Read a map item, its source and its date

Every item names where it came from and when; how to find both.

What you get: You know what an item is, who published it, when it was observed or issued, and how confident the product is in it.

Steps

Make sure Tools → "Click mode: data" is chosen (right-click the map toggles it).
Click a mark, line or area. A panel opens beside it — or at the top right for selections with no place on the map.
Read the source and time lines in the panel. Where a layer has a date that matters (a drought week, a satellite frame), the panel or the layer row shows it.
Check the state mark: observed, aging, estimated, modelled or scenario. The "VISUAL TRUTH" key on the time bar explains each; What the states mean goes further.
Drag the panel by its title strip to move it; double-click the strip to put it back. Escape closes it.

You can say, for the item, which organisation published it and when — and whether it was measured, reported, estimated or modelled.

Where several items overlap, the click walks the stack under the pointer; zoom in to separate them.
An item that is present says nothing about what is absent: a quiet map is a statement about our sources, not about the world.

Clicking does nothing.: You may be in place click mode; right-click the map to switch. Some layers are drawn as imagery and have no clickable features.

Last checked against the product on 23 September 2026. Live contents change; this describes how the product works.