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Seabed Areas: Coverage and Color Palette

Seabed Area Coverage

Seabed area coverage is available in select U.S. HD lakes and the offshore coastline of Europe, including the Mediterranean and Black Sea, Azores Islands, Madeira and the Canary Islands. It covers the countries of Albania, Algeria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark (including Faeroe Islands), Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Morocco (partial), Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal (including Azores & Madeira), Slovenia, Spain (including Balearic Islands and Canaries), Sweden, Tunisia, Türkiye, U.K. and Ukraine. 

Map of European seabed coverage in green coloring.

Map of European seabed coverage availability


Color Palette

The color palette is created to allow for quick reference of seabed area composition. Additional details may also be provided regarding the specific type of bottom makeup, as well as informational text, by selecting the object information within that area of the chart.


Reading the Color Palette

The color palette reflect real-world colors for different areas of composition.

Colors and corresponding bottom composition they represent.

Night mode color palette

Colors in night mode and corresponding bottom composition they represent.


Layer Availability

Navionics® Boating AppIn the app go to Menu > Map Options > Seabed Areas (toggle ON/OFF).
Available in both Nautical Chart and SonarChart™ layers.

ActiveCaptain® AppGo to Menu > Chart Settings > Seabed Areas (toggle ON/OFF).
Available in both Navigation and Fishing modes.

Garmin Chartplotters

The latest software version and marine chart updates are required to support Seabed Area display using the ON/OFF toggle in the chartplotter settings. 

The Seabed Areas option is off by default and available in both Navigation and Fishing modes. From the chart screen select Menu (3 dots) > Layers > Chart > Seabed Areas.

Instructions how to update the plotter’s software can be found in: Garmin Marine Device Software Updates.

To update your marine chart, instructions are available at: Updating Marine Charts on a Garmin Chartplotter.

What Garmin Chartplotters Are Compatible With the Current Color Palette?
    • GPSMAP® 90xx chartplotters, including Volvo Penta models

    • GPSMAP 9000 Black Box
    • GPSMAP GPSMAP® 86xx chartplotters, including Volvo Penta models
    • GPSMAP 8700 Black Box
    • GPSMAP 7x3 chartplotters | GPSMAP  9x3 chartplotters | GPSMAP 12x3 chartplotters | GPSMAP 16x3 chartplotters, including Volvo Penta models

    • GPSMAP 10x2 chartplotters | GPSMAP  12x2 chartplotters series 
    • ECHOMAP™ UHD2 chartplotters

    • ECHOMAP Ultra 2 chartplotters
Third-Party (Non-Garmin) ChartplottersSeabed Area coverage is available on chartplotters currently offering this feature as a menu option. 
The Seabed Coverage ( back to top ) is available with the latest chart updates in both Nautical Chart and SonarChart™ layers. The original Navionics color palette (below) will remain the same until new firmware updates are available from plotter manufacturers integrating the new palette. 
Colors and corresponding bottom composition they represent for third-party chartplotters.
Current third-party chartplotter palette
New bottom composition categories will display in the default color.
New bottom composition categories will display as default color prior to third-party plotter firmware updates becoming available
New categories will display as default color