This comprehensive map of the earth includes the items that are common to any topographic map: watercourses and water bodies, shaded contours, and elevations and depths measured with respect to sea level. In addition, at its highest resolution, the map boasts more discrete place names than any other published atlas—more than 1 million!

Land areas on the map are rendered in "earth tones" of green and brown, but these hues relate here to elevation, not to the presence or absence of vegetation. The darkest green represents areas below sea level. Paler greens color the lowlands, tans the higher ground, and darker browns the heights. Permanent ice—montane glaciers and polar ice sheets—is white. Water, unsurprisingly, is blue: the greater the depth, the deeper the shade.