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Adventures In...
Dashing Maps There are lots of reasons why cartographers use dashed lines in their maps. Sometimes there are a...
8 months ago
88
8 months 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...
Maps Mania
Red Dots for Dialysis Decline
a week ago
GeoCurrents
The Conceptual Incoherence of the Standard Continental Model The division of the terrestrial world into seven continents is seemingly the simplest topic in...
2 months ago
31
2 months ago
The division of the terrestrial world into seven continents is seemingly the simplest topic in geography, yet it is actually one of the most complex – which is precisely why I find it so fascinating. Unfortunately, the educational establishment grasps only its superficial...
somethingaboutmaps
Leopard Map Disassembly Friends, it’s been a long while since I last wrote up a walkthrough of one of my mapping projects....
over a year ago
94
over 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...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 8 (Postscript: Interesting Signs) I know that some of the articles in this series veered into heavy topics. So let’s take things in a...
over a year ago
83
over a year ago
I know that some of the articles in this series veered into heavy topics. So let’s take things in a less serious direction for a moment now that I’ve completed the travelogue portion. It’s no secret that I enjoy signage, the more unusual the better. Sometimes I even collect them...
Transit Maps
Historical Map: Union Pacific Annual Report Map, 1980 Here’s an absolutely cracking diagrammatic map that appeared as a fold-out sheet in Union Pacific...
11 months ago
117
11 months ago
Here’s an absolutely cracking diagrammatic map that appeared as a fold-out sheet in Union Pacific annual reports from about 1978 through 1981, maybe slightly longer. I first saw this as a photograph of a partial part of the map, but it didn’t take me too long to find the whole...
Map of the Week
My Favorite New Jersey Drone Map Here is my favorite “map” showing the drone hysteria over New Jersey. It’s from Instagram...
6 months ago
27
6 months ago
Here is my favorite “map” showing the drone hysteria over New Jersey. It’s from Instagram user wmh_x_0, aka Oona Harrigan.   It is based on these maps of drone sightings that have been going around the internet. The “globe” text is there because she is known for designing sad...
somethingaboutmaps
On the Practice of Wobbling We live in an era in which maps (and plenty of other graphics) are made with digital tools....
a year ago
134
a year ago
We live in an era in which maps (and plenty of other graphics) are made with digital tools. Workflows vary, but the end result is that a lot of us base our cartography entirely on clean vector shapes and neat raster grids. For example, I talked earlier this year about a map I...
Maps Mania
Urban Growth in Motion
3 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...
a year ago
153
a year 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...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Map at Bergenline Avenue Station Submitted by Kara, who says: At the (extremely cool) Bergenline Avenue station, [my partner and I]...
a year ago
115
a year ago
Submitted by Kara, who says: At the (extremely cool) Bergenline Avenue station, [my partner and I] stumbled across this official map that I’d never seen before, depicting both the HBLR and the PATH! It was actually all over that station, and it’s definitely a relatively old map,...
Adventures In...
Vignettes for the Win! A vignette is a darkening (or lightening) of the edges of a composition, to subtly frame it and draw...
7 months ago
95
7 months ago
A vignette is a darkening (or lightening) of the edges of a composition, to subtly frame it and draw the eye in to the middle. It’s an old photographer’s darkroom trick. Lucky for us, I’ve spent many hours in the darkroom and have grown to appreciate the charm and effectiveness...
Maps Mania
Europe in Drought
a month ago
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...
over a year ago
75
over 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...
Map of the Week
Bad News For Local News Northwestern University’s Medill Local News Initiative released the latest State of Local News. It...
8 months ago
28
8 months ago
Northwestern University’s Medill Local News Initiative released the latest State of Local News. It highlights the dire state of print journalism with maps to illustrate the problems. This one highlights counties that are on the watch list to become news deserts. News deserts...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 6 (Houston) The heat really cranked up as we entered Texas, never dropping below a daily high of 100° Fahrenheit...
a year ago
76
a year ago
The heat really cranked up as we entered Texas, never dropping below a daily high of 100° Fahrenheit (38° Celsius). Here my hybrid working vacation transitioned completely to pure work for a day. That’s where I needed to attend meetings at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston...
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
151
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 →
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Silver Line Extension The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority opened its eleven mile Silver Line extension on...
over a year ago
58
over a year ago
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority opened its eleven mile Silver Line extension on November 15, 2022. I couldn’t be there on opening day but I still wanted to check out the new stations while they were relatively “new.” So I checked in with my frequent travel...
Map of the Week
Mapping Prejudice Mapping Prejudice is a project by a team of scholars and activists at the University of Minnesota....
4 months ago
47
4 months ago
Mapping Prejudice is a project by a team of scholars and activists at the University of Minnesota. The project maps racial covenants, clauses that were inserted into property deeds to keep people who were not White from buying or occupying homes.  The mapping page has an...
Maps Mania
The Treasure Hunting Game
2 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Taming the Frontier, Part 2 The drive up to Michigan was something I did for myself, and I visited a number of historical and...
a month ago
14
a month ago
The drive up to Michigan was something I did for myself, and I visited a number of historical and cultural sites along the way. But I took the trip to drive a kid home for the summer and now I had a passenger for the rest of the ride. So I front-loaded most of the […] 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...
6 months ago
77
6 months 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...
Maps Mania
Millions Flee War, Floods, and Persecution
5 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Inland Northwest, Day 1 (Staging) Was there a name for that largely empty space beyond Washington’s Cascades Range and into the Idaho...
9 months ago
88
9 months ago
Was there a name for that largely empty space beyond Washington’s Cascades Range and into the Idaho Panhandle? A little research suggested the Inland Northwest, or perhaps a now lesser-used designation, the Inland Empire (not to be confused with a similarly named area of...
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...
a year ago
125
a year 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
The Flight of the Barn Swallow
4 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 3 (Dorchester) We began to explore a little further afield, still within Dorset, as we began to settle in to our...
11 months ago
101
11 months ago
We began to explore a little further afield, still within Dorset, as we began to settle in to our home for the week. That took us a little further west and a few miles inland from the English Channel. It included a lot of open countryside and then a sizeable settlement....
Map of the Week
Letts’s Bird’s Eye View of the Approaches to India Is this a map, a landscape painting or a beautiful piece of propaganda? This panoramic map was...
2 months ago
34
2 months ago
Is this a map, a landscape painting or a beautiful piece of propaganda? This panoramic map was produced at the beginning of the 1900’s in London by W. H. Payne for Letts, Son & Co., a British stationary and map seller. The perspective is from a hilltop in British India, now...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 3 (Museums) Sure, I visited the various Wright Brothers museums, historical sites, and memorials but they...
a year ago
112
a year 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...
Map of the Week
Terrain Representations from the Atlas of Design In last week’s post I reviewed Volume 7 of the Atlas of Design. As an occasional cartographer I have...
8 months ago
28
8 months ago
In last week’s post I reviewed Volume 7 of the Atlas of Design. As an occasional cartographer I have been interested in how topography is represented in maps for a long time. This atlas volume provides many contrasting examples. From the “cartographic realism” of Tom Patterson’s...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 3 (Japan: Tokyo Temples and Tourists) I arrived in Japan on a Friday evening, having lost an entire day crossing the International Date...
over a year ago
79
over a year ago
I arrived in Japan on a Friday evening, having lost an entire day crossing the International Date Line from Honolulu. But it also meant I got a free weekend in Tokyo before resuming work on Monday. It’s easier and cheaper to stay in a hotel all weekend than go half way around the...
Maps Mania
Live London Underground Trains
2 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Ontario, Day 2 (Downtime) Well, we made it to Canada and we decided to settle down for our first full day. I promised the...
a week ago
7
a week ago
Well, we made it to Canada and we decided to settle down for our first full day. I promised the family I’d take it easier and try to avoid over-scheduling them for once. But I’m not someone who can ever stop moving entirely so “easier” meant no activities further away than an...
Adventures In...
How to Make Features Illuminate an Underlying Basemap Sure, we can make features look like they are glowing. But how can we make them look like they are...
a year ago
50
a year ago
Sure, we can make features look like they are glowing. But how can we make them look like they are casting light on the basemap below? Here’s a silly little trick using crafty symbology and blend modes in ArcGIS Pro. In this case we’ll use glorious stork migration paths,...
Adventures In...
How to make this drought map in ArcGIS Online Here’s how to make the drought map used in the Drought Aware app. This video covers creating a...
6 months ago
101
6 months ago
Here’s how to make the drought map used in the Drought Aware app. This video covers creating a custom imagery basemap, modified to best support thematic data, and a styling method for the overlain drought polygons so they tint the imagery a color based on severity and have a...
Map of the Week
The Brattleboro Words Project Last year I was in Brattleboro, Vermont and saw an interesting map on display. It is part of...
3 months ago
37
3 months ago
Last year I was in Brattleboro, Vermont and saw an interesting map on display. It is part of the Brattleboro Words Project. The project “connects community members to the Brattleboro area’s unique history, the art of audio storytelling - and each other” through audio pieces, maps...
Maps Mania
The W3W Cryptic GeoGuessing Game
a month ago
Maps Mania
Prosecuting Crimes Against Humanity
2 weeks ago
Maps Mania
Automatically Mapping YouTube Videos
5 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Inland Northwest, Day 2 (Walla Walla to Pendleton) We awoke in Walla Walla at the beginning of our first full day. We couldn’t check-in at our...
9 months ago
78
9 months ago
We awoke in Walla Walla at the beginning of our first full day. We couldn’t check-in at our accommodations in Pendleton, Oregon until mid-afternoon and the drive would only take about an hour. So we needed to find something we could do locally and we got another chance to explore...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 7 (Hill Country) The extended road trip finally arrived at its western terminus in the Texas Hill Country. This also...
a year ago
95
a year ago
The extended road trip finally arrived at its western terminus in the Texas Hill Country. This also marked my first visit to Burnet County, a rural locale situated northwest of Austin. Locals pronounce it something like BURN-it, and that’s how it felt as the mercury hit 103°...
Maps Mania
The Anti-MAGA Protest Mapper
a month ago
Adventures In...
Gradients along lines, rather than across While there isn’t a direct way to symbolize a line feature in ArcGIS Pro to have a gradient that...
4 months ago
46
4 months ago
While there isn’t a direct way to symbolize a line feature in ArcGIS Pro to have a gradient that travels along its length (rather than across its width), there are a handful of workarounds to get you there. If your line is wiggly, you might have to try a more robust method, like...
Adventures In...
How to make this thematic map, and stuff One of the great joys of working here at Esri is the opportunity to collaborate with amazing people....
10 months ago
128
10 months ago
One of the great joys of working here at Esri is the opportunity to collaborate with amazing people. Recently I had the opportunity to present at the User Conference about thematic mapping, with Sarah Bell and Kenneth Field. It was a lot of fun and we all surprised each other...
Maps Mania
Synchronized Street View Tours
4 months ago
Map of the Week
The Atlas of Design, Volume 7 Note to readers on this platform: I also publish this blog on Substack. You may find that the...
8 months ago
27
8 months ago
Note to readers on this platform: I also publish this blog on Substack. You may find that the pictures below show up a little better than here. The Atlas of Design is a biannual production of the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS). It highlights some of the...
Maps Mania
The Largest Gathering in Human History
a month ago
Maps Mania
How the US Arms the Mexican Drug Cartels
a month 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...
11 months ago
101
11 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...
Maps Mania
Introducing Terra Draw
5 months ago
Adventures In...
van Gogh style wind map Here’s how to use compositing to tint flowing wind patterns by underlying terrain colors. Why?...
2 months ago
15
2 months ago
Here’s how to use compositing to tint flowing wind patterns by underlying terrain colors. Why? Because rather than a basemap providing some context around a layer that inherently blocks your view of it, you can leverage the amazing compositing blend modes of the ArcGIS Online Map...
Maps Mania
Biographical Mapping
5 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
115
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...
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...
over a year ago
108
over 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
Mapping The Surf Malin and Mizen is a company that makes specialty maps like the California Surf Map   I love the...
2 months ago
17
2 months ago
Malin and Mizen is a company that makes specialty maps like the California Surf Map   I love the wavy lines and details showing ideal wind and swell directions, coordinates, shark sightings, etc. The hand drawn details on the land are also very nice.  The company is named...
GeoCurrents
Are Continents Rooted in Plate Tectonics? Tectonic plates are the basic building blocks of the Earth’s lithosphere, its outermost rocky layer....
3 months ago
15
3 months ago
Tectonic plates are the basic building blocks of the Earth’s lithosphere, its outermost rocky layer. As these large segments of crust slowly move, landmasses and sea expanses are gradually rearranged. The current configuration of tectonic plates shows a tight connection with the...
Maps Mania
A Bird's Eye View into the Past
3 months ago
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...
9 months ago
32
9 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...
GeoCurrents
Canadian Provinces and U.S. States Economically Compared As noted in the previous GeoCurrents post, Alberta is Canada’s most prosperous and economically...
3 weeks ago
15
3 weeks ago
As noted in the previous GeoCurrents post, Alberta is Canada’s most prosperous and economically productive province. But it does have, as might be expected, by the country’s highest cost of living. Although living costs in Alberta are above the national average, they are below...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 2 (Jurassic Coast) We were firmly based in Swanage after the long day of travel and ready to explore our new...
11 months ago
104
11 months ago
We were firmly based in Swanage after the long day of travel and ready to explore our new surroundings. However, we were still pretty tired so we stuck close to home and made it an easy day. Swanage sits near the eastern end of the 96 mile (154 km) Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World...
Maps Mania
GeoGuessing Reimagined
5 months ago
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
90
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...
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
56
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,...
Adventures In...
How to Make this Animated Map of Blue Whale Migration I have a deep admiration for the stirrings inside animals that drive them to undertake...
a year ago
63
a year ago
I have a deep admiration for the stirrings inside animals that drive them to undertake thousands-of-miles journeys to far flung locations, and back, in concert with the passage of the our earth around its sun. I’ve reflected on it in writing what became a surprisingly...
Maps Mania
The Fentanyl Supply Chain
3 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Ontario, Day 1 (Choices) I’ve been to Canada a few times but never for very long. One time when I was a kid, maybe ten years...
a week ago
9
a week ago
I’ve been to Canada a few times but never for very long. One time when I was a kid, maybe ten years old, we went to Toronto for a couple of days. It was so long ago that I can’t even remember most of the details anymore. However, every trip I’ve done afterwards lasted no […] The...
Transit Maps
15% Off All Prints in the “Transit Maps” Store Just a reminder that the best way to support the site is by buying a print from our online store,...
7 months ago
76
7 months ago
Just a reminder that the best way to support the site is by buying a print from our online store, because you get something awesome in return! We’re having a Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday sale with 15% off all prints. Choose from my original...
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
83
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...
Map of the Week
Soprano Land The Sopranos is having a bit of a moment with the recent HBO documentary about David Chase....
9 months ago
30
9 months ago
The Sopranos is having a bit of a moment with the recent HBO documentary about David Chase. Illustrator Robert Sikoryak made a nice map to orient fans to the New Jersey landscape of the show. You can click above to see a larger version. I've only watched bits of the show so I...
James Cheshire
The long history of using maps to hold water companies to account James Cheshire, UCL Southern Water was handed a record fine of £90 million in July 2021 after...
over a year ago
80
over a year ago
James Cheshire, UCL Southern Water was handed a record fine of £90 million in July 2021 after pleading guilty to illegally discharging sewage along the rivers and coastline of Kent, Hampshire and Sussex. More than a year later, the headlines have not improved for Britain’s...
Adventures In...
The Geoholics Podcast I got to join The Geoholics podcast this week and had a fun conversation with Kent Groh, Ryan Kelly,...
over a year ago
84
over a year ago
I got to join The Geoholics podcast this week and had a fun conversation with Kent Groh, Ryan Kelly, and Nik Smilovsky Here is a link to the episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0sHBwsGyfAoZE3ra5RaeVB?si=f1f3bdf9ab3b4695 Here’s the episode’s description: Raised by two...
Maps Mania
The Best (and Worst) Cities for Rail Transport
4 months ago
Map of the Week
The Auschwitz Exhibition This past weekend I saw a traveling exhibition in Boston about the Auschwitz concentration camp. It...
9 months ago
29
9 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...
Maps Mania
The MAGA Plugin for Interactive Maps
5 months ago
Maps Mania
The Dot Map of America
3 months ago
Maps Mania
Make Your Own Scrambled Maps
3 months ago
James Cheshire
Anxiety and Mapping the Climate Crisis Many of the maps I have created in recent years address the climate crisis and I’ve been asked a...
over a year ago
75
over a year ago
Many of the maps I have created in recent years address the climate crisis and I’ve been asked a number of times about if I feel powerless in the face of the data I’m showing. I reflect on this here with Kit Rackley. Our chat also in part inspired this article in The...
Maps Mania
Kangaroos Don't Vote - People Do
2 months ago
Maps Mania
It's Groundhog Day (Again & Again & Again)
4 months ago
Maps Mania
Billboard Ads on Maps
3 months 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...
a year ago
124
a year 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 →
Adventures In...
Imagery basemap ready for data Imagery is the most detailed, most literal of basemaps. You are actually seeing a picture of what...
a year ago
112
a year ago
Imagery is the most detailed, most literal of basemaps. You are actually seeing a picture of what the ground looks like at any location. And while this sort of context can be incredibly useful, it can also wreck the way we see and understand thematic data that is draped over it....
Maps Mania
A City's Grief in One Street
5 days ago
somethingaboutmaps
Planetfall Gentle readers, I have just wrapped up a fun side project that will be of great interest to a very...
a month ago
18
a month ago
Gentle readers, I have just wrapped up a fun side project that will be of great interest to a very small number of you. The result of one of the most technically demanding efforts of my career, I am very pleased to share it with you. Most of you will wonder what this place is, …...
Maps Mania
A Time Traveller's Guide to the Zoo
3 days ago
somethingaboutmaps
A Usefully Useless Projection Friends, I’m excited to share that I have just completed a world physical map, in my new asymmetric...
2 months ago
38
2 months ago
Friends, I’m excited to share that I have just completed a world physical map, in my new asymmetric monstrosity projection. It’s free to download, or if you want to buy a 30″ × 20″ print, you can also do that (and I will be pleasantly surprised). If you download it and print it...
Maps Mania
How Deep was That Earthquake?
3 months ago
Maps Mania
Like Google My Maps but Better
3 weeks ago
somethingaboutmaps
2025 AFC Freelancer Survey Though it’s been about a week since we sent it out there, I just recalled that I haven’t alerted all...
2 months ago
43
2 months ago
Though it’s been about a week since we sent it out there, I just recalled that I haven’t alerted all of you to the 2025 edition of the freelance cartographer survey that Aly Ollivierre and I conduct. Due to popular demand, we are going to try conducting it annually, rather than...
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...
a year ago
95
a year 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...
GeoCurrents
Canada’s Population Is Clustered Near the Southern Border, Yet Is Nonetheless Distanced from the... Although it is often claimed that 90 percent of the people of Canada live within 100 miles of the...
a month ago
17
a month ago
Although it is often claimed that 90 percent of the people of Canada live within 100 miles of the U.S. border, this assertion is of dubious validity. Reputable sources put the figure closer to 80 percent. Statistics Canada more convincingly claims that 66 percent of Canadians...
Map of the Week
Medieval Murder Maps Medieval Murder Maps is a project of the Violence Research Center at the University of Cambridge....
3 weeks ago
16
3 weeks ago
Medieval Murder Maps is a project of the Violence Research Center at the University of Cambridge. Using data from the coroners of the cities of London, Oxford and York they have created maps showing the locations of murders in the 14th Century. Sadly the image above (from York)...
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
92
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...
Transit Maps
Submission – Historical Map: Suburban Tramways of Bordeaux, 1954 Submitted by Florian, who says: I submit this map because first of all, I live there and I was...
4 months ago
45
4 months ago
Submitted by Florian, who says: I submit this map because first of all, I live there and I was thrilled to learn there is a blog about transit maps design. And I love old maps, which I was also thrilled to see they are welcome here. This map dates from 1954, merely 4 years before...
Maps Mania
The Russian Sabotage Map
3 months ago
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...
over a year ago
85
over 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...
GeoCurrents
How Does an Updated Map of Zoogeographic Regions Mesh with the Architecture of Continents? An important 2013 article in published in Science, “An Update of Wallace’s Zoogeographic Regions of...
2 months ago
18
2 months ago
An important 2013 article in published in Science, “An Update of Wallace’s Zoogeographic Regions of the World,” redivides the world’s faunal regions. The study is based on a sophisticated statistical and phylogenetic analysis of 21,037 species of amphibians, non-pelagic birds and...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Graduated It seemed like just yesterday that Twelve Mile Circle chronicled the kid who designed an imaginary...
a year ago
135
a year ago
It seemed like just yesterday that Twelve Mile Circle chronicled the kid who designed an imaginary town and counted various forms of transportation. Now my elementary aged student is all grown up, a newly-minted university graduate. Those interceding years passed much more...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Tram and Busways of Casablanca, Morocco, 2024 Submitted by Leo, who says: On September 24, the Casablanca tramway network nearly doubled in length...
8 months ago
192
8 months ago
Submitted by Leo, who says: On September 24, the Casablanca tramway network nearly doubled in length with the opening of T3 and T4. The Casatramway network, operated by RATP, is depicted in the new map alongside the Casabusway BRT lines currently under construction. The map...
Maps Mania
Underwater Weather Forecasts
a month ago
Maps Mania
The Battering School Kids Map
4 months ago
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,...
over a year ago
80
over 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...
Musings on Maps
Sea Surface Temperatures With global ocean surface temperatures shot way off the charts by mid-March, beyond forty years...
a year ago
59
a year ago
With global ocean surface temperatures shot way off the charts by mid-March, beyond forty years satellites have monitored sea surface temperatures, we’ve been struggling to map the changes in sea-surface temperatures, both globally and locally, in satisfactory and meaningful...
Maps Mania
Where's the Gulf of Mexico?
5 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 1 (Do-Over) This was the trip we wanted to take last summer before our plans abruptly changed. Instead we went...
12 months ago
118
12 months ago
This was the trip we wanted to take last summer before our plans abruptly changed. Instead we went to Costa Rica for reasons I talked about before, and all of us had a wonderful time. Even so, I still felt bad that the younger kid lost out on the original destination. He wanted...
Maps Mania
Some Musical Maps in Motion
2 months ago
Maps Mania
Your Local Business Chatbots
5 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Ontario, Day 3 (Lake and Mountain) Now it was time to get serious about seeing some local sights. We got to Ontario without any issues,...
2 days ago
4
2 days ago
Now it was time to get serious about seeing some local sights. We got to Ontario without any issues, we had an entire down day, and next we needed something fun. Everyone in the family has a different version of fun but I had an idea. But before we started all that I still wanted...
Maps Mania
The Walk Management System
2 months ago
James Cheshire
Being creative is reason enough to try different data visualization A simple line chart might be all you need to communicate the patterns in a dataset, but it might not...
over a year ago
84
over a year ago
A simple line chart might be all you need to communicate the patterns in a dataset, but it might not be given a second glance. Getting the viewer to work a little harder to interpret and think about a graphic can be a very effective way of generating engagement. This is where the...
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...
11 months ago
111
11 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,...
Transit Maps
Historical Map: Sydney Railway Layout, c. 1940 Unearthed on Twitter (It’ll always be Twitter to me, no matter what Elon says) by @crossing_lights,...
a year ago
55
a year ago
Unearthed on Twitter (It’ll always be Twitter to me, no matter what Elon says) by @crossing_lights, this is quite an extraordinary find. Long-time readers may have seen the 1939 version of this diagram (and the digital recreation that I made). Here’s the thing: the general...
GeoCurrents
A Semi-Serious Historically Based Alternative World Regionalization Model As I argued in the previous Geo-Currents post, the semi-standard world regional model is...
2 months ago
20
2 months ago
As I argued in the previous Geo-Currents post, the semi-standard world regional model is indispensable for understanding global geography. But as it is also highly flawed, it should be complemented with other models. I have therefore devised an alternative scheme, one designed to...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 10 (More Typical London) Unlike the previous day, we focused our final full London day on places more regularly associated...
10 months ago
106
10 months ago
Unlike the previous day, we focused our final full London day on places more regularly associated with typical tourists. Sometimes we do that. Occasionally I displayed my normal geo-oddity proclivities but mostly it was about cramming as much as possible into the hours before...
Map of the Week
Los Angeles Wildfire Extent The extent of the forest fires in and around Los Angeles is horrific and may become even worse in...
5 months ago
29
5 months ago
The extent of the forest fires in and around Los Angeles is horrific and may become even worse in the next few days. The New York Times has some very detailed maps showing the extent of destruction. Here is a close up of Altadena from the Hurst Fire. via New York Times -...
Maps Mania
2025 Canadian Election Maps
2 months ago
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
36
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...
Adventures In...
Blend Mode Helper Blend modes can be a complex thing to wrap one’s head around. Experimentation is the best teacher,...
over a year ago
86
over 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...
Maps Mania
The Real-Time 15 City Map
3 weeks ago
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...
over a year ago
117
over 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....
Musings on Maps
Fifteen Two-Hundred Pound Bombs Dropping at least fifteen two hundred pound bombs equipped with precision guidance systems–bunker...
9 months ago
107
9 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...
Maps Mania
The Meaning Behind Our Place Names
a month ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 8 (Completing the Circuit) Too soon the Costa Rica adventure approached its end and it was time to wrap things up with a final...
a year ago
36
a year ago
Too soon the Costa Rica adventure approached its end and it was time to wrap things up with a final few activities. The route involved the usual complexities, driving down the mountain from Monteverde and heading towards the airport outside of San José. We also took a little...
Maps Mania
3D Racing Games
2 months ago
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
53
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...
Maps Mania
Is Flying Becoming More Dangerous?
a month ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Cicada Chase, Day 2 The first day of cicada chasing exceeded expectations and we hoped for similar results on the...
a year ago
136
a year 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,...
Adventures In...
The Bounding Box Podcast The one where I chat with Rene Rubalcava about the importance of unstructured data-play, the risk of...
over a year ago
100
over 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!
Maps Mania
Colonial Frontier Massacres
4 months ago
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...
7 months ago
25
7 months 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...
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
82
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...
Adventures In...
Tolkien Style Maps in a GIS: part 3, Water “The world has changed. I see it in the water.” In this 4-part series we’ll walk through the...
a year ago
70
a year ago
“The world has changed. I see it in the water.” 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 aesthetic found in the LOTR...
Map of the Week
Revolutionary War Semiquincentennial Semiquincentennial is a word we will be hearing quite a bit over the next few years as the United...
2 months ago
24
2 months ago
Semiquincentennial is a word we will be hearing quite a bit over the next few years as the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary. The Revolutionary War’s 250th anniversary will be marked on April 19th of this year. On that day in 1775 British forces exchanged gunfire...
Maps Mania
The Google Maps Platform Awards
a month ago
Transit Maps
Unofficial Map: High-Speed Rail of France, 2023 by Lars’ Transport Maps Well, this is just beautiful. Having made my own diagram on the same subject matter way, way back in...
a year ago
138
a year ago
Well, this is just beautiful. Having made my own diagram on the same subject matter way, way back in 2011, I think I’m qualified to say that this is a rousing success. The maps have some similarities – routes are colour-coded either by their Paris origin station or operator...
Maps Mania
The Hotness Map No One Needed
2 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
My Decade with Blender It occurs to me that I have been Blendering for a long time. In fact, it’s been almost exactly a...
a year ago
133
a year ago
It occurs to me that I have been Blendering for a long time. In fact, it’s been almost exactly a decade since I gave my first public presentation on the technique of generating shaded relief using Blender. And in that time, the method has been adopted far more widely than I could...
Transit Maps
Quick Project: Queensland Rail Network Diagram Okay, as promised in the previous post, here’s my version of the Queensland passenger rail network...
9 hours ago
2
9 hours ago
Okay, as promised in the previous post, here’s my version of the Queensland passenger rail network as a diagram. As is usual for these redesigns, I’ve only spent a few hours on this – just to show that better design doesn’t necessarily need to take a lot of time. Everything is...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 2 (In the Shadow of the Volcano) We landed at Juan Santamaría airport in San José on a Friday afternoon, clearing Immigration and...
a year ago
52
a year ago
We landed at Juan Santamaría airport in San José on a Friday afternoon, clearing Immigration and Customs nearly effortlessly. Then we got a taste of rush hour traffic riding on the shuttle to retrieve our rental car. Driving conditions became a lot more difficult later in the...
Map of the Week
Make Your Own Ferraris Map While researching the Ferraris Atlas of Belgium from my last post, I came across a Github page that...
9 months ago
28
9 months ago
While researching the Ferraris Atlas of Belgium from my last post, I came across a Github page that lets you create your own Ferraris style map using QGIS. The author, Manuel Claeys Bouuaert did an excellent job creating a hand drawn looking style using modern technology....
Map of the Week
Let America be America Again When white people like me write about Black History Month, it can seem quite performative. However,...
4 months ago
37
4 months ago
When white people like me write about Black History Month, it can seem quite performative. However, in an era when our “leaders” are trying to erase black history, it is important for all of us to keep it visible. This poem map was inspired by a Langston Hughes poem called “Let...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 2 (Take a Walk) Dayton is decently sized place with about 130,000 residents in the city proper and about 800,000 in...
a year ago
116
a year ago
Dayton is decently sized place with about 130,000 residents in the city proper and about 800,000 in the larger metropolitan area. So that makes it large enough for some attractions and urban amenities, but nobody would mistake it for a city that never sleeps. I figured I might...
Transit Maps
New Official Map: San Francisco Muni Metro Map with Central Subway This map has actually been out for a while, but today – celebrating the full opening of the Central...
over a year ago
109
over a year ago
This map has actually been out for a while, but today – celebrating the full opening of the Central Subway – seemed like the appropriate day to post about it. Design-wise, this is very much an evolution of previous efforts (see my review of the post-COVID resumption of service...
Maps Mania
The 2025 Australian Election Map
3 months ago
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...
over a year ago
99
over 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...
Maps Mania
No News is Bad News
a month ago
Musings on Maps
Putting out Fires and Ensuring Water Flow Before the mass firings of civil servants, members of government, and oversight by the Trump...
4 months ago
48
4 months ago
Before the mass firings of civil servants, members of government, and oversight by the Trump administration, we were already shocked by two major disruptions that suggest the danger of the new President’s reflexive knee-jerk responses from his over-sensitive gut. Both–the …...
Map of the Week
Karen Wynn Fonstad's Middle Earth Maps I was not aware of Karen Wynn Fonstad until a recent article from the New York Times “Overlooked”...
3 months ago
38
3 months ago
I was not aware of Karen Wynn Fonstad until a recent article from the New York Times “Overlooked” series. Overlooked are obituaries about people whose deaths (in this case in 2005) were unreported in the Times. Fonstad created the Atlas of Middle Earth to accompany the works of...
Map of the Week
The Salt Front The salt front is the point where a river becomes too salty to be safe for drinking water. The front...
7 months ago
27
7 months ago
The salt front is the point where a river becomes too salty to be safe for drinking water. The front moves upstream from the river’s mouth as less freshwater flows downstream to dilute it. I’d never heard of a salt front until I read about it in a recent article in...
Maps Mania
The Marine Migration Map
a month ago
Adventures In...
GIS Day 2024 They say it’s the mappiest day of the year, but here’s a short video we made for GIS Day way back at...
7 months ago
99
7 months ago
They say it’s the mappiest day of the year, but here’s a short video we made for GIS Day way back at the mappiest place on earth (aka the Esri User Conference) back in July! November felt like forever away, but you know how all that goes. Thanks to Jo Ann Prichniewski for...
Adventures In...
Three Maps & the Truth You may have heard that “all maps lie” and that’s right (also, here’s some required reading). Each...
6 months ago
103
6 months ago
You may have heard that “all maps lie” and that’s right (also, here’s some required reading). Each map is a collection of compromises, whether they’re geomatic (your projection and scale choices), editorial (your choice of subject and what you’ve chosen to show and not show), and...
Maps Mania
Mapping Whale Superhighways
3 weeks ago
GeoCurrents
Part 2 of “The Myth of Continents Revisisited” Video Posted on YouTube The second half of my lecture on continents has been posted on YouTube and can be found here. It...
a week ago
10
a week ago
The second half of my lecture on continents has been posted on YouTube and can be found here. It begins with the geological conception of the terms “continent” and “continental,” and then pivots to show why the continental scheme is of little if any use for understating either...
somethingaboutmaps
Going Live I know it’s short notice, but I wanted to let you all know that I’m doing a livestream tomorrow....
5 months ago
58
5 months ago
I know it’s short notice, but I wanted to let you all know that I’m doing a livestream tomorrow. It’s been well over 2½ years since my last one. I’ll be covering a few monochrome maps I made for an upcoming book. Please come on by to ask questions, offer feedback, and share your...
Adventures In...
Inner Glow Effect for Polygons in ArcGIS Online Sure, there’s a glorious drop shadow effect in the ever-more-capable ArcGIS Online Map Viewer to...
3 months ago
41
3 months ago
Sure, there’s a glorious drop shadow effect in the ever-more-capable ArcGIS Online Map Viewer to give features a sweet glow, BUT there’s no inner glow effect. How do we cast that beautiful glow inward? I’ll admit that I’ve been stumped by this one for longer than I care to admit,...
Maps Mania
Poland's Political Partition Persists
4 weeks ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Greater Copenhagen Rail Map, 2024 Submitted by Jakob, who says: The M4 branch extension to Copenhagen South has just opened, and with...
11 months ago
138
11 months ago
Submitted by Jakob, who says: The M4 branch extension to Copenhagen South has just opened, and with it, a much improved map compared to 2019 [My review of the 2019 map can be found here – Cam]. The Circle Line is now more spacious, junctions are labeled more clearly, and metro...
Map of the Week
Random Italy Maps I will finish off my series of posts from my recent trip to Italy with a few random maps I saw in my...
4 weeks ago
15
4 weeks ago
I will finish off my series of posts from my recent trip to Italy with a few random maps I saw in my travels. Hopefully these are interesting beyond my personal whims. I will start with this raised relief map of the Valpolicella wine region hanging on the wall of the Tenuta Santa...
Adventures In...
In a Slump, But Not Forever
over a year ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Unofficial Map: Arendal Region Transit Map, Norway by Hazael Hi! I made this transit diagram myself. I saw there was no “real” map with all the stations for the...
10 months ago
103
10 months ago
Hi! I made this transit diagram myself. I saw there was no “real” map with all the stations for the region of Arendal in Norway, so I decided to do this project. I would love to read your comments and criticisms! Transit Maps says: There’s a lot to like about this diagram – a...
Maps Mania
Mapping the Sudanese Civil War
2 months ago
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...
11 months ago
108
11 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...
GeoCurrents
The Biological Significance of Micro-Continents: The Fascinating Caecilians of Seychelles (and Other... On the surface, there is little to distinguish small islands on continental fragments from oceanic...
2 months ago
14
2 months ago
On the surface, there is little to distinguish small islands on continental fragments from oceanic islands that have no continental connections. Careful observation, however, can reveal some interesting differences. The Seychelles microcontinent in the Indian Ocean is an...
Maps Mania
Snakes on a Plane(t)
2 months ago
Adventures In...
Make a cross stitch style map in ArcGIS Pro Yes, yes, maps are spatial communication devices and we can obsess over precision and clarity. But...
a month ago
16
a month ago
Yes, yes, maps are spatial communication devices and we can obsess over precision and clarity. But it all depends on your map’s purpose. Maps are also designed objects so they can carry within them the power of sentiment. Memory, joy, nostalgia. Or just plain old wonder and...
Maps Mania
The History Quiz Map!
2 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Cumberland Parkway Time Zone Crossing Time Zone crossings in the United States generally happen at state borders which of course are...
a year ago
115
a year ago
Time Zone crossings in the United States generally happen at state borders which of course are easily recognizable landmarks. So you simply cross the state line and you change your watch. No big deal. Unfortunately Time Zones cut right through the middle of some states, like...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 7 (Tankfest) Finally the single event that justified our entire trip to England arrived, the renowned Tankfest....
11 months ago
107
11 months ago
Finally the single event that justified our entire trip to England arrived, the renowned Tankfest. It’s everything the name implies, a festival of military tanks, and it happens only once a year on the grounds of the Tank Museum in Bovington (map). This is what the younger kid...
Maps Mania
It's a Scrambled World
4 months 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...
8 months ago
77
8 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...
GeoCurrents
The Myth of Continents Revisited: GeoCurrents YouTube Video As it has been more than a quarter century since the publication of my book The Myth of Continents...
a week ago
9
a week ago
As it has been more than a quarter century since the publication of my book The Myth of Continents (co-written with my wife, Kären Wigen), I have long thought that the topic deserved reconsideration. An opportunity came in May 2025, when I was invited to give a talk in Stanford’s...
Adventures In...
Draw complex polygons in ArcGIS Pro, super fast Sometimes I realize that in the amount of time I’ve spent looking for detailed data, I could have...
4 months ago
67
4 months ago
Sometimes I realize that in the amount of time I’ve spent looking for detailed data, I could have just created it. Often, water polygons at the scale you need for your mega-detailed map just aren’t available. Here’s how to draw a complex polygon in ArcGIS Pro super easily. And,...
somethingaboutmaps
The Dream Lives I know lately I’ve been in commercial mode, pointing you toward various projects of mine that you...
7 months ago
89
7 months ago
I know lately I’ve been in commercial mode, pointing you toward various projects of mine that you can support by giving me money. And I promise I’ll get back to less commercial musings as time goes on. But for now, I also want to alert you to a way you can give other people...
Transit Maps
Historical Maps: Private Railways and Extra-urban Tramways of Italy, 1936 I stumbled across this atlas of maps the other day and had to share. A few sample pages are below –...
a year ago
101
a year ago
I stumbled across this atlas of maps the other day and had to share. A few sample pages are below – head to the originating website to view all 20 of them. Enjoy! Source: Stagniweb.it
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
40
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...
Maps Mania
The Tariff Busting Map Game
2 months ago
Maps Mania
Russia's Disinformation Network Mapped
2 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 7 (South Korea: The DMZ) The Korean War never actually ended. Rather, it froze in place at an armistice line on July 27,...
over a year ago
68
over a year ago
The Korean War never actually ended. Rather, it froze in place at an armistice line on July 27, 1953. So there’s a multi-decade ceasefire, a truce, but no agreed-upon resolution of hostilities. A four kilometre wide Demilitarized Zone acts as a buffer between North and South...
Maps Mania
State of the Global Climate 2024
3 months ago
Map of the Week
Fastest Growing and Shrinking Cities This map shows the fastest growing and shrinking cities in the United States and Canada using 2023...
6 months ago
27
6 months ago
This map shows the fastest growing and shrinking cities in the United States and Canada using 2023 data. The map appears on Visual Capitalist and the data is only for the city populations, it does not reflect the overall metropolitan areas. The top seven population gainers are...
Maps Mania
Where Mamdani Beat Cuomo
a week ago
GeoCurrents
A Major Win for the Left in Canada’s 2025 Election – But Not in Alberta or Saskatchewan The Conservative Party was widely expected to win Canada’s April 28 federal election. As recently as...
a month ago
22
a month ago
The Conservative Party was widely expected to win Canada’s April 28 federal election. As recently as January 2025, the party was polling well ahead of the governing Liberals (see the graph posted below). But after U.S. President Donald Trump began calling Canada the “fifty-first...
Maps Mania
How to Learn the Countries of the World
3 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 7  (Hodgepodge) The Dayton trip came to an end but I still had a bunch of stuff to talk about that didn’t fit into...
a year ago
123
a year ago
The Dayton trip came to an end but I still had a bunch of stuff to talk about that didn’t fit into any of the earlier articles. Naturally I’ve collected them all together within this final compilation to serve as a wrap-up. Then we can call this one done and move onto the next...
Maps Mania
EthnoGuessr
3 weeks ago
Maps Mania
The Republic of Climate Change Deniers
3 months ago
Maps Mania
The Future of Street View Has Arrived
3 weeks ago
GeoCurrents
GeoCurrents Listed as One of the 100 Best GIS Blogs and Websites in 2025 I am pleased to report that GeoCurrents has been selected by FeedSpot as one of the “100 Best GIS...
3 months ago
12
3 months ago
I am pleased to report that GeoCurrents has been selected by FeedSpot as one of the “100 Best GIS Blogs” for 2025. It is an honor to receive this recognition and I give my sincere thanks to FeedSpot for the acknowledgement, although I do have to say that GeoCurrents is more a...
Maps Mania
Is it Hot Right Now?
a month ago
Maps Mania
Unlocking Google’s Hidden Maps
a month ago
Transit Maps
Official Map: C-TRAN Bus Network, Vancouver, Washington, October 2023 Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Transit Maps has never taken a look at the map for Portland’s...
a year ago
61
a year ago
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Transit Maps has never taken a look at the map for Portland’s northern neighbour, the (original) Vancouver. With the recent addition of their second “The Vine” BRT route along Mill Plain Boulevard, now seems like a good time. At first glance, it...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 1 (The Wright Stuff) When people have asked, I’ve told them with a straight face that we didn’t go to Daytona for Spring...
a year ago
117
a year ago
When people have asked, I’ve told them with a straight face that we didn’t go to Daytona for Spring Break, no, we went to Dayton. As in Ohio. As in probably the least likely Spring Break destination in the United States. We managed to avoid warm weather, sandy beaches, and...
GeoCurrents
Who Are “The Laurentian Elite?” Where Is “Laurentian Canada?” & Why Do Americans Ignore the Saint... Canada’s western separatists often refer disparagingly to “the Laurentian elite” and “Laurentian...
a month ago
24
a month ago
Canada’s western separatists often refer disparagingly to “the Laurentian elite” and “Laurentian Canada,” terms that are not familiar to most readers in the United States. These terms derive from the region around the Saint Lawrence River, Canada’s political, economic, and...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Inland Northwest, Day 4 (Lewis & Clark Country) We were now officially between races. A day earlier I ran a half-marathon in Pendleton, Oregon and I...
8 months ago
81
8 months ago
We were now officially between races. A day earlier I ran a half-marathon in Pendleton, Oregon and I had to do it again in Clarkston, Washington the following day. So this was the rest day, or at least it was for me. Most participants in the Mainly Marathons Northwest series...
Map of the Week
Luko's World Last week we lost our dog, Luko (a shortened version of an overly long-winded name he came with.)...
4 months ago
31
4 months ago
Last week we lost our dog, Luko (a shortened version of an overly long-winded name he came with.) Lots of people will tell you they have the best dog but he was truly one of a kind. Completely sweet and a delight to all who have known him. A few years ago I made a colored...
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
115
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...
GeoCurrents
Comparing Recent Patterns of Electoral Geography in the United States and Canada (Part 1:... Comparing electoral maps of Canada and the United States is a challenging exercise. The two...
a month ago
16
a month ago
Comparing electoral maps of Canada and the United States is a challenging exercise. The two countries have markedly different political systems: the United States is a presidential democratic republic and Canada is a nominally monarchical state governed through a...
Maps Mania
19th Century Street View of Chicago
2 months ago
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...
8 months ago
82
8 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...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 2 (Oahu: Beyond Waikiki) I didn’t spend all of my limited time strictly within the confines of Waikiki Beach and downtown...
over a year ago
74
over a year ago
I didn’t spend all of my limited time strictly within the confines of Waikiki Beach and downtown Honolulu. Whether work-related or during precious spare time I did explore more of southeastern Oahu than I had on my previous trip. Unfortunately I couldn’t linger much and truly...
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
61
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...
Detect and measure wildfires with Sentinel-1 Explorer Our human visual systems collect light from a pretty narrow slice of the electromagnetic spectrum....
11 months ago
113
11 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...
Maps Mania
The Invasion of America
3 months ago
Musings on Maps
A Global Landscape of Growing Glacial Loss With frozen glaciers disappearing into the oceans at an unprecedented rate, the rise of an...
over a year ago
72
over a year ago
With frozen glaciers disappearing into the oceans at an unprecedented rate, the rise of an ecotourism of glacier viewing is hardly unexpected. But the rise of new heights of glacial melt that are feared for much of the arctic this … Continue reading →
Musings on Maps
Victory! Sensing a need for administering a national shot of dopamine without much to accomplish for n end to...
4 months ago
41
4 months ago
Sensing a need for administering a national shot of dopamine without much to accomplish for n end to war in Ukraine–despite promises of one being imminent–and with less low-rate beachfront properties available than hoped for amidst the rubble in Gaza, … Continue reading →
Adventures In...
Reimagining a classic Cheysson thematic map There is no one right way to make a map. Especially data-heavy thematic maps. In that spirit my...
a year ago
63
a year ago
There is no one right way to make a map. Especially data-heavy thematic maps. In that spirit my friend and colleague Ken Field recently challenged Sarah Bell and I to each re-imagine a few wonderful classic maps. This is a tall order, but I found some comfort and encouragement...
James Cheshire
The era of the megalopolis: how the world’s cities are merging James Cheshire, UCL and Michael Batty, UCL On November 15 2022, a baby girl named Vinice Mabansag,...
over a year ago
85
over a year ago
James Cheshire, UCL and Michael Batty, UCL On November 15 2022, a baby girl named Vinice Mabansag, born at Dr Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila, Philippines, became – symbolically – the eight billionth person in the world. Of those 8 billion people, 60% live in a town or...
Adventures In...
Boost the Human Footprint in Imagery The World Imagery Basemap is a lovely resource spanning the Earth in all directions at all scales....
9 months ago
99
9 months ago
The World Imagery Basemap is a lovely resource spanning the Earth in all directions at all scales. If you want to add a level of context you can always add a reference overlay. But what about baking a reference overlay into the imagery in a way that makes it look, like, sort of...
Maps Mania
The First Cuckoo of Spring
2 months ago
Transit Maps
Submission – BART “Heat Map” by Harsha Devulapalli Submitted by Harsha, who says: I’ve been a big fan of your blog for over a decade. Recently, I had...
10 months ago
113
10 months ago
Submitted by Harsha, who says: I’ve been a big fan of your blog for over a decade. Recently, I had the opportunity to replicate the BART transit map for a data visualization in a story I wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle. I would love to hear your thoughts on it! Transit Maps...
Map of the Week
Wall Street Before the Wall This bird-eye diagram of lower Manhattan appeared in a Harpers Magazine article from 1908 titled...
3 months ago
32
3 months ago
This bird-eye diagram of lower Manhattan appeared in a Harpers Magazine article from 1908 titled “The Story of a Street.”  In 1844 the Dutch governor of New Amsterdam ordered the town’s citizens to construct a cattle guard at the north end of the settlement to keep the cattle...
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...
7 months ago
27
7 months 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...
somethingaboutmaps
A Free eBook of Terrain Lines Friends, earlier this week I mentioned that I’d completed a whole bunch of terrain sketches using...
8 months ago
88
8 months ago
Friends, earlier this week I mentioned that I’d completed a whole bunch of terrain sketches using some novel techniques that allowed me to create a hachure drawing style from digital elevation data. If you’d like to see the whole set, I’ve now assembled them into a quick eBook...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 2 (Atlanta Revisited) I ventured into familiar territory as we started the trip, back to the same eastside of Atlanta that...
a year ago
44
a year ago
I ventured into familiar territory as we started the trip, back to the same eastside of Atlanta that I’d explored just four months prior. That wasn’t a coincidence. I enjoyed the area so much that I wanted the whole family to experience it too. So it made perfect sense to fly...
Adventures In...
How to Reattach Land that Spills Over the International Dateline If you’ve ever made a world map before, you may have noticed that bit of Siberia that spills over...
a year ago
74
a year ago
If you’ve ever made a world map before, you may have noticed that bit of Siberia that spills over the International Dateline only to magically appear on the left edge of the world. When it comes to projecting our not-2D world onto a 2D surface, we have to draw the line somewhere....
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....
6 months ago
26
6 months 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...
Transit Maps
Historical Map: Trams of Brisbane, Queensland, 1957 A simple but nicely drawn map of tram services in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1957. The lack...
over a year ago
131
over a year ago
A simple but nicely drawn map of tram services in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1957. The lack of any sort of key for the routes means that users need to have some familiarity with the city to decipher where trams might go. The pamphlet that the map is part of includes...
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...
over a year ago
146
over 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...
Map of the Week
Three Part World Via Newsweek - The current tyrants governments of the United States, Russia and China may be wishing...
2 weeks ago
12
2 weeks ago
Via Newsweek - The current tyrants governments of the United States, Russia and China may be wishing for a three superpower world where spheres of influence are carved up among them.   You can hover to identify the countries.  Apparently the southern hemisphere does not rate...
Maps Mania
The Democracy Sausage Map
2 months ago
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...
a year ago
132
a year 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....
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....
a year ago
124
a year 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...
GeoCurrents
Zoogeographical Regions & the Architecture of Continents: The Legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace If the division of the terrestrial world into continents is partially but misleadingly rooted in...
2 months ago
17
2 months ago
If the division of the terrestrial world into continents is partially but misleadingly rooted in geology, as recent GeoCurrents posts have argued, we must also ask whether it reflects the distribution of animal and plant life. Are continents, in other words, entities of...
Musings on Maps
Security Walls: “This is Just the Beginning” Attending New Year’s service in an Oxford Orthodox synagogue, I paused when the ritual prayer book I...
a year ago
120
a year ago
Attending New Year’s service in an Oxford Orthodox synagogue, I paused when the ritual prayer book I held–a Machzor-moved smoothly from prayers to George VI (it was an old one) to prayers for the Israel Defense Forces. The rabbi, who … Continue reading →
somethingaboutmaps
Kickstarter 3: The Return For the past several years, I’ve enjoyed the process of cyanotype printing, and have released a...
7 months ago
115
7 months ago
For the past several years, I’ve enjoyed the process of cyanotype printing, and have released a number of projects based on this technique (including my favorite item I’ve ever made). Now, I’ve decided to take my recent work in developing terrain sketches, and turn it into a new...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Madrid Cercanías Rail Network, December 2024 Submitted by Juan, who says: I send the new version of the Renfe-Madrid Cercanías network. It seems...
5 months ago
71
5 months ago
Submitted by Juan, who says: I send the new version of the Renfe-Madrid Cercanías network. It seems to me that it has improved quite a lot the previous version. This previous version had crossroads, angles, etc. I would like to know your opinion about this new map. Transit Maps...
Musings on Maps
Expansionist Energies and Political Synergies: Unpacking the Brave New World of DOGE Donald Trump has so skillfully adopted terms and coopted concepts by slapping his name on them to...
3 weeks ago
11
3 weeks ago
Donald Trump has so skillfully adopted terms and coopted concepts by slapping his name on them to rebrand them as his own, in ways we may do well to question if this is entirely impulsively done. From CPAC to the … Continue reading →
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...
10 months ago
92
10 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...
Musings on Maps
“They’re Eating Dogs” “If exotic non-human animals inhabited the edges of the inhabited world in medieval cosmologies,...
9 months ago
113
9 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...
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...
over a year ago
121
over 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...
Maps Mania
Your Personal AI Travel Guide
5 months ago
Maps Mania
The Future Risk Index Rides Again
3 months ago
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...
8 months ago
81
8 months 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 –...
Inland Northwest, Day 5 (University Loop) This was another early morning start although not as early as some of the others. We wouldn’t need...
8 months ago
63
8 months ago
This was another early morning start although not as early as some of the others. We wouldn’t need to drive very far anymore now that we’d settled into our temporary home in Lewiston, Idaho for four nights in a row. The Washington Race Sunrise came quickly and we soon found...
Adventures In...
Make a seafloor map in the spirit of Marie Tharp & Heinrich Berann Here’s how you can make a map inspired by the glorious collaboration of geologist Marie Tharp and...
3 months ago
37
3 months ago
Here’s how you can make a map inspired by the glorious collaboration of geologist Marie Tharp and landscape painter Heinrich Berann. We’ll use ArcGIS Pro (injected with a special terrain toolbox provided by cartographer, author, and public figure Ken Field), its amazing raster...
somethingaboutmaps
Projection Cards: Now a Reality A couple months back, I floated an idea for making some fun trading cards based on map projections....
over a year ago
70
over a year ago
A couple months back, I floated an idea for making some fun trading cards based on map projections. I’m very happy to report that several dozen of you responded and contributed designs to help make the set happen. I’ve been spending several weeks on managing everyone and working...
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
135
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...
Musings on Maps
Perilous Waters The voyage to the Titanic promoted cartographic fantasies of discovery and exploration, but only in...
a year ago
78
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. ...
Transit Maps
Book Review: “Iconic Transit Maps” by Mark Ovenden, 2024 After 2003’s Metro Maps of the World and 2015’s Transit Maps of the World (our review here), this is...
6 months ago
92
6 months ago
After 2003’s Metro Maps of the World and 2015’s Transit Maps of the World (our review here), this is Mark Ovenden’s third offering on the subject of global transit maps and diagrams. The question to be asked, then, is simply – is a new book on the same subject worth it? In a...
Maps Mania
Free TV & Radio Maps
3 months ago
Adventures In...
How to emboss an imagery basemap Ah the simple pleasures of the World Imagery basemap. So much earth. So much imagery. So many...
over a year ago
98
over a year ago
Ah the simple pleasures of the World Imagery basemap. So much earth. So much imagery. So many corners of this world to explore. How can we take something so verdant and charming and just ratchet it up to eleven? We’ll use a water mask and some layer effects, that’s how! 0:00...
Musings on Maps
Along Narnia’s Enchanted Shores As we face an age when the norms of legal conduct in the United States stand to be shredded, we have...
7 months ago
86
7 months ago
As we face an age when the norms of legal conduct in the United States stand to be shredded, we have been suggested to benefit from looking, both for perspective and solace, if only for relief, to fantasy literature as … Continue reading →
Maps Mania
Roads, Railways, Runways & Rivers
5 months ago
Musings on Maps
The Dystopia of Diagolon: Irrational Cartographies of Secession The quandary of our own abundant if not inexhaustible repertoire of mapping abilities and skills of...
over a year ago
91
over a year ago
The quandary of our own abundant if not inexhaustible repertoire of mapping abilities and skills of visualization are tried by the spread of COVID-19. As dashboards, news agencies, and media offered new maps and staked new skills of mapping, maps … Continue reading →
Maps Mania
Taxing for War
a month ago
somethingaboutmaps
2022 Freelancer Survey Results Thank you once again to everyone who participated in this year’s survey of freelance cartographer...
over a year ago
70
over a year ago
Thank you once again to everyone who participated in this year’s survey of freelance cartographer rates and business practices! Herein, you will find the results of the survey, sliced into a few different charts and visuals, all crafted by my survey partner Aly Ollivierre. For...
James Cheshire
More than arrows UPDATE: If you would like a detailed reflection on this, I have co-authored an article with Alex...
over a year ago
87
over a year ago
UPDATE: If you would like a detailed reflection on this, I have co-authored an article with Alex Kent entitled Getting to the Point? Rethinking Arrows on Maps. You can read it here. This week I took to Twitter to offer a critique on way we might map (at the time of writing) the...
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...
8 months ago
79
8 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...
Maps Mania
How Climate Change is Destroying Crops
4 months ago
Maps Mania
The Reforestation Interactive Map
2 weeks ago
Maps Mania
Zoom, Pan, and Explore: Sutro Tower in 3D
4 months ago
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...
10 months ago
111
10 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 …
Maps Mania
Drinking & Eating in the Sun
2 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Culpeper Co., Virginia I enjoy county counting but it becomes increasingly difficult to reach new counties as my count...
4 months ago
36
4 months ago
I enjoy county counting but it becomes increasingly difficult to reach new counties as my count increases. That’s why I began a sub-variant involving overnight counties. You see it counts “more” by my arbitrary rules if I spend an entire night there instead of simply passing...
Transit Maps
Unofficial Maps: Two new takes on the London Underground by Kenneth Field Back in 2019, Ken showcased an experimental alternative Tube Map based on a diamond motif (read the...
over a year ago
79
over a year ago
Back in 2019, Ken showcased an experimental alternative Tube Map based on a diamond motif (read the Transit Maps review here) that had mixed reactions from the community. He went away and absorbed that feedback, and – like a glutton for punishment – he’s back with not one, but...
James Cheshire
The Scarred Landscape of the Climate Crisis I’ve been obsessively checking satellite imagery to witness the UK turn from green to yellow, thanks...
over a year ago
105
over a year ago
I’ve been obsessively checking satellite imagery to witness the UK turn from green to yellow, thanks to the period of extreme heat and lack of rain Europe has been enduring. The parched landscape is unlike anything I’ve seen before and a cloud free day today (10th August) has...
GeoCurrents
Map Art or Scientific Cartography? Many maps, in my view, are also work of art, regardless of their creators’ intentions. Some maps,...
3 months ago
13
3 months ago
Many maps, in my view, are also work of art, regardless of their creators’ intentions. Some maps, however, are explicitly made as art, and as such are not designed to convey spatial information beyond that found in the mere geographical shapes that they contain. Increasingly, it...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 4 (Bristol) In retrospect we probably should have done this as an overnight trip. As we soon learned, there’s no...
11 months ago
109
11 months ago
In retrospect we probably should have done this as an overnight trip. As we soon learned, there’s no fast, direct way to drive from Dorset’s Isle of Purbeck to Bristol (map). Google says it should take a couple of hours in optimal conditions which sounds doable, if a bit slow....
Map of the Week
A Blue Map of China This past weekend I finally got to the Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library to see...
10 months ago
22
10 months ago
This past weekend I finally got to the Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library to see their exhibit, Heaven and Earth: The Blue Maps of China on one of its final days. Yes, I should have visited months ago when I could have encouraged readers to see it but though they...
Maps Mania
A Guided Street View Tour of the World
a month ago
Maps Mania
Find Your Birthday Tree
2 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
66
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
The First Ghetto The first ghetto was established in 1516 in Venice, Italy. Jewish residents were forced to live in a...
a month ago
17
a month ago
The first ghetto was established in 1516 in Venice, Italy. Jewish residents were forced to live in a small industrial area by the government and locked in at night. Here is a picture of a ghetto map from I took while there a few weeks ago.  According to the sign Jews were only...
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
47
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
What is Your Ecoregion?
4 months ago
Maps Mania
The Future of Urban Mobility
3 months ago
Maps Mania
The Whole of Human History Mapped
2 days ago
Transit Maps
What I’m Up To and the Future of the Blog Hi, everyone – it’s been a while! Quite a few people have written in lately wondering why I haven’t...
12 months ago
123
12 months ago
Hi, everyone – it’s been a while! Quite a few people have written in lately wondering why I haven’t updated the blog in a while, so I thought I should address that. Firstly, for those that were concerned something was wrong, I’d like to reassure you that I’m a-okay and everything...
somethingaboutmaps
Thoughts on Practical Cartographic Education While I have not conducted a formal survey, I think I have the right impression when I say that most...
over a year ago
86
over a year ago
While I have not conducted a formal survey, I think I have the right impression when I say that most university cartography courses, at least in the United States, are taught by people whose primary job (when they are not teaching) is not the regular production of maps. These...
somethingaboutmaps
Projection Cards I had a whimsical idea a few months ago: map projection trading cards. Something nerdy and...
over a year ago
86
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...
Transit Maps
Fantasy Map: Washington Commanders 2023 “Season Map” Posted yesterday on the Commanders’ Twitter account, here’s a Washington Metro-themed map of the...
over a year ago
85
over a year ago
Posted yesterday on the Commanders’ Twitter account, here’s a Washington Metro-themed map of the team’s 2023 season. It basically just places the team’s opponents for the year on a vaguely US-shaped map using some Metro iconography and colours and calls it a day. It’s...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
From Skyline to Valley A family friend had a big round-number birthday recently and we drove down to Central Virginia for...
over a year ago
65
over a year ago
A family friend had a big round-number birthday recently and we drove down to Central Virginia for the celebration. Meanwhile, I’m always on the lookout for opportunities to add to my various travel lists so I wondered how might I combine the two. I thought about county counting...
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
39
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...
Map of the Week
The Maps of Jaune Quick-to-See Smith Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, a Native American artist died a few weeks ago. Her artwork highlighted a...
3 months ago
35
3 months ago
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, a Native American artist died a few weeks ago. Her artwork highlighted a Native worldview juxtaposed with American pop culture and included many maps. -via Center for Public Art History In State Names (2000) paint drips obscure the European...
Maps Mania
The Nationwide Sakura Map
3 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Indiana I-69 Time Zone Crossing If you’re driving along Indiana’s portion of Interstate 69, say from Evansville to Bloomington, you...
6 months ago
96
6 months ago
If you’re driving along Indiana’s portion of Interstate 69, say from Evansville to Bloomington, you are going to cross a Time Zone boundary. It happens between Mile Markers 37.5 and 39.0, about forty minutes north of Evansville at normal highway speeds. But please note that the...
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...
a year ago
100
a year 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...
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
51
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...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: GoBus Ohio, 2024 Submitted by Leo, who says: The state-supported GoBus system in Ohio has a somewhat strange route...
11 months ago
108
11 months ago
Submitted by Leo, who says: The state-supported GoBus system in Ohio has a somewhat strange route scheme (e.g. no direct route from Columbus to Cleveland, or Columbus to Cincinnati via Dayton) but their map, despite being overall fairly poor, makes some interesting stylistic...
Maps Mania
The USA is Closing for Business
5 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
A New Take on an Old Style Gentle readers, I have some exciting things to share with you. After several months of tinkering and...
8 months ago
88
8 months ago
Gentle readers, I have some exciting things to share with you. After several months of tinkering and toolmaking, I have created a series of posters of iconic peaks (and other terrain), illustrated in a sketch style inspired by old hachure drawings. There are 37 designs to choose...
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...
over a year ago
104
over 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....
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...
over a year ago
128
over 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
Adding New “Continents” to the Map of the World – and thus Approaching the World-Regional Model Almost all maps found in online image searches of “continents map” depict the standard...
2 months ago
19
2 months ago
Almost all maps found in online image searches of “continents map” depict the standard seven-continent model of the U.S. educational establishment. A few, however, deviate from the scheme by adding additional continents. Such adjustments are understandable, as the standard model...
somethingaboutmaps
An Educational Experiment (Edit: sign-ups are now closed. I received over 150 responses for 4 available slots, which has been...
over a year ago
106
over a year ago
(Edit: sign-ups are now closed. I received over 150 responses for 4 available slots, which has been great but overwhelming. I may offer this again in the future if it goes well, so make sure to follow me on Twitter and subscribe to the blog, to be notified of when this happens.)...
Maps Mania
The Black History Month Map
4 months ago
Maps Mania
A Panorama of Victorian London
a month ago
Maps Mania
Donald Trump Surrenders the World to China
3 months ago
Musings on Maps
Counterfeit Puppets: Hustler’s University, Red Pills and the Manosphere HU–“Huster’s University”–bills itself as the only real access to a world of Money Makers where they...
4 months ago
42
4 months ago
HU–“Huster’s University”–bills itself as the only real access to a world of Money Makers where they can lead a fulfilling life, able to lead those who enter to an alternative reality, mentoring users who ar able to click on “the … Continue reading →
Maps Mania
The Digital Twin's Digital Twin
4 months ago
Maps Mania
Jumbled Maps
4 months ago
Map of the Week
Ice Flows in Greenland The Atlas of the Invisible was published a few years ago. The maps show trends in the earth’s...
6 months ago
24
6 months ago
The Atlas of the Invisible was published a few years ago. The maps show trends in the earth’s climate and demographics that are largely hidden to the naked eye. I never got a chance to review it but was recently struck by this visualization. A detailed description of the...
Maps Mania
Hyperlocal Social Media
2 months ago
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...
over a year ago
75
over 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...
Musings on Maps
Swing States, Battleground States and Hot Spots Are the maps of President Trump's 2024 electoral evidence of a sudden shift or deep undercurrents of...
7 months ago
92
7 months ago
Are the maps of President Trump's 2024 electoral evidence of a sudden shift or deep undercurrents of disaffection? The sudden partisan shift of voting maps suggest a dark undercurrents in American politics. Continue reading →
Map of the Week
A Really Greater New York New York City just introduced congestion pricing in an attempt to eliminate gridlock. There have...
5 months ago
21
5 months ago
New York City just introduced congestion pricing in an attempt to eliminate gridlock. There have been many other plans over the years to alter the city to improve traffic flow, also to create housing and solve environmental problems. One of the most ambitious plans was this one,...
Maps Mania
Mapping Myths Across the World
4 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Taming the Frontier, Part 1 I didn’t have a proper vacation in awhile. Then, unexpectedly, I had abundant time on my hands. I...
a month ago
15
a month ago
I didn’t have a proper vacation in awhile. Then, unexpectedly, I had abundant time on my hands. I also needed to bring a kid home from Michigan State University who just finished the first year of a graduate program. So I planned a delightfully inefficient route through rural...
Maps Mania
Federal Funding & Jobs Slashed
3 months ago