iNaturalist iPhone App - The Explore Screen

With iNaturalist Next it's possible to sort and filter the more than 200 million observations on iNaturalist by using the Explore screen. This help page will show you the basics, and you can then test out the various filter and sort options on your own. 

At the bottom of any screen in iNaturalist Next, tap on the compass icon to see the Explore screen. We strongly recommend turning on location permissions if you want to see observations near you.

The Explore screen is made up of two main sections. The top section displays the current taxon and location fiters on the left, the Filters icon on the right, and the number of results for the current seach just below:

The middle of the screen displays the results of the current search. This may appear as a list, a group of tiles, or a map, depending on your current search. Note the icon at the bottom right-hand corner, which shows a leaf in the screenshot below.

Let's walk through an example use of the Explore screen, assuming you are letting iNaturalist access your location. 

1. Open up the Explore screen.
   
   
2. By default, iNaturalist Next searches only verifiable observations, and will show you the most common species posted to iNaturalist in the nearby area. If you want to, you can scroll this list and tap on a species to be taken to its page.
    
3. Now let's look at individual observations and not just species. You can either tap the results number at the top or the leaf icon in the lower right-hand corner to choose the type of results you want. When you do, you'll see these options:
   
   
   
4. Tap on "Observations" and you'll see a map view of observations made nearby. The icon in the lower right-hand corner now displays a binoculars icon, indicating that you are looking at observations. You can scroll or zoom on the map using your fingertips. Tap on a dot to open an observation if you like.
   
   
   On the lower left-hand side you can tap on the target to bring the map back to your current location, or tap on the layers icon to change map layers (for example, from regular maps to satellite view).
   
   
5. You will also see a view chooser with three icons. 
   
   
   From left to right, these icons mean
   1. List View: view observations, based on your current filters, as a list.
   2. Grid View: view observations, based on your current filters, as a grid of tiles.
   3. Map view (currently selected): view observations, based on your current filters, on a map.
6. Tap on the List View icon, and you'll see your observations displayed as a list.
    
   
7. Let's try to filter the observations. Go to the top of the screen and tap the Filters icon. You'll now see a list of filters you can apply.
   
   
   Tap on "Search for a Taxon", type in "beetles", and tap on "Beetles (Order Coleoptera)". A new filter for that taxon is set:
   
   
   
   
8. Tap on the green "Apply Filters" button at the bottom.
    
9. You will now see a list of results showing only the beetle observations made nearby.
   
   
   
10. Tap on the Filters icon again to edit or add more filters. For example, you could filter by an iNaturalist Place and only see beetles in that Place. You can also filter by date, data quality grade, and other options. Tap "Reset Filters" on the top right-hand corner to reset and start again.