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Maps & Geospatial Analytics

Last updated: 2026-04-27 Tags: maps, geospatial, GeoJSON, Oracle Maps, Esri, geocoding, location, map layers

📖 Full Oracle Documentation: Visualizing Data — Maps

Summary

OAC provides rich map visualizations with multiple background tile providers (Oracle Maps, Esri), automatic geocoding of address columns, support for custom GeoJSON layers, and several map visualization types (point, choropleth, heatmap, flow). Maps work in both Workbooks and Classic Analyses.

Map Visualization Types

Type Use Case Data Required
Map (Point) Locations of stores, customers, events Latitude/longitude or geocoded address
Choropleth (Region) Color regions by metric (sales by state) Region attribute (matches map layer)
Heatmap Density of points Lat/lon points
Cluster Map Group nearby points Lat/lon points
Flow Map Origin-destination flows Origin and destination lat/lon
Bubble Map Point size by metric Lat/lon + measure

Setting Up Maps

Step 1: Configure Map Service (Admin)

Console → Maps → Map Backgrounds: - Oracle Maps Cloud Service (default, free with OAC) - Esri ArcGIS (requires Esri subscription) - Custom WMS/WMTS tile servers

Step 2: Geocode Address Columns

If your dataset has addresses (no lat/lon), enrich the dataset:

  1. Open Dataset → select address column
  2. Recommendations panel → "Enrich with Geography"
  3. OAC adds Latitude, Longitude, City, State, Country columns

Step 3: Create Map Visualization

  1. Workbook → Add visualization
  2. Drag latitude column to Map Layer Latitude
  3. Drag longitude column to Map Layer Longitude
  4. Drag a measure to Color or Size

Map Layers

Built-In Layers (Oracle Maps)

  • World countries
  • US states
  • US counties
  • US ZIP codes
  • World cities (major)

Adding Custom Map Layers (GeoJSON)

For custom geographies (sales territories, store regions, voting districts):

  1. Prepare GeoJSON file with:
  2. Polygon geometries

  3. Property field that matches your data column (e.g., region_id)

  4. Console → Maps → Map Layers → Upload Map Layer

  5. Select GeoJSON file
  6. Map the property field to a key column

Example GeoJSON Structure

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "properties": { "region_id": "EMEA-NORTH" },
      "geometry": {
        "type": "Polygon",
        "coordinates": [[[-10, 50], [10, 50], [10, 70], [-10, 70], [-10, 50]]]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Map Properties (Grammar Panel)

Property Function
Map Background Choose tile provider (street, satellite, terrain)
Color Measure that drives color (gradient or threshold)
Size Measure that drives point size
Layer Type Points, Clusters, Heatmap, Choropleth
Tooltip Columns to show on hover
Min/Max Zoom Control zoom range
Auto Zoom Fit map to data bounds

Choropleth (Filled Region) Maps

Color regions based on a measure:

  1. Drag a region attribute (e.g., "Country") to Category
  2. Drag a measure (e.g., "Revenue") to Color
  3. OAC auto-matches to a built-in or custom region layer
  4. Configure color scale: gradient, divergent, or classed

💡 Tip: For US state choropleths, ensure your data uses 2-letter state codes (CA, NY, TX). For full names, OAC can match but with lower accuracy.

Multi-Layer Maps

A single map visualization can have multiple layers:

  • Layer 1: Choropleth (regions colored by sales)
  • Layer 2: Points (store locations)
  • Layer 3: Heatmap (customer density)

Configure: Map Properties → Add Layer

Each layer:

  • Independent data binding
  • Independent style
  • Toggleable on/off in legend

Map Filters & Interactions

Spatial Filtering

  • Click a region → filters dashboard to that region
  • Drag a box → filters to that bounding area (via Selection tool)

Drill-Down

  • Configure hierarchical drill: Country → State → City
  • Click country → zooms to states within country

Cross-Visualization Filtering

Map can filter other visualizations on the canvas (and vice versa).

Calculations for Maps

Distance Calculations

-- Haversine distance (in calculated column)
6371 * ACOS(
  COS(RADIANS("Lat1")) * COS(RADIANS("Lat2")) *
  COS(RADIANS("Lon2") - RADIANS("Lon1")) +
  SIN(RADIANS("Lat1")) * SIN(RADIANS("Lat2"))
) AS "Distance (km)"

Geofence

Create a calculated column that flags points inside a region: 

CASE WHEN "Latitude" BETWEEN 40 AND 45 
     AND "Longitude" BETWEEN -75 AND -70
     THEN 'In Region' ELSE 'Out' END

Performance Tips

💡 Tip: For >10,000 points, use Cluster or Heatmap layer type instead of individual points — much faster.

💡 Tip: Limit map zoom range — narrower zoom range loads fewer tiles.

⚠️ Warning: Large GeoJSON layers (>10MB) can slow rendering. Simplify polygons before uploading using tools like Mapshaper.

Common Use Cases

Retail / Store Performance

  • Choropleth: revenue by state
  • Points: store locations sized by revenue
  • Heatmap: customer density

Logistics / Supply Chain

  • Flow map: shipments from warehouses to customers
  • Choropleth: delivery time by region

Field Service / IoT

  • Points: sensor/device locations
  • Color by status (red = alert, green = OK)
  • Real-time dashboard via auto-refresh

Demographics / Marketing

  • Choropleth: demographic data by ZIP code
  • Overlay: store locations as points

Map Export

  • Right-click map → Export → PDF/PNG
  • Map is rendered server-side at export time (preserves zoom/pan state)