Maps Mania
The 2024 World Press Freedom Rankings
7 months ago
Map of the Week
The Spread of Slavery in the United States
In September, 1861 the U.S. Coast Survey published this large map showing the enslaved population by...
a year ago
In September, 1861 the U.S. Coast Survey published this large map showing the enslaved population by county. It was "sold for the benefit of the sick and wounded soldiers of the U.S. Army."
The image above is from an article in Smithsonian. Here is a detailed view showing part...
Maps Mania
Four Free Alternatives to GeoGuessr
8 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 4 (Bug Loop)
Sure, the southern United States has more than its fair share of pesky bugs that most people...
a year ago
Sure, the southern United States has more than its fair share of pesky bugs that most people actively avoid. Mosquitos, horseflies, and palmetto bugs probably top that list. So it probably sounds strange that we devoted an entire day to insects, particularly to the appreciation...
Map of the Week
This One
This one map (via New York Times) tells you quite a bit about what happened in the U.S. Election on...
a month ago
This one map (via New York Times) tells you quite a bit about what happened in the U.S. Election on Tuesday.
Aside from a few strange outliers (western Oklahoma, suburban Atlanta, northwest Michigan) The "red shift" happened across all regions and demographics. Hard to look at...
Map of the Week
30 Day Map Challenge-One Final Note
In writing yesterday’s post I forgot about this awesome music video about the 30 Day Map Challenge....
2 weeks ago
In writing yesterday’s post I forgot about this awesome music video about the 30 Day Map Challenge. The lyrics are French with English subtitles and it’s fun to hear how musical words like choropleth and story map can sound in French. “Some people sell houses, chickens, bidets, I...
Map of the Week
America's First Subway Map
The first subway in the United States was built in Boston. The tunnel ran along Tremont Street, a...
a year ago
The first subway in the United States was built in Boston. The tunnel ran along Tremont Street, a chaotic mess of streetcars, horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians. The tunnel was built to route the streetcars underground to ease congestion. Here is a plan of the original subway...
Maps Mania
The Scariest Place Names in the World
a month ago
Musings on Maps
Maps and Metaphors
The war around Gaza is not for territory, but rather for the destruction of the presence of a terror...
10 months ago
The war around Gaza is not for territory, but rather for the destruction of the presence of a terror network that has entrenched its power base deep underground. In many case, deeper than thought. While Israel has been pretty clear about … Continue reading →
Maps Mania
Flip Off the World with Street View
9 months ago
Maps Mania
Tory Candidates Violently Attacked
5 months ago
Maps Mania
Mapping Mythical Islands & Imaginary Lands
a month ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Unofficial Map: Tramways in Gdańsk, Poland by Arsen Mosiichuk, 2024
Submitted by Arsen, who says: Hello, this summer I with Sergey Steblina as art-director designed a...
4 days ago
Submitted by Arsen, who says: Hello, this summer I with Sergey Steblina as art-director designed a transit map of Gdańsk trams. I am very interested what Transit Maps think about this. Transit Maps says: Overall, this is very solid and clean work – very much in the style of...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 5 (Venturing West)
My second day of county counting focused west of Dayton, once again targeting five new counties....
8 months ago
My second day of county counting focused west of Dayton, once again targeting five new counties. This time I planned to capture Butler and Darke counties in Ohio; and Union, Fayette, and Randolph counties in Indiana. Hopefully this excursion would also take about three hours like...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 8 (Onward to London)
Finally we reached the end of our time in Dorset. I enjoyed that quiet corner of England and I felt...
4 months ago
Finally we reached the end of our time in Dorset. I enjoyed that quiet corner of England and I felt we covered it pretty thoroughly. Now we needed to drive back to London where a whole new set of adventures awaited. Stonehenge However, we couldn’t go straight back because of...
Adventures In...
Layout sandwich
Here’s how to make an ArcGIS Pro layout where certain elements of the map step over the neatline and...
a year ago
Here’s how to make an ArcGIS Pro layout where certain elements of the map step over the neatline and the graticule is relegated only to the oceans. Because that looks cool! Mapping has a long and handsome history of neatlines that are interrupted by bits of land spilling over it,...
Transit Maps
New Official Map: Los Angeles Metro with Regional Connector, 2023
Just dropped on the LA Metro Twitter account, here’s a first look at their new system map once the...
a year ago
Just dropped on the LA Metro Twitter account, here’s a first look at their new system map once the Regional Connector opens at noon, this Friday June 16. First off, one prediction I made in my previous review [October 2022] has been proven true: this map marks the end of the old...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Kaiserslautern
I hope to stay longer than 72 hours the next time I visit Germany. I don’t recommend such a short...
7 months ago
I hope to stay longer than 72 hours the next time I visit Germany. I don’t recommend such a short visit. However I went there for work as I do occasionally, and I had no choice. So that’s what I did. I landed in Frankfurt on Monday, drove down to Kaiserslautern, stayed through...
Maps Mania
Trains, Balloons and Automobiles
5 months ago
Map of the Week
Mauna Loa Lava Maps
Sure, there are cool livestreams of the Mauna Loa volcano you can watch, but even better, you can...
over a year ago
Sure, there are cool livestreams of the Mauna Loa volcano you can watch, but even better, you can see live maps of the lava flow.
Here is yesterday's status map from the U.S. Geological Survey
The dark red in these maps shows the new lava flow from the last 24 hours. It is...
Map of the Week
The Auschwitz Exhibition
This past weekend I saw a traveling exhibition in Boston about the Auschwitz concentration camp. It...
3 months ago
This past weekend I saw a traveling exhibition in Boston about the Auschwitz concentration camp. It contains over 700 objects from shoes to gas masks to implements of torture and experimentation. The exhibit was co-produced by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and has been in...
Map of the Week
Maps and Views at the British Library
The British Library contains over 4.5 million maps, atlases, globes, and digital models dating back...
5 months ago
The British Library contains over 4.5 million maps, atlases, globes, and digital models dating back to medieval times. A small sample of these are displayed on the walls in a section called "Maps & Views". Here are some mediocre pictures I took with links (where I can find them)...
Adventures In...
Detect and measure wildfires with Sentinel-1 Explorer
Our human visual systems collect light from a pretty narrow slice of the electromagnetic spectrum....
4 months ago
Our human visual systems collect light from a pretty narrow slice of the electromagnetic spectrum. But there is so much more light to see. Radar systems use photons with much longer wavelengths that can break through clouds and smoke, and because the energy is sent from the...
Adventures In...
The Bounding Box Podcast
The one where I chat with Rene Rubalcava about the importance of unstructured data-play, the risk of...
a year ago
The one where I chat with Rene Rubalcava about the importance of unstructured data-play, the risk of metrics becoming the goal, where to find inspiration, brewing chaos into professional development, and loving our neighbors!
Map of the Week
The Inequalities of Climate Change
There was much talk, if not much action, at the recent COP27 conference about wealthier countries...
a year ago
There was much talk, if not much action, at the recent COP27 conference about wealthier countries compensating poorer ones for the impacts of climate change. The poorer countries see the largest impacts, while contributing the least to the problem. This map illustrates the...
Map of the Week
Tacografical Maps
International Taco Day is coming up on Sunday, March 31st - not to be confused with National Taco...
9 months ago
International Taco Day is coming up on Sunday, March 31st - not to be confused with National Taco Day in October. Here are a few maps to enjoy your tacos by. This one I've seen in several taquerias. It took a long time to find a version that is readable online (you may need to...
Musings on Maps
“He Could Easily Destroy Us”
Tucker Carlson's move to Twitter led him to celebrate it as the last preserve of free speech. But...
a year ago
Tucker Carlson's move to Twitter led him to celebrate it as the last preserve of free speech. But his relation to speech was long slippery, best reflected on the heuristic display of the 2016 electoral map that was the logo of the pundit's nightly show's and its guiding...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 7 (On To Monteverde)
Next we began our trek to Monteverde, into Costa Rica’s famed Cloud Forest. This is one of the...
a year ago
Next we began our trek to Monteverde, into Costa Rica’s famed Cloud Forest. This is one of the nation’s smallest microclimates and one of its most intriguing. High in the mountains, a thick blanket of fog frequently envelopes the landscape and creates a gentile moisture. A steady...
Map of the Week
The Whataburger Power Outage Map
When Hurricane Beryl struck Texas last week it left nearly 2 million Houston area residents and...
5 months ago
When Hurricane Beryl struck Texas last week it left nearly 2 million Houston area residents and businesses without power. Local power company Center Point Energy's online power outage map has been unavailable since May. Social media user BBQBryan noted that Texas based...
Maps Mania
One Million Screenshots. One Map!
4 months ago
Transit Maps
Submission – New Official Map: “Harmonized” Montréal Metropolitan Transit Services Map, 2023
A flurry of people have submitted this brand new map out of Montréal for review, so let’s get...
a year ago
A flurry of people have submitted this brand new map out of Montréal for review, so let’s get straight to it! First of all, it’s important to note that is part of a new suite of maps and wayfinding signage that’s been in development since 2018, Using Montréal’s iconic “black...
Maps Mania
Where Mountains Rise From Oceans
6 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 5 (Isle of Purbeck)
Dorset’s Isle of Purbeck isn’t an island it’s a peninsula. It was probably more isolated and...
5 months ago
Dorset’s Isle of Purbeck isn’t an island it’s a peninsula. It was probably more isolated and difficult to reach in previous centuries. So maybe it felt like an island to people back when the English Channel was the primary “road” to the outside world. Even now it’s a...
Map of the Week
The Coaquannock Map
I will begin Philadelphia month at an early stage, just before European settlement.
via...
a year ago
I will begin Philadelphia month at an early stage, just before European settlement.
via Historical Society of Pennsylvania
This 1934 map showing the homeland of the Lenape people when the first white settlers arrived in Philadelphia, was funded by the Works Progress...
Maps Mania
Which Country Most Resembles Your Country?
a year ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Inland Northwest, Day 6 (County-Centric)
We were now between race days again, with two races down and one more to go. So we could do pretty...
2 months ago
We were now between race days again, with two races down and one more to go. So we could do pretty much whatever we wanted now and I decided to focus on some county counting. It was all virgin territory to me and I intended to cover as much of it as I could during […]
The post...
Maps Mania
Racial Covenants in Santa Clara Properties
2 months ago
Maps Mania
Spreading Love & Peace in Nutopia
7 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 6 (South Korea: Seoul)
I didn’t get much time to wander around Seoul like I did in Tokyo. Every day was a work day and it...
a year ago
I didn’t get much time to wander around Seoul like I did in Tokyo. Every day was a work day and it was a brief stop. So I was confined mostly to what I could see from the windshield as we drove through the city or from the hotel. However, this was my first trip […]
The post...
Adventures In...
Make these ornaments please
It’s that time of year when geographers the world over gather together in, let’s be honest, just...
2 weeks ago
It’s that time of year when geographers the world over gather together in, let’s be honest, just slightly awkward office holiday parties. We dedicate 82-86% of our mental capacities to socializing with our colleagues over deserts and drinks, while the remaining 14-16% remain...
Map of the Week
If Mars Were on Earth
This image of the surface of Mars was released last Spring as part of the Atlas of Mars. Images were...
8 months ago
This image of the surface of Mars was released last Spring as part of the Atlas of Mars. Images were compiled from the Emirates Mars Mission "Hope", an approximately two year mission in that began orbiting the planet in 2021.
via New York Times
Some remarkably detailed...
Musings on Maps
The Office of the Geographer and Art of the Deal
There is plenty of blame going round this election cycle on the Democratic Party for having given...
a month ago
There is plenty of blame going round this election cycle on the Democratic Party for having given material assistance–if not tacitly supported–the bombing Palestinian inhabitants and settlements in Gaza by Israeli Defense Forces. The drumbeat of disquiet about the Democratic …...
Map of the Week
Map for Bloomsday
I have not read Ulysses by James Joyce, few people have. Even fewer have understood it. To honor the...
6 months ago
I have not read Ulysses by James Joyce, few people have. Even fewer have understood it. To honor the annual Bloomsday festival going on right now, here is a map showing the wanderings and locations within the book. The map about as easy to understand as the plot itself.
I have...
Maps Mania
Memorial Day Weekend Helicopter Flights
4 months ago
Maps Mania
Every Basketball Court on Google Maps
3 months ago
Transit Maps
Official Map: Newark International Airport Regional Rail Connections, 2023
Every so often, I come across a transit map that is just so unfit for purpose that all I can do is...
a year ago
Every so often, I come across a transit map that is just so unfit for purpose that all I can do is scratch my head and ponder, “Just why?” This is one of those maps. Produced by (or on behalf of) Newark International Airport, it purports to show regional rail services that you...
GeoCurrents
Wikipedia’s Visually Striking but Inaccurate Cartograms of U.S. Presidential Elections
When preparing the illustrations for my current lecture course on the historical geography of U.S....
a month ago
When preparing the illustrations for my current lecture course on the historical geography of U.S. presidential elections, I was thrilled to discover that Wikipedia’s articles on most of these elections are illustrated with visually striking cartograms of the results, mapped at...
Adventures In...
How to make this map of a melting glacier
I’ve been to Columbia Glacier, just west of Valdez, Alaska, three times. The first was as a...
a year ago
I’ve been to Columbia Glacier, just west of Valdez, Alaska, three times. The first was as a youngster in 1984, the second in 1987, and the final time in 2000. Each time, the ride by boat to the terminal edge of the ice where it calves into Prince William Sound, took a bit longer....
Maps Mania
2½ Half Weeks with Mrs Rauer
11 months ago
Map of the Week
The Real World Costs of Bitcoin
This is from April but at last week’s NACIS conference I saw Zach Levitt speak about making these...
a year ago
This is from April but at last week’s NACIS conference I saw Zach Levitt speak about making these graphics for the New York Times. The story details how in the midst of a winter storm that left tens or thousands without power, bitcoin mines in the state kept running, until the...
Maps Mania
The World's Most Controversial Interactive Map
10 months ago
GeoCurrents
Lectures on Psychoactive Substances Available on YouTube
Dear Readers, I have now posted all 21 video lectures of the GeoCurrents series on the Historical...
3 months ago
Dear Readers, I have now posted all 21 video lectures of the GeoCurrents series on the Historical Geography of Natural Psychoactive Substances, which can be found here. Each lecture is illustrated with maps, diagrams, photographs, and so on. Most are roughly one hour in length....
Map of the Week
Seoul Maps
I found this nice collection of maps of Seoul, South Korea's largest city and capital from...
a year ago
I found this nice collection of maps of Seoul, South Korea's largest city and capital from theSEOULlive. This is a website/magazine of Korean culture that "focuses on unraveling the hidden jewels of Seoul that can only be found with rumination."
Unfortunately these maps are...
Maps Mania
The Great Amazonian Indigenous Land Grab
a year ago
Map of the Week
Indigenous Languages-Part 3
Here is part 3 in what was meant to be a two part series. In between my last two posts, Vivid Maps...
10 months ago
Here is part 3 in what was meant to be a two part series. In between my last two posts, Vivid Maps posted a map of indigenous languages. I think this was just a coincidence. I only saw their post yesterday and I don't think they saw or were reacting to what I posted. Anyway this...
Maps Mania
The Street Names of Budapest
10 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 9 (Atypical London)
Before we left on our trip to England I promised everyone in the family that we would visit at least...
4 months ago
Before we left on our trip to England I promised everyone in the family that we would visit at least one thing they absolutely wanted to see. We completed that for the younger kid at Tankfest. Two more bucket list destinations happened during our first full day in London. We’re...
Map of the Week
The Liverpool Overhead Railway
I found this cool strip map of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, the first elevated electric railway...
a year ago
I found this cool strip map of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, the first elevated electric railway in the world. It opened in 1893 and was dismantled in 1957 because the company could not afford to make the necessary repairs. This map is dated "c1938".
via Flickr
According...
Musings on Maps
Fifteen Two-Hundred Pound Bombs
Dropping at least fifteen two hundred pound bombs equipped with precision guidance systems–bunker...
2 months ago
Dropping at least fifteen two hundred pound bombs equipped with precision guidance systems–bunker busters that could penetrate deep underground and flatten built structures–that killed Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and much of his high command follows a terrifying explosion of...
Map of the Week
Artwork of Mary Edna Fraser
Those who have read this blog over the years know that I love the intersection of art and...
a year ago
Those who have read this blog over the years know that I love the intersection of art and cartography. One of my recent discoveries is artist Mary Edna Fraser. Her textile work (from silks to rugs) and paintings range from the continental scale,
East Coast, US-batik on...
Maps Mania
The Self-Driving Car Simulation
11 months ago
Map of the Week
Radical Atlas of Ferguson, USA
Coming out this summer from Belt Publishing (publishers of the "50 Maps" book series on Cleveland,...
7 months ago
Coming out this summer from Belt Publishing (publishers of the "50 Maps" book series on Cleveland, Detroit and Buffalo) is the Radical Atlas of Ferguson, USA.
"Ferguson, Missouri, became the epicenter of America’s racial tensions
after the 2014 murder of Michael Brown and the...
Map of the Week
Icelandic Glacier Web Portal
This web portal is a collaborative effort by Icelandic institutes, agencies, companies, societies...
a year ago
This web portal is a collaborative effort by Icelandic institutes, agencies, companies, societies and private persons to display an overview of glaciological research and variations of Icelandic glaciers. The portal provides access to measurements, observations and photographs...
somethingaboutmaps
Projection Cards
I had a whimsical idea a few months ago: map projection trading cards. Something nerdy and...
over a year ago
I had a whimsical idea a few months ago: map projection trading cards. Something nerdy and map-related that you could collect and exchange at conferences. I poked around at some design ideas for a while, and here’s what I’ve come up with so far. This is the front side of the...
Maps Mania
Google Updates Satellite Imagery of Ukraine
a year ago
Maps Mania
Russia's Secret Nuclear Targets in China
4 months ago
Adventures In...
Tolkien Style Maps in a GIS: part 2, Mountains
“I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains. And then find somewhere where I can rest.” In...
10 months ago
“I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains. And then find somewhere where I can rest.” In this 4-part series we’ll walk through the reckoning of a Lord of the Rings style fantasy map, right in ArcGIS Pro. We map-makers get to breathe honest to goodness geographic life...
Map of the Week
Below the Ice
This past fall scientists uncovered a vast landscape that has been "frozen in time" under the...
11 months ago
This past fall scientists uncovered a vast landscape that has been "frozen in time" under the Antarctic Ice Shelf. Here is a nice graphic from phys.org.
The topography was determined by a combination of radio wave echoes and satellite images. This landscape, more than 2...
Adventures In...
John Snow’s Cholera Map Reimagined
John Snow’s map of the 1854 London cholera outbreak was revolutionary in that it clearly drew a...
a year ago
John Snow’s map of the 1854 London cholera outbreak was revolutionary in that it clearly drew a visual connection between deaths and the locations of well pumps. It helped contribute to the idea that cholera was a water-borne disease and effectively marks the creation of the...
Maps Mania
Virtual Indian Independence Day
4 months ago
Map of the Week
An Appreciation of Ordnance Survey Maps
I spent some time in May at the British Library randomly looking at atlases and maps, some of which...
5 months ago
I spent some time in May at the British Library randomly looking at atlases and maps, some of which will be featured here in upcoming weeks. They have a huge collection of Ordnance Survey atlas books of 1:1056 scale (1 inch = 88 feet) map sheets. While these maps are primarily...
Maps Mania
I'm Sending You Back to the Future!
4 weeks ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Unofficial Map: Improved Cercanías Madrid Map by Jace
Submitted by Jace, who says: A while ago I saw your review of the Cercanías Madrid [our 2022 review...
3 months ago
Submitted by Jace, who says: A while ago I saw your review of the Cercanías Madrid [our 2022 review is here – Cam], and, as a regular user of the system, I too find the map quite bad: Uneven distances between lines, mismatched fonts in the route bullets, and overall lack of...
Maps Mania
When is the Coldest Day of the Year?
11 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
St. Mary’s (and Calvert), Maryland
County counting becomes increasingly difficult as I continue my glacially slow progress. Now it...
a year ago
County counting becomes increasingly difficult as I continue my glacially slow progress. Now it takes more than five hours to reach the closest unvisited county from my home. Fortunately I found a workaround by shifting my focus to overnight county visits. There are plenty of...
Adventures In...
Vintage Retro Old-School 1890s Basemap for ArcGIS Pro
Here’s how to stack up some tile layers and blend them up to concoct a basemap that wouldn’t look...
4 months ago
Here’s how to stack up some tile layers and blend them up to concoct a basemap that wouldn’t look out of place in 1890. Except that you wouldn’t have anywhere to plug in your monitor so it would be hard to show it to people back then. Ok bring a small generator. Wait, all these …
Map of the Week
Innovation in Segregation
Before the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) redlining maps encouraged segregation (documented...
a year ago
Before the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) redlining maps encouraged segregation (documented extensively including on this blog), there was this 1934 map by property analyst J. M. Brewer. It showed real estate conditions in Philadelphia with a wary eye towards immigrants,...
Transit Maps
Submission – Unofficial Map: Metrovalencia by Tom Göpel
Submitted by Tom, who says: Hi Cameron, first I would like to mention that I greatly appreciate your...
a year ago
Submitted by Tom, who says: Hi Cameron, first I would like to mention that I greatly appreciate your work and have learned lots about transit maps from your blog alone. It was also this blog that inspired me to try to design my own maps. It’s a great joy to me now. Here, I would...
Map of the Week
Mid 1900's Urban Planning in Philadelphia
Here are a few urban planning items to close out Philadelphia month. Hope you have enjoyed the...
a year ago
Here are a few urban planning items to close out Philadelphia month. Hope you have enjoyed the journey.
Cathedral Road:
There are many discontinued highways and roads to nowhere throughout the United States, including Woodhaven Road, a dead end expressway in Northeast...
Map of the Week
Turkey and Syria Earthquake Response
Parts of Turkey and Syria have been devastated by the strongest, most destructive earthquake in the...
a year ago
Parts of Turkey and Syria have been devastated by the strongest, most destructive earthquake in the recorded history of those countries. The earthquake has been followed by over a hundred powerful aftershocks, including one almost as powerful as the original magnitude 7.8...
Maps Mania
How to Make Your Own Map Jigsaw Puzzle
4 months ago
Maps Mania
⅓ of Rafah’s Buildings Destroyed
8 months ago
Maps Mania
Reconstructing the Ancient Trade Routes
11 months ago
Transit Maps
Submission – New Official Map: UTA Rail and BRT Map, 2023
Submitted by Browne, who says: UTA, the primary transit provider for northern Utah, has officially...
a year ago
Submitted by Browne, who says: UTA, the primary transit provider for northern Utah, has officially launched its newest BRT service, and with it, a new transit map. The OGX is a new BRT route from Ogden Central Station, downtown, Weber State University, and down to McKay-Dee...
Map of the Week
Maps GPT
I've been seeing a few interesting uses for ChatGPT-type artificial intelligence lately. Of course...
a year ago
I've been seeing a few interesting uses for ChatGPT-type artificial intelligence lately. Of course there has to be a map generator. MapsGPT is powered by Proxi, an alternative to Google's MyMaps. I started out looking at their map suggestions, such as worst places to take a nap...
Adventures In...
Tolkien Style Maps in a GIS: part 4, Assembly
“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” In this 4-part series...
10 months ago
“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” In this 4-part series we’ll walk through the reckoning of a Lord of the Rings style fantasy map, right in ArcGIS Pro. We map-makers get to breathe honest to goodness geographic life into the seminal...
Transit Maps
Historical Map: Lines of the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway, 1927
Here’s a fascinating map of streetcar lines in Omaha, Nebraska in 1927, beautifully hand drawn on...
a year ago
Here’s a fascinating map of streetcar lines in Omaha, Nebraska in 1927, beautifully hand drawn on top of a pre-printed single colour map of the area produced by the City’s engineering department. Not only does the map show the extent of all the streetcar lines (with 64.6 miles of...
somethingaboutmaps
Challenging the Idea of a Bad Map
We’re just a couple of weeks away from the 30 Day Map Challenge, an annual celebration of...
a year ago
We’re just a couple of weeks away from the 30 Day Map Challenge, an annual celebration of cartographic creativity. I know some of you are already brainstorming about what you might do this year. Each day has a prompt, and you’re encouraged to make a map that day that is based on...
Maps Mania
The World's First OpenStreetMap
10 months ago
Map of the Week
Countries with Women Leaders
Here is a map from the Washington Post, via Reddit showing countries past & present with women as...
a month ago
Here is a map from the Washington Post, via Reddit showing countries past & present with women as heads of state. Click it (and then again) for higher resolution.
We in the United States like to think we are the most advanced country in the world but by this metric we are well...
Maps Mania
The 100 Most Segregated School Districts in America
9 months ago
Musings on Maps
Perilous Waters
The voyage to the Titanic promoted cartographic fantasies of discovery and exploration, but only in...
a year ago
The voyage to the Titanic promoted cartographic fantasies of discovery and exploration, but only in international waters. The maps of legal oversight Stockton Rush avoided demand to be recognized as a creation of globalism, as much as a luxury diversion of the super-rich. ...
Maps Mania
Using the Overpass API with Leaflet
10 months ago
Maps Mania
Inside the Maya Temples of Copan
2 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 3 (Apalachicola)
Next we began the actual “road” portion of the road trip as Atlanta receded into the distance behind...
a year ago
Next we began the actual “road” portion of the road trip as Atlanta receded into the distance behind us. We spaced our drives into four segments of 5-6 hours each to make them manageable. I figured that would cover a decent distance without consuming the entire day. The first leg...
Maps Mania
Your Hour-By-Hour Guide to Election Night
a month ago
Adventures In...
Women in GIS Workshop
If you aren’t doing anything else on the allotted 2.5 hours of January 24, 2025, then consider...
3 days ago
If you aren’t doing anything else on the allotted 2.5 hours of January 24, 2025, then consider tuning in to this Women in GIS workshop where I’ll share the process (and all the data and documents) for making this migration map. The cost is free, unless you count the 2.5 hours of...
Maps Mania
The Easter Bunny's Egg-cellent Adventure
8 months ago
Adventures In...
Dashing Maps
There are lots of reasons why cartographers use dashed lines in their maps. Sometimes there are a...
a month ago
There are lots of reasons why cartographers use dashed lines in their maps. Sometimes there are a lot of different sorts of lines going around and it’s the best way to differentiate between different categories of things. Or we can embed meaning into them, like a dashed line...
Map of the Week
US Oil and Gas Pipelines
Felt is a nice web mapping app that anyone can use to get a map and add your own data, mark it up...
a year ago
Felt is a nice web mapping app that anyone can use to get a map and add your own data, mark it up and share with others. One of their most interesting example maps is this map of oil and gas pipelines.
Oil pipelines are in blue and natural gas is orange. I would have reversed...
Transit Maps
Historical Map: Diagram of Passenger Stations in the Sydney Metropolitan Area, 1928
There’s a lot to like about this simple little track diagram of Sydney’s rail system from 1928....
4 months ago
There’s a lot to like about this simple little track diagram of Sydney’s rail system from 1928. There’s a lot of different angles – both with route lines and station labels – but it still manages to hang together as a coherent whole. A big part of that is the dead straight...
Maps Mania
30 Days of Crashes in New York City
5 months ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Fantasy Map: New York Regional Rail Concept by James G
Submitted by James, who says: I created this map based on various concepts (mainly the work of Alon...
4 months ago
Submitted by James, who says: I created this map based on various concepts (mainly the work of Alon Levy) for through-running regional rail in the New York region. This network would integrate all of the current commuter rail networks, increasing frequencies to metro-like levels,...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 3 (Museums)
Sure, I visited the various Wright Brothers museums, historical sites, and memorials but they...
8 months ago
Sure, I visited the various Wright Brothers museums, historical sites, and memorials but they weren’t the totality of Dayton’s remarkable legacy. It wasn’t even the reason why we visited. I mentioned the younger kid’s interest in all things aeronautical earlier and it traced back...
Maps Mania
Mapping a Global Coral Bleaching Event
8 months ago
Map of the Week
The Southern Underground Railroad
This map, via Smithsonian, shows the main passageways that the enslaved took southwards to...
a year ago
This map, via Smithsonian, shows the main passageways that the enslaved took southwards to freedom.
The southern Underground Railroad was less traveled and much less well documented, but Mexico after gaining independence passed strong anti-slavery laws. Even before that the...
somethingaboutmaps
Conventional Cartographic Wisdom that I have Failed to Grasp
When I teach cartography, I am deliberate about not presenting my students with any rules. I do not...
a year ago
When I teach cartography, I am deliberate about not presenting my students with any rules. I do not want obedience to memorized maxims — instead, I simply tell them about practices that I think are good ideas, and then I offer an explanation of my reasoning. The students can...
Map of the Week
The Hidden Logic of Cities
The Beautiful Hidden Logic of Cities by Erin Davis shows the streets of various cities in the United...
a year ago
The Beautiful Hidden Logic of Cities by Erin Davis shows the streets of various cities in the United States color coded by suffix - (street, road, avenue, etc).
From where I've lived there seemed to be a clear logic to streets, avenues, boulevards and others. In my mind...
James Cheshire
Newspapers and the 1976 Drought
With each new temperature record that tumbles the UK, climate skeptics have a standard stock phrase:...
over a year ago
With each new temperature record that tumbles the UK, climate skeptics have a standard stock phrase: ‘it was this hot in 1976’. Of course it wasn’t, and crucially the planet overall was not as hot then as it is now. Parts of the UK media have had their part to play in fueling...
somethingaboutmaps
Independent Study: A Reflection
Earlier this summer, I decided to embark on an educational experiment: I wanted to create a version...
a year ago
Earlier this summer, I decided to embark on an educational experiment: I wanted to create a version of the independent study groups that I used to co-teach when I was at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in which students would work on a mapping project, and meet weekly for...
Maps Mania
The Unknown Pleasures of Population Density
a year ago
Map of the Week
America's Garden Capital
I have more way more items to post for Philadelphia month than there are weeks left so in the next...
a year ago
I have more way more items to post for Philadelphia month than there are weeks left so in the next few weeks I will be doing some extra postings, and a few minor notes thrown in like this one.
Did you know that Philadelphia is America’s Garden Capital? A bit of local boosterism...
Adventures In...
Cartography Workshop in Utrecht, April 2024
I’m going to be in the Netherlands April 23, 2024, to spend a day nerding out on map making. I’ll be...
11 months ago
I’m going to be in the Netherlands April 23, 2024, to spend a day nerding out on map making. I’ll be a guest of Esri Netherlands, and will lead this workshop day, called “Mapping Magic with John Nelson” (no pressure). It’s a kickoff to their Esri Connect 2024 event. Here’s a...
Adventures In...
On-the-Fly Generalization Hack for ArcGIS Pro
Generalization is one of the most important tools in a map maker’s tool kit. Sometimes the...
10 months ago
Generalization is one of the most important tools in a map maker’s tool kit. Sometimes the complexity of our geometry needs to be smoothed out to best visually represent a place or appear best at various scales. Here is a way (complete hack, but surprisingly effective) to...
Musings on Maps
“They’re Eating Dogs”
“If exotic non-human animals inhabited the edges of the inhabited world in medieval cosmologies,...
3 months ago
“If exotic non-human animals inhabited the edges of the inhabited world in medieval cosmologies, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the MAGA candidate who has done much to resurrect the contours of theocratic Neo-medieval maps of the world is perpetuating stories of … Continue...
Maps Mania
Travel Times in the Roman & British Empires
3 weeks ago
James Cheshire
Atlas des Unsichtbaren
Thrilled to announce the publication of German edition of Atlas of the Invisible: Atlas des...
over a year ago
Thrilled to announce the publication of German edition of Atlas of the Invisible: Atlas des Unsichtbaren. It is published by Hanser, who also did an amazing job with our previous book Die Wege der Tiere, and available in all good bookshops across the German speaking world. Click...
Maps Mania
Piecing the World Back Together
4 months ago
Map of the Week
The Film Industry's Nine Dash Line Problem
This summer's hit movie Barbie has been banned in Vietnam for its portrayal of the Nine Dash Line on...
a year ago
This summer's hit movie Barbie has been banned in Vietnam for its portrayal of the Nine Dash Line on a world map. Note: I have not (yet) seen any of the movies or shows listed below.
This line represents China's claims in the South China Sea. These claims have been rejected by...
Map of the Week
Lenapehoking-The Delaware Watershed
A more modern take on last week's Coaquannock map, Lenapehoking is a map of the Delaware Watershed's...
a year ago
A more modern take on last week's Coaquannock map, Lenapehoking is a map of the Delaware Watershed's natural environment. The title means land of the Lenape people.
The map was created by Illustrator Meg Lemieur and is available on Etsy. The map is beautifully illustrated with...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 3 (Exploring La Fortuna)
The second full day in La Fortuna promised abundant showers although not continuously. It was the...
a year ago
The second full day in La Fortuna promised abundant showers although not continuously. It was the rainy season after all and it rains, and people deal with it. Frankly, the bright sunshine of the previous day was a fluke. So we understood all of this ahead of time and we devised...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 1 (Oahu: Honolulu Waterfront)
Most of my work trips are pretty mundane. The last three were rather typical — Philadelphia, Tampa...
a year ago
Most of my work trips are pretty mundane. The last three were rather typical — Philadelphia, Tampa and Atlanta — for example. Sometimes I go to more interesting places like my quick jaunt to Germany a few years ago. However, this time I hit the jackpot: Hawaii, Japan, and South...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 4 (Brew Day)
We hadn’t visited any breweries in the first several days but that was about to change. It turns out...
a year ago
We hadn’t visited any breweries in the first several days but that was about to change. It turns out Costa Rica has a fairly lively craft brewery scene and we were moving into an area rich with them. Several fell within our direct path between La Fortuna and Tamarindo and that...
Adventures In...
How to find (and style!) detailed water polygons for your map
I often struggle to find high resolution polygons for things that tend to change, like water, urban,...
a year ago
I often struggle to find high resolution polygons for things that tend to change, like water, urban, ice, whatever. Here’s how you can wrangle some up-to-date, detailed, water polygons for your small or medium scale maps (plus five different ways you can style them up)… Here’s...
Maps Mania
Battles of World War II & American Wars
5 months ago
Maps Mania
The Riskiest Places to Live in America
5 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 5 (Mississippi Gulf)
Next we returned to familiar territory. I’ve mentioned the Mississippi Gulf Coast many times on...
a year ago
Next we returned to familiar territory. I’ve mentioned the Mississippi Gulf Coast many times on Twelve Mile Circle because I go there fairly regularly and I have a lot of family there. However, my last trip was way back in 2019 and only for a long weekend. Somehow I never figured...
Maps Mania
London, Paris & Berlin Metro Memory Games
a year ago
Maps Mania
The Worldwide Breaking News Map
6 months ago
Map of the Week
Philadelphia Bookstore Map
Note: As September comes to a close so does Philadelphia month. There will be a couple more posts...
a year ago
Note: As September comes to a close so does Philadelphia month. There will be a couple more posts today and tomorrow before I return to my normal weekly schedule.
This one is personal. Several years ago I was working with a Philly-based computer programmer and an artist to create...
Maps Mania
Canada's Hidden Subterranean Rivers
8 months ago
Map of the Week
Water Taxis of Paris
Here is a nice map of the water taxi system in Paris, circa 1900.
Boats pulled by horses or with...
a year ago
Here is a nice map of the water taxi system in Paris, circa 1900.
Boats pulled by horses or with oars or sails were eventually replaced by steam powered boats in the 1800's. They were a large part of the Paris transportation network before the railroads took over in the early...
Maps Mania
Mapping Oil and Gas Emissions
10 months ago
Adventures In...
Close Encounters of the Cartographic Kind
I was watching the Steven Spielberg 1977 classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with the...
7 months ago
I was watching the Steven Spielberg 1977 classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, with the family last night and nerded out when I saw a character that claimed to be a cartographer. I always do. It was the cartographer who recognized that the signals the aliens sent were...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Great American Beer Festival (and More)
I hinted at ulterior motives in the last article about my long weekend in Denver. I didn’t travel...
a month ago
I hinted at ulterior motives in the last article about my long weekend in Denver. I didn’t travel all the way out there just to casually tour around. Indeed, I had a very specific purpose in mind — checking off a bucket list item in fact — attending the Great American Beer...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Cicada Chase, Day 2
The first day of cicada chasing exceeded expectations and we hoped for similar results on the...
6 months ago
The first day of cicada chasing exceeded expectations and we hoped for similar results on the second. However the weather began to change overnight with downpours possible during daylight hours. Local meteorologists predicted a line of thunderstorms rolling through the Midwest,...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Inland Northwest, Day 3 (Let the Races Begin)
The main reason we went to the Inland Northwest was to run some races. It also became an excuse to...
2 months ago
The main reason we went to the Inland Northwest was to run some races. It also became an excuse to experience a part of the country I hadn’t explored much. Either way, the first of the races was finally about to begin. The Oregon Race We walked through the dark to a park along...
Transit Maps
Submission – Unofficial Map: Brussels S-Train by Elliot H
Submitted by Elliot, who says: I’ve come across this blog a couple of months ago, and have been...
a year ago
Submitted by Elliot, who says: I’ve come across this blog a couple of months ago, and have been lurking ever since. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at designing a trasit diagram, and having gotten some free time, I decided to redesign the S-Train diagram for Brussels. So here...
Adventures In...
How to make tapered rivers in ArcGIS Pro
Cartographers will often exaggerate the natural scale of a mapped feature to help it communicate...
a year ago
Cartographers will often exaggerate the natural scale of a mapped feature to help it communicate something of its nature. Some examples are vertical exaggeration of terrain or the very existence of point symbols (cities aren’t actually that big). We embellish for effect. Making a...
Maps Mania
The Chain Restaurants of America
10 months ago
James Cheshire
COVID inquiry heard Boris Johnson ‘struggled’ with graphs – if you do too, here are some tips
James Cheshire, UCL and Rob Davidson, UCL In March 2020, the UK government’s chief scientific...
a year ago
James Cheshire, UCL and Rob Davidson, UCL In March 2020, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, presented to the nation a graph showing “the shape of an epidemic”. The red line depicting the number of predicted COVID cases rose to a steep peak before...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Atlanta BeltLine – Eastside Trail
I arrived in Atlanta, Georgia for business. On the final day I wrapped-up and had a little time to...
a year ago
I arrived in Atlanta, Georgia for business. On the final day I wrapped-up and had a little time to visit a family member who lives in the city. That became a good excuse to head over to the Grant Park neighborhood on Atlanta’s eastside. We spent most of our late afternoon walking...
Maps Mania
Mapping the Drift-backing of Refugees
11 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 6 (Bournemouth)
We didn’t go far but it seemed like a world apart, traveling from an isolated corner of Dorset into...
5 months ago
We didn’t go far but it seemed like a world apart, traveling from an isolated corner of Dorset into its most populous area. That led us to Bournemouth (map), a coastal town along the English Channel. There are so many ancient places in the United Kingdom but this is not one of...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: TRAM d’Alacant Fare Zones, 2023
Submitted by Roberto, who says: I would like to share the TRAM d’Alacant fare zone map. It describes...
a year ago
Submitted by Roberto, who says: I would like to share the TRAM d’Alacant fare zone map. It describes the different zones and stops of this tramway/narrow gauge train in the Spanish province of Alacant (Alicante). It’s been reopened recently after six years of renovation works....
Map of the Week
MapFailbruary Challenge Days 1-14
Those of you who follow me on my Twitter and Mastodon feeds know that I spent February doing yet...
a year ago
Those of you who follow me on my Twitter and Mastodon feeds know that I spent February doing yet another map challenge. Like November’s 30 Day Map Challenge, only this one encourages you to fail. The #mapfail hashtag is popular and somewhat contentious among cartographers....
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 1 (Intentions and Observations)
This was supposed to be the younger kid’s trip. It was his turn to select a destination — anywhere...
a year ago
This was supposed to be the younger kid’s trip. It was his turn to select a destination — anywhere in the world — as a present for his upcoming high school graduation next year. The older one chose Australia back in 2018 and we expanded it to include New Zealand too. England...
Adventures In...
Find and download vintage USGS topo maps
The new Historical Topo Map Explorer is out of beta and ready for you to dive into a collection of...
6 months ago
The new Historical Topo Map Explorer is out of beta and ready for you to dive into a collection of over 180,000 beautiful vintage USGS topo maps! Use this updated Living Atlas app to geographically browse, download, export, and even animate, these cartographic objects of joy....
Map of the Week
Map of Endangered Languages
Languages become endangered when parents teach a more dominant language to their children. This...
11 months ago
Languages become endangered when parents teach a more dominant language to their children. This clickable map can be found on Ethnologue, a language reference guide and a good place to spend part of this International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
Hover over a language to see...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 5 (Relaxing in Tamarindo)
Rainy season doesn’t mean the same thing across the entirety of Costa Rica. Nor does it start...
a year ago
Rainy season doesn’t mean the same thing across the entirety of Costa Rica. Nor does it start suddenly or retain consistent intensity. So our drive to Guanacaste Province’s drier Pacific coast during the earlier part of the season promised plenty of sunshine. That was our plan...
Adventures In...
North Arrow Necessity
Can a map still be considered a map if it doesn’t have a north arrow? Yes. A north arrow is an...
4 months ago
Can a map still be considered a map if it doesn’t have a north arrow? Yes. A north arrow is an optional map accompaniment and you should think critically about your map to determine for yourself if it needs a north arrow or not. For what it’s worth, often a map should not have a...
Maps Mania
1000+ Streets Called Washington
5 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
Getting Local: A Map Disassembly
Though it’s only been a couple of months since the last time I did a map breakdown, I feel like it’s...
a year ago
Though it’s only been a couple of months since the last time I did a map breakdown, I feel like it’s time for another. While my own instincts are to avoid repetition, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my YouTube-watching habits, it’s that a creator can put out a regular...
Maps Mania
Mapping Moving Borders in Real-Time
3 months ago
Map of the Week
Where Your Christmas Tree Comes From
A recent map on maps.com (an Esri run map site) by Joshua Stevens shows where Christmas trees are...
a year ago
A recent map on maps.com (an Esri run map site) by Joshua Stevens shows where Christmas trees are grown.
The data is from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Each tree shaped spike represents a county. The most significant areas are in Oregon and North Carolina. If you click on...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Inland Northwest, Day 7 (Abrupt End)
What should have been a ten day trip ended unexpectedly on the seventh day. The previous evening our...
2 months ago
What should have been a ten day trip ended unexpectedly on the seventh day. The previous evening our kid who was watching the house called to tell us about our soaking wet basement carpet. Our ancient boiler was leaking. So we immediately contacted our insurance provider, a water...
Map of the Week
The Ferraris Atlas of Belgium
While I was at the British Library in May, I spent much time admiring and puzzling over this...
2 months ago
While I was at the British Library in May, I spent much time admiring and puzzling over this atlas.
The Ferraris maps of the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium) were created by Count (and cartographer) Joseph de Ferraris in the 1770's. He was commissioned by Austrian empress...
Map of the Week
Stolen Native American Remains
In 1990 the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was passed by the U.S. Congress...
a year ago
In 1990 the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was passed by the U.S. Congress to gave indigenous peoples a way to reclaim their dead. 33 years later about half of the remains have yet to be returned. Pro Publica produced a piece with excellent interactive...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 1 (Road Trip)
It feels like I just got back from Costa Rica and then I’m right back on the road again. True...
a year ago
It feels like I just got back from Costa Rica and then I’m right back on the road again. True enough, we made it home for only a couple of weeks before we began an extended drive through the southeastern United States. However, those were the only dates that worked with...
Adventures In...
Thoughts on the Cartographer’s Role in an AI Future
A few moments ago I was asked by a student about the “development of cartography over the next 10...
10 months ago
A few moments ago I was asked by a student about the “development of cartography over the next 10 years.” Here’s my somewhat off-the-cuff response, though my thoughts have been steeping in this for the past year or so. In the next 10 years artificial intelligence, and probably...
Maps Mania
Mapping Conflicts Around the World
11 months ago
GeoCurrents
Hope and Peril in Somaliland
As noted in the previous GeoCurrents post, the incoming Trump administration is considering the...
2 hours ago
As noted in the previous GeoCurrents post, the incoming Trump administration is considering the recognition of the hitherto unrecognized state of Somaliland, which seceded from Somalia in 1991. On the diplomatic front, Somaliland’s position is looking increasingly promising. Its...
Musings on Maps
Gaza, Again–and Again
The Gaza Strip’s spatiality continues to puzzle and fascinate–as much as the pressing question of...
a year ago
The Gaza Strip’s spatiality continues to puzzle and fascinate–as much as the pressing question of its sovereignty. The two are of course intertwined, and the boundaries of Gaza are historically defined. The perimeter around the Gaza Strip was in a … Continue reading →
Adventures In...
Blend Mode Helper
Blend modes can be a complex thing to wrap one’s head around. Experimentation is the best teacher,...
a year ago
Blend modes can be a complex thing to wrap one’s head around. Experimentation is the best teacher, but even then there are lots of variabilities involved, depending on the layer you use to experiment. The Blend Mode Helper Map (and its constituent Blend Mode Helper layer) reduces...
somethingaboutmaps
Leopard Map Disassembly
Friends, it’s been a long while since I last wrote up a walkthrough of one of my mapping projects....
a year ago
Friends, it’s been a long while since I last wrote up a walkthrough of one of my mapping projects. So, today, let’s break down a piece that I made earlier this year for Scientific American magazine. This is actually the first of three pieces that I’ve made for Scientific American...
GeoCurrents
The Historical Geography of Psychoactive Substances: GeoCurrents Lecture Series on YouTube
GeoCurrents has been on a long summer hiatus as I have reconsidered my plans for the site. As I have...
3 months ago
GeoCurrents has been on a long summer hiatus as I have reconsidered my plans for the site. As I have retired from academia, one of my main goals is to convert my old lecture courses into publicly accessible YouTube lecture series. To do so, I have revived an all-but-forgotten...
Maps Mania
Mapping the Spread of War in the Middle East
10 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
The Projection Collection Returns
About a year ago, I released The Projection Collection, a set of 77 trading cards based on map...
a year ago
About a year ago, I released The Projection Collection, a set of 77 trading cards based on map projections. Each card features a unique map produced by one of 65 different cartographers. While my colleagues and I did our best to let everyone know about these cards, some people...
Maps Mania
The Supply Chain of Deforestation
9 months ago
Maps Mania
Live from the Sundhnúkur Eruption
8 months ago
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