osgEarth Layers

These are the public layer types native to osgEarth.

Raster Data

Data Source	Description
GDAL	Loads any imagery format supported by the GDAL library, including GeoTIFF
MBTiles	Reads imagery tiles from an MBTiles (MapBox Tiles) database file
TMS	Connects to a TMS (TileMapService) repository
WMS	OGC Web Map Service server
XYZ	Reads data in standard XYZ format (no metadata)
Composite	Combines multiple image layers into a single map layer
ContourMap	Renders a colored representation of the elevation data in the map
Microsoft Bing	($) Connects to Microsoft Bing service. License key required
Cesium Ion	($) Connects to a Cesium Ion server instance. License key required
ESRI ArcGIS Server	($) Connects to an ESRI ArcGIS Server instance
MapboxGL	Rasterizes a MapboxGL map to an image layer.

Vector Data

Earth File	Description
FeatureImage	Rasterizes vector data into an image layer
FeatureModel	Renders vector data as OpenSceneGraph geometry
TiledFeatureModel	Like a FeatureModel layer, but optimized for pre-tiled vector datasets

Miscellaneous Layers

Earth File	API Class	Description
Annotations	AnnotationLayer	Holds a collection of annotation elements (like text labels, place nodes, or features)
Debug	DebugImageLayer	Renders metadata about each rendered map tile
GeodeticGraticule	GeodeticGraticuleLayer	Display a simple latitude/longitude graticule
MGRSGraticule	MGRSGraticuleLayer	Displays a simple MGRS graticule with labels
Model	ModelLayer	Loads and displays an external 3D model at a map location
Ocean	SimpleOceanLayer	Renders a very simple ocean surface (requires the map to have bathymetry data)
Sky	SimpleSkyLayer	Renders a sky model with realistic lighting and shading
TerrainConstraint	TerrainConstraintLayer	Alters the triangulation of the terrain skin to incorporate vector data; e.g., to represent ridgelines, coastlines, or to cut out an area where a custom terrain model will go
ThreeDTiles	ThreeDTilesLayer	Displays a 3D-Tiles dataset
UTMGraticule	UTMGraticuleLayer	Displays a simple UTM graticule
Video	VideoLayer	Renders various video formats to a layer (using FFMPEG)
Viewpoints	ViewpointsLayer	Pre-set viewpoints that a viewer application can display for the user
Wind	WindLayer	Incorporates a wind model (needs other layers that can use the data)

Feature Sources

Earth File	API Class	Description
MVTFeatures	MVTFeatureSource	Mapnik Vector Tiles specification
OGRFeatures	OGRFeatureSource	Uses a GDAL/OGR vector driver to read feature data. This is the most common feature source for reading local data (e.g., ESRI Shapefile)
TFSFeatures	TFSFeatureSource	Reads vector features from a server according to the Tiled Feature Service specification (osgEarth proprietary)
WFSFeatures	WFSFeatureSource	OGC Web Feature Service specification (limited implementation)
XYZFeatures	XZYFeatureSource	Generic specification for reading tiled vector data from a server