Display a scene

Learn how to create and display a scene with a basemap layer and an elevation layer. Set properties of the scene's camera to control the 3D perspective.

Like a map, a scene contains layers of geographic data. It contains a basemap layer and, optionally, one or more data layers. To provide a realistic view of the terrain, you can also add elevation layers to define the height of the surface across the scene. The 3D perspective of the scene is controlled by the scene's camera, which defines the position of the scene observer in 3D space.

In this tutorial, you create and display a scene using the imagery basemap layer. The surface of the scene is defined with an elevation layer and the camera is positioned to display an area of the Santa Monica Mountains in the scene view.

The scene and code will be used as the starting point for other 3D tutorials.

Prerequisites

Before starting this tutorial:

You need an ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account.
Your system meets the system requirements.

Steps

Create a new Xcode project

Use Xcode to create an iOS app and configure it to reference the API.

Open Xcode. In the menu bar, click File > New > Project.
- In the Choose a template for your new project window, select iOS then App.
- Click Next.
- In the Choose options for your new project window, set the following properties:
  - Product Name: <your app name>
  - Organization Identifier: <your organization>
  - Interface: SwiftUI
  - Language: Swift
- Click Next.
- Choose a location to store your project. Click Create.
In the Project Navigator, click on the swift file named <your_app_name>App. In the Editor, right click on the struct name, <your_app_name>App. Select Refactor > Rename... and type MainApp. Click the Rename button in the top right to confirm the new name of the file and struct. The MainApp file and struct will be used by all following tutorials.
Add a reference to the API using Swift Package Manager.

Get an access token

You need an access token to use the location services used in this tutorial.

Go to the Create an API key tutorial to obtain an access token using your ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account.
Ensure that the following privilege is enabled: Location services > Basemaps > Basemap styles service.
Copy the access token as it will be used in the next step.

To learn more about other ways to get an access token, go to Types of authentication.

Set your API key

In the Project Navigator, click MainApp.swift.
In the Editor, add an import statement to reference the API.
MainApp.swift
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```
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import SwiftUI

import ArcGIS
```
Implement an initializer in the MainApp struct. Set the ArcGISEnvironment.apiKey property with your access token.
MainApp.swift
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```
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import SwiftUI

import ArcGIS

@main
struct MainApp: App {

    init() {
        ArcGISEnvironment.apiKey = APIKey("<#YOUR-ACCESS-TOKEN#>")
    }

}
```
Warning
The access token is stored directly in the code as a convenience for this tutorial. Storing access tokens in the source code is not best practice.

Create a scene data model

Create a scene with a standard imagery basemap style. The scene will face the Santa Monica Mountains in California.

In Xcode, in the Project Navigator, click ContentView.swift.
In the editor, add an import statement to reference the API.

Add a @State property wrapper named scene of type Scene with a default value. Create a scene with an arcGISImageryStandard basemap style and return it.

ContentView.swift
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Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.import SwiftUI

import ArcGIS

struct ContentView: View {

    @State private var scene: ArcGIS.Scene = {
        let scene = Scene(basemapStyle: .arcGISImageryStandard)

        return scene
    }()

    var body: some View {

        SceneView(scene: scene)

    }

}

Note that Scene is prefixed with ArcGIS in order to provide clarity from the Scene protocol.

In the Project Navigator, click MainApp.swift.

In the editor, distinguish Scene from ArcGIS.Scene. Modify the body by adding the SwiftUI prefix to Scene.

MainApp.swift
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Change line    var body: some SwiftUI.Scene {

        WindowGroup {
            ContentView()
                .ignoresSafeArea()
        }
    }
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Configure the scene

Scenes contain many properties that can be adjusted. Define a Surface on which layers are draped and center the scene on the Santa Monica Mountains.

In the Project Navigator, click ContentView.swift.

In the editor, create an ArcGISTiledElevationSource and add it to a new Surface.

An elevation source can define a surface with 3D terrain in a scene. Without an elevation source, the default globe surface is used to display the scene.

ContentView.swift
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Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.struct ContentView: View {

    @State private var scene: ArcGIS.Scene = {
        let scene = Scene(basemapStyle: .arcGISImageryStandard)

        // Create an elevation source to show relief in the scene.
        let worldElevationServiceURL = URL(string: "https://elevation3d.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/WorldElevation3D/Terrain3D/ImageServer")!
        let elevationSource = ArcGISTiledElevationSource(url: worldElevationServiceURL)

        // Create a Surface with the elevation data.
        let surface = Surface()
        surface.addElevationSource(elevationSource)

        // Add an exaggeration factor to increase the 3D effect of the elevation.
        surface.elevationExaggeration = 2.5

        // Apply the surface to the scene.
        scene.baseSurface = surface

        return scene
    }()
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Set the initial viewpoint of the scene using a Point and a Camera.

The position from which you view the scene is defined by a Camera. The following properties of the camera are used to define an observation point in the scene:

3D location: Latitude, longitude, and altitude
Heading: Azimuth of the camera's direction
Pitch: Up and down angle
Roll: Side-to-side angle

ContentView.swift
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Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.Add line.struct ContentView: View {

    @State private var scene: ArcGIS.Scene = {
        let scene = Scene(basemapStyle: .arcGISImageryStandard)

        // Create an elevation source to show relief in the scene.
        let worldElevationServiceURL = URL(string: "https://elevation3d.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/WorldElevation3D/Terrain3D/ImageServer")!
        let elevationSource = ArcGISTiledElevationSource(url: worldElevationServiceURL)

        // Create a Surface with the elevation data.
        let surface = Surface()
        surface.addElevationSource(elevationSource)

        // Add an exaggeration factor to increase the 3D effect of the elevation.
        surface.elevationExaggeration = 2.5

        // Apply the surface to the scene.
        scene.baseSurface = surface

        // Create a point that defines the observer's (camera) initial location in the scene.
        // The point defines a longitude, latitude, and altitude of the initial camera location.
        let point = Point(x: -118.804, y: 34.027, z: 5330.0, spatialReference: .wgs84)

        // Create a Camera uing the point, the direction the camera should face (heading), and its pitch and roll (rotation and tilt).
        let camera = Camera(location: point, heading: 355.0, pitch: 72.0, roll: 0)

        // Set an initial viewpoint for the scene using the camera and observation point.
        scene.initialViewpoint = Viewpoint(boundingGeometry: point, camera: camera)

        return scene
    }()
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Add a scene view to the UI

A scene view is a UI component that displays a scene and handles user interactions, including navigating with touch gestures. Add a scene view to the project UI and display the scene that is defined by the Model class.

To the body, add a SceneView initialized with scene. This will create a SceneView with the newly created scene.

ContentView.swift
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Add line.    var body: some View {

        SceneView(scene: scene)

    }
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Press Command + R to run the app.

If you are using the Xcode simulator your system must meet these minimum requirements: macOS 14 (Sonoma), Xcode 16, iOS 18. If you are using a physical device, then refer to the system requirements.

You should see a scene with the imagery basemap layer centered on the Santa Monica Mountains in California. Drag, pinch, and rotate on the scene view to explore the scene.

What's next?

Learn how to use additional API features, ArcGIS location services, and ArcGIS tools in these tutorials: