The GET WEB MAP SERVICE (WMS) URL's contain a WMS request that accesses a WMS service. This request can either be a getMap request, getCapabilities request, or a getFeatureInfo request. The WMS standard was created by the Open Geospatial Consortium.

To access the service, open your WMS supported client application and use the options in the application to add a WMS and copy and paste the WMS service URL into the application. The WMS client application will use the WMS protocol to access the WMS service and make it available in the WMS client application.

Example WMS URL

There are several WMS client applications available to access WMS services. View descriptions of available clients in the GCMD or visit the Open Source Geospatial Foundation website.

This procedure also applies for the GET WEB COVERAGE SERVICE (WCS) and the GET WEB FEATURE SERVICE (WFS) URL content types.

A Web Map Service (WMS) produces maps of spatially referenced data dynamically from geographic information. WMS-produced maps are generally rendered in a pictorial format such as PNG, GIF or JPEG, or occasionally as vector-based graphical elements in Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) or Web Computer Graphics Metafile (WebCGM) formats.

A Web Feature Service (WFS) allows a client to retrieve and update geospatial data encoded in Geography Markup Language (GML) from multiple Web Feature Services.

A Web Coverage Service (WCS) supports electronic interchange of geospatial data as coverages, which are digital geospatial information representing space-varying phenomena. Examples of coverages are satellite imagery, digital elevation models, and triangulated integrated networks (TINs).

Credit: Open Geospatial Consortium

Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) WMS
Credit: GeoConnections (http://www.geoconnections.org/). This figure illustrates using a standard OGC service to access a Web Map Server.

If you still have questions about accessing OGC services, ask the GCMD science staff at GCMD User Support