Most of the navaids have text associated with them that is useful to the mariner, such as light flashing characteristics, aid color, aid marking, sound signal, etc. This text appears just under the symbol when the cursor is placed near the symbol. The coverage area includes the coastal regions of all U.S. states that have coastline, as well as the District of Columbia, the Great Lakes, some large rivers near the coast, and some large inland lakes. The data currently contains about 60,000 marine navaids. The aids are most heavily concentrated on the east coast of the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico.
Data is more sparse on the west coast, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Unlike the MapSelect navaids coverages shown below, navaids data viewed with and downloaded to a unit using the MapCreate program contains aids maintained by the Coast Guard at some U.S. territories and military bases including Midway Islands, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Cuba, Haiti, Virgin Islands, Bahamas, and Mariana Islands. The data is relatively sparse in these areas compared to the U.S. coast. The data also includes navaids and oil platforms registered with the Coast Guard that are associated with drilling operations near the Gulf coast. The data includes about 10,000 drilling platforms and various other aids put out by the oil companies, such as buoys warning of abandoned well heads, etc. The following is a list of some of the major inland bodies of water where Marine Navaid data is found.