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The
heatmapTiles
endpoint provides pollen-related heatmaps through tile overlay. A tile overlay
is a collection of image tiles that can be displayed on top of Google Maps. Each
image tile is 256 x 256 pixels.
The tile overlay is a grid assembled from a collection of tiles, each assigned
(X,Y) coordinates. The tile with coordinates (0,0) is always at the
northwest corner of the map. The X values increase from west to east, while
the Y values increase from north to south.
The zoom level determines how large or small the contents of a map appear in a
map view. The tile grid size is determined by scaling the X and Y
coordinates exponentially by the zoom level.
gridSizeX = XzoomLevel
gridSizeY = YzoomLevel
For example, at a zoom level of 2, the world map is represented using a 4 x 4
matrix, for a total of 16 tiles.
The following image shows a TREE_UPI heatmap of the entire world, sectioned
into tiles that can be accessed at a zoom level of 2.
All parameters listed below are required for a successful request:
KEY: Your application's API key. This key identifies your application for
purposes of quota management. Learn how to get a
key.
TYPE: The type of heatmap to return. See allowed
values.
Z: Zoom level that determines how large or small the contents of a map
appear in a map view. Allowed values are 0-16, where a value of 0 displays
the entire world in a single tile.
X,Y: The tile coordinates relatively to the north east corner (0,0). X
values increase from west to east and Y values increase from north to
south. Coordinates must be valid for the specified zoom level. For example,
if you set the zoom level to 2 and request a tile at coordinates (10,10),
the API returns an error.
Example heatmap request
The image above shows a TREE_UPI heatmap with a zoom level of 2, along with
the coordinates of each tile. The following example uses the heatmapTiles
endpoint to request the tile at coordinates (2,1):
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe heatmapTiles endpoint delivers pollen heatmaps as tile overlays, which are collections of 256x256 pixel image tiles displayed on top of Google Maps.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTile coordinates (X,Y) determine the grid position, with (0,0) at the northwest corner and increasing values eastward for X and southward for Y.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eZoom level (Z) controls map content size and grid dimensions, ranging from 0 (entire world) to 16, influencing tile coordinates validity.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTo request heatmap tiles, use the heatmapTiles endpoint with required parameters: API key, heatmap type, zoom level, and tile coordinates (X,Y).\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can overlay these pollen heatmap tiles onto existing maps for visualization, enhancing applications with pollen information.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The `heatmapTiles` endpoint provides pollen heatmaps as image tiles (256x256 pixels) overlaid on Google Maps. Tiles are arranged in a grid with (X,Y) coordinates, starting from (0,0) in the northwest. The zoom level (0-16) dictates map detail, scaling the grid exponentially (gridSizeX = X^zoomLevel). A request to the endpoint requires an API key, heatmap `TYPE`, `Z` zoom level, and `X`, `Y` tile coordinates. The format for a request is: `https://pollen.googleapis.com/v1/mapTypes/TYPE/heatmapTiles/Z/X/Y?key=YOUR_API_KEY`\n"],null,["# Heatmaps\n\nThe\n[heatmapTiles](/maps/documentation/pollen/reference/rest/v1/mapTypes.heatmapTiles/lookupHeatmapTile)\nendpoint provides pollen-related heatmaps through tile overlay. A tile overlay\nis a collection of image tiles that can be displayed on top of Google Maps. Each\nimage tile is 256 x 256 pixels.\n\nThe tile overlay is a grid assembled from a collection of tiles, each assigned\n(`X`,`Y`) coordinates. The tile with coordinates (0,0) is always at the\nnorthwest corner of the map. The `X` values increase from west to east, while\nthe `Y` values increase from north to south.\n\nThe `zoom level` determines how large or small the contents of a map appear in a\nmap view. The tile grid size is determined by scaling the `X` and `Y`\ncoordinates exponentially by the zoom level. \n\n```text\ngridSizeX = XzoomLevel\ngridSizeY = YzoomLevel\n```\n\nFor example, at a zoom level of 2, the world map is represented using a 4 x 4\nmatrix, for a total of 16 tiles.\n\nThe following image shows a `TREE_UPI` heatmap of the entire world, sectioned\ninto tiles that can be accessed at a zoom level of 2.\n\nSee [Map and Tile\ncoordinates](/maps/documentation/javascript/coordinates#tile-coordinates) for\nadditional details.\n\nYou can request current pollen heatmap tiles using the [heatmapTiles](/maps/documentation/pollen/reference/rest/v1/mapTypes.heatmapTiles/lookupHeatmapTile)\nendpoint by sending an HTTP GET request to: \n\n```html\nhttps://pollen.googleapis.com/v1/mapTypes/TYPE/heatmapTiles/Z/X/Y?key=YOUR_API_KEY\n```\n\nAbout the heatmap endpoint\n--------------------------\n\nAll parameters listed below are required for a successful request:\n\n- `KEY`: Your application's API key. This key identifies your application for purposes of quota management. Learn how to [get a\n key](/maps/documentation/pollen/get-api-key).\n- `TYPE`: The type of heatmap to return. See [allowed\n values](/maps/documentation/pollen/reference/rest/v1/mapTypes.heatmapTiles/lookupHeatmapTile#maptype).\n- `Z`: Zoom level that determines how large or small the contents of a map appear in a map view. Allowed values are 0-16, where a value of 0 displays the entire world in a single tile.\n- `X`,`Y`: The tile coordinates relatively to the north east corner (0,0). `X` values increase from west to east and `Y` values increase from north to south. Coordinates must be valid for the specified zoom level. For example, if you set the zoom level to 2 and request a tile at coordinates (10,10), the API returns an error.\n\nExample heatmap request\n-----------------------\n\nThe image above shows a `TREE_UPI` heatmap with a zoom level of 2, along with\nthe coordinates of each tile. The following example uses the `heatmapTiles`\nendpoint to request the tile at coordinates (2,1): \n\n```html\nhttps://pollen.googleapis.com/v1/mapTypes/TREE_UPI/heatmapTiles/2/2/1?key=YOUR_API_KEY\n```\n\nThe tile appears as an image that can be overlaid on a map:\n\nFor more information on overlaying tiles on top of the default map, see\n[Overlay Map Types](/maps/documentation/javascript/examples/maptype-overlay)."]]
