Exploring the Map
Open merca.earth to see a full-screen interactive world map. Registered parcels appear as outlined polygons on top of the base map. The map centers on your approximate location (via IP geolocation) or a default global view. Parcel boundaries, toponym labels, and ownership highlights all render in real time from on-chain data.
What You See
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Parcel boundaries. Each registered parcel is drawn as an outlined shape. Your parcels have a thicker blue border; others show a thinner gray outline. At closer zoom levels, non-owner borders switch to a dashed style to distinguish density from ownership.
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Toponym labels. Named parcels display their names on the map, ranked by importance — continent- and country-scale names appear at wide zoom, while smaller regional and local names fade in as you zoom closer.
Navigation Controls
The map uses standard web-map interactions powered by MapLibre GL:
- Pan — click and drag (or touch-drag on mobile).
- Zoom — scroll wheel, trackpad pinch, touchscreen pinch, or the +/- buttons.
- Rotate — right-click and drag (or two-finger rotate on touch). A compass button resets orientation to north.
- Go to my location — the location pin button requests browser geolocation and pans to your current position. Requires HTTPS; if unavailable, a warning explains why.
You can also navigate by URL. The app reads lat, lng, and zoom query parameters, so ?lat=48.85&lng=2.35&zoom=12 opens over central Paris.
Append ?lat=...&lng=...&zoom=... to the merca.earth URL to link directly to any location and zoom level. Great for bookmarking a view or sharing a specific area with others.
Hierarchy Levels
merca.earth organizes land into up to six hierarchy levels, each tied to a zoom range. For the technical details of how cells are addressed and how payments flow between levels, see Hierarchy → Six Hierarchy Levels.
| Level | Zoom Range | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Continent | 1–2 | Entire continents |
| Country | 3–5 | Nations |
| Region | 6–8 | States or provinces |
| City | 9–11 | Metropolitan areas |
| District | 12–14 | Neighborhoods |
| Block | 15–22 | Individual blocks |
As you zoom, the map switches hierarchy levels automatically. Visible parcels change accordingly — continent scale shows the largest territories, block scale reveals the finest claims. The active index updates in the background when you cross a zoom threshold.
To lock a specific level, select it manually from the sidebar. This disables auto-switching until you re-enable it.
Selecting a Parcel
Click any parcel to select it. The selected parcel gets a bold blue outline and semi-transparent fill.
A detail panel shows key information at a glance:
- Name — custom name if set, or a default label ("Your Parcel" / "Foreign Parcel").
- Description — Markdown text set by the owner.
- Current price — buyout price in SUI (area times base rate times premium multiplier).
- Area — total area computed from convex parts.
- Price per km-squared — per-unit rate at this hierarchy level.
- Owner — shortened wallet address linked to the Sui explorer (for parcels you do not own).
- Polygon ID — on-chain object ID, linked to the explorer.
Hovering over "Area" highlights the parcel's individual convex parts on the map.
For your parcels, the panel offers: Add Slice (expand — see Territory Operations), Edit (name, description, visual layer → Setting a Name), tax collection → Claiming Tax Revenue controls, Bump Price (raise price by one step, 15% fee), and Drop Price (lower price by one step, 8% fee). See Territory Operations → Bump / Drop for how each works. For others' parcels, a Buy Parcel button appears (see Buying a Parcel → How Buyout Works).
Click close or click the parcel again to deselect.
Parcel List in the Sidebar
The sidebar lists all parcels at the current hierarchy level. Each card shows:
- Parcel name (or default label).
- Truncated polygon ID.
- Pills for part count, vertex count, area, price per km-squared, and buyout price.
- A "Mine" badge on your parcels.
Click a card to select that parcel and pan to it. List and map stay synchronized.
A Parts / Recomposed toggle controls geometry rendering.
Recomposed merges all convex slices into one clean outline per parcel — best for general browsing. Parts draws each convex component separately, which is useful when inspecting geometry, planning expansions, or debugging overlapping slices.
Owners see action buttons on their cards for expanding, rebalancing, acquiring slices, editing overlays, and removing parcels.
Tips for Orientation
- Start wide, then narrow down. Begin at continental or country zoom, then drill into your area of interest.
- Use the location button. Fastest way to find land near you.
- Watch the labels. Toponym labels give geographic context as you navigate.
- Bookmark your view. Copy the URL to return to the same position and zoom later.
See also: Key Concepts → Spatial Hierarchy · Territory Operations · Collect Tax → Claiming Tax Revenue · Hierarchy → Six Hierarchy Levels