High-quality maps can be downloaded from the home page of the Norwegian Mapping Authority. You can get the SOSI files for the nation-wide N500 map here.
The N500 package consists of several SOSI files, each representing a set of various geographical features. One SOSI file may contain a multitude of geometries and object types. However, Shapefiles can contain no more than one geometry type each (typically polygons, polylines or points). Hence, one SOSI file may generate several Shapefiles, as individual geometries and object types are singled out and exported to separate Shapefile layers.
One of the files in the N500 package is named Arealdekke.sos. The file title is Norwegian for “land cover”. This SOSI file has a length of just over three million lines, and contains the polygons defining common features like “forest”, “open land”, “lake” and so on.
Copy sosicon to the same directory as the SOSI files, and run the following command to start extracting land cover geometry:
./sosicon -2shp Arealdekke.sos
The conversion will take a couple of minutes (just over 2 minutes on a Macbook Pro). Sosicon will produce 23 Shapefiles or layers:
| Shapefile | Feature | Geometry type |
|---|---|---|
| Arealdekke_%C5pentOmr%E5de_FLATE.shp | Open land | Polygon |
| Arealdekke_Arealbrukgrense_KURVE.shp | Land use boundary | PolyLine |
| Arealdekke_Dataavgrensning_KURVE.shp | Data delimitation | PolyLine |
| Arealdekke_ElvBekkKant_KURVE.shp | River/brook edge | PolyLine |
| Arealdekke_ElvBekk_FLATE.shp | River/brook | Polygon |
| Arealdekke_ElvBekk_KURVE.shp | River/brook | PolyLine |
| Arealdekke_FiktivDelelinje_KURVE.shp | Fictitious dividing line | PolyLine |
| Arealdekke_Golfbane_PUNKT.shp | Golf course | Point |
| Arealdekke_HavElvSperre_KURVE.shp | Sea/river delineation | PolyLine |
| Arealdekke_Havflate_FLATE.shp | Sea surface | Polygon |
| Arealdekke_Industriomr%E5de_FLATE.shp | Industrial area | Polygon |
| Arealdekke_Industriomr%E5de_PUNKT.shp | Industrial area | Point |
| Arealdekke_Innsj%F8ElvSperre_KURVE.shp | Lake/river barrier | PolyLine |
| Arealdekke_Innsj%F8_FLATE.shp | Lake | Polygon |
| Arealdekke_Innsj%F8kant_KURVE.shp | Lake edge | PolyLine |
| Arealdekke_KantUtsnitt_KURVE.shp | Edge view | PolyLine |
| Arealdekke_Kystkontur_KURVE.shp | Coastline | PolyLine |
| Arealdekke_Lufthavn_PUNKT.shp | Airport | Point |
| Arealdekke_Myr_FLATE.shp | Marsh | Polygon |
| Arealdekke_Skog_FLATE.shp | Forest | Polygon |
| Arealdekke_Sn%F8Isbre_FLATE.shp | Snow/glacier | Polygon |
| Arealdekke_Steinbrudd_PUNKT.shp | Stone quarry | Point |
| Arealdekke_TettBebyggelse_FLATE.shp | Developed area | Polygon |
