The Canadian permafrost thickness database includes publicly available information from published and unpublished sources for 1005 sites; 916 of these are terrestrial sites ,and 89 are marine sites. Much of the data were collected between 1960 and the mid 1980s. The depth of the 0 deg C isotherm and the base of ice-bearing permafrost is recorded in the database. Also included is information on site characteristics such as air temperature, geology and vegetation, which influence the thickness of permafrost at a particular site. The database has been published as a Geological Survey of Canada Open File Report which also includes a series of maps and graphs which illustrate site distribution, permafrost thickness and other attributes of the database.