of Taiwan showing major cities and geographical features including Taiwan Strait.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/standard-language-switcher.gif) ------ #### [ Political view ] ![\[Map of Cyprus showing Nicosia in the north and Limassol in the south, with surrounding Mediterranean Sea.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/maps-political-view.png) ------ ## Topography The Standard map style provides detailed topographic visualization that highlights elevation variations and natural geographic features. Contour lines, shading, and terrain textures create a realistic representation of the landscape, enabling users to easily interpret slopes, valleys, and peaks. This topographic rendering is ideal for outdoor planning, environmental analysis, and applications where understanding terrain characteristics enhances decision-making and spatial awareness. ------ #### [ Both Terrain and Contour Density ] ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/map-terrain-contour-light.png) ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/map-terrain-contour-dark.png) ------ #### [ Only terrain ] ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/map-terrain-light.png) ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/map-terrain-dark.png) ------ #### [ Only contour density ] ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/map-contour-light.png) ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/map-contour-dark.png) ------ ## Navigation The Standard map style provides options to provide dynamic visualization designed to optimize navigation and route planning. Live traffic data highlights congestion, incidents, and road conditions, enabling users to anticipate delays and adjust their routes accordingly. With multiple travel modes—such as truck or public transit—this feature empowers users to select the most efficient and context-appropriate option for their route, ensuring smoother and more informed routing experiences. ------ #### [ Traffic ] ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/traffic-light.png) ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/traffic-dark.png) ------ #### [ Transit ] ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/transit-light.png) ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/transit-dark.png) ------ #### [ Truck ] ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/truck-light.png) ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/truck-dark.png) ------ ## 3D The Standard map style provides immersive three-dimensional visualization that renders terrain elevation and building structures with spatial depth and perspective. Adjustable viewing angles, pitch controls, and three- dimensional rendering create a realistic representation of both natural landscapes and urban environments, enabling users to easily interpret elevation changes, terrain complexity, and spatial relationships. This three-dimensional rendering is ideal for route planning, urban navigation, and applications where understanding vertical dimensions and depth perception enhances decision-making and spatial awareness.. ------ #### [ 3D Terrain ] ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/3d-terrain-light.png) ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/3d-terrain-dark.png) ------ #### [ 3D Buildings ] ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/3d-buildings-light.png) ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/3d-buildings-dark.png) ------ ## Land use The Standard map style uses vibrant colors to indicate designated land uses. Greens represent forests, grass, golf courses, sports centers, and parks. Relevant colors are used for water bodies, glaciers, deserts, and beaches. Additionally, land uses such as commercial, industrial, airports, military zones, medical facilities, and educational areas are highlighted with specific vibrant categories. ------ #### [ Light ] ![\[Color-coded squares representing various land uses with corresponding hex codes.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/land-use-light.png) ------ #### [ Dark ] ![\[Color-coded squares representing various land uses with corresponding hex codes and labels.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/land-use-dark.png) ------ # Monochrome map style The Monochrome style is a minimalist canvas with a constrained color palette, designed for use with data visualization overlays. This style supports both light and dark modes, each of which communicates all the essential information needed for geographic context. ## Color schemes The Monochrome style offers color choices for both dark and light modes. ------ #### [ Continent ] ![\[Map of North America showing the United States, Canada, Mexico, and parts of Central and South America.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/monochrome-continent.png) ------ #### [ Neighborhood ] ![\[Map of Downtown Miami showing streets, parks, and landmarks in light and dark modes.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/monochrome-neighborhood-colors.png) ------ ## Use cases The Monochrome style is well-suited for data visualization and minimalistic design needs. ### Data visualization The Monochrome style deliberately uses only shades of gray, allowing you complete freedom of color choice for data overlay layers such as choropleths, heatmaps, or dot maps. ![\[Map of lower Manhattan showing streets, landmarks, and red dots indicating data points.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/monochrome-data-vis.png) ### Minimalist design To maintain a clean and unobtrusive map, the Monochrome styles include a reduced set of points of interest (POIs) for essential features, such as airports, parks, hospitals, and universities. ------ #### [ Airport ] ![\[Map showing Miami International Airport and surrounding roads including Airport Expy and Dolphin Expy.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/monochrome-airport.png) ------ #### [ Neighborhood ] ![\[Map showing Jackson Memorial Hospital, UHealth Tower, and nearby streets in light and dark modes.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/monochrome-neighborhood.png) ------ Although the Monochrome style includes a reduced set of POIs, the underlying tiles still contain the complete set of POI data. This allows you to display POIs that are not visually present in the style. ## Designed for the world The Monochrome style supports different political views, ensuring that maps display the correct borders for your users. The style also allows for easy switching between languages for map labels, with dozens of supported languages and writing systems. ![\[Map of Taiwan showing major cities and the Taiwan Strait, with a monochrome color scheme.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/monochrome-language-switcher.gif) # Hybrid map style The Hybrid map style combines global satellite imagery with the same clear labels and configurable points of interest (POI) categories found in the Standard map style. This combination provides rich geographic detail while ensuring readability and usability for your application. ## Rich points of interest (POI) The labels and POIs have been specifically designed for contrast and readability, providing the necessary context for the satellite layer without distracting from the detailed imagery. Light road lines highlight the urban structure when zoomed out and gradually fade as you zoom in, revealing more detailed street-level information. ------ #### [ Zoom ] ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/hybrid_zoom.gif) ------ #### [ Neighborhood ] ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/hybrid-neighborhood.png) ------ #### [ Zoomed-in ] ![\[alt text not found\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/location/latest/developerguide/images/hybrid-zoom.png) ------ ## Designed for the world The Hybrid style supports different political views, ensuring that the map displays the correct borders for your users. This style also allows for easy switching between languages for map labels, with dozens of supported languages and writing systems available to ensure a localized experience.