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Map of the Week
More Maps and Views at the British Library Here is another installment of maps on display at the British Library - part 1 can be found...
4 months ago
50
4 months ago
Here is another installment of maps on display at the British Library - part 1 can be found here. Estate Map by Margaret Bowles, 1659 Apologies for the dark and shadowy picture, the display hall is not brightly lit. Margaret Bowles was an English cartographer whose surviving...
Maps Mania
The Right-Wing Terrorism Map
10 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
The Dream Lives I know lately I’ve been in commercial mode, pointing you toward various projects of mine that you...
a month ago
22
a month 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 Map: Trams of Brisbane, Queensland, 1957 A simple but nicely drawn map of tram services in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1957. The lack...
a year ago
64
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...
Maps Mania
Mapping Every US Election Since 1840
2 months ago
Maps Mania
The October Solar Eclipse Map
a year ago
Maps Mania
US Military Bases Around the World
a year 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...
a month ago
27
a month ago
I hinted at ulterior motives in the last article about my long weekend in Denver. I didn’t travel all the way out there just to casually tour around. Indeed, I had a very specific purpose in mind — checking off a bucket list item in fact — attending the Great American Beer...
Maps Mania
Global Sunlight Chart
a year ago
Maps Mania
Where Mountains Rise From Oceans
6 months ago
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...
a year ago
45
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 National Stereotypes Maps - Part Two
a year ago
Map of the Week
Maps of Julian Hoffman Anton I'm always excited to find new cartographic artists. Here are some maps from Julian Hoffman Anton....
a year ago
44
a year ago
I'm always excited to find new cartographic artists. Here are some maps from Julian Hoffman Anton. The first one is his Tokyo Eat Map. I've cropped the map a bit to fit the format of this page. To see it all click here. This is really a heat map showing restaurant density. Egg...
Map of the Week
The Coaquannock Map I will begin Philadelphia month at an early stage, just before European settlement. via...
a year ago
15
a year ago
I will begin Philadelphia month at an early stage, just before European settlement. via Historical Society of Pennsylvania This 1934 map showing the homeland of the Lenape people when the first white settlers arrived in Philadelphia, was funded by the Works Progress...
Maps Mania
Guess This City 2.0
6 months ago
Maps Mania
Attacks on the Press Map 2023
9 months ago
Maps Mania
The Hezbollah Map
a year ago
Maps Mania
Learning Countries While Having Fun
a year ago
Maps Mania
London, Paris & Berlin Metro Memory Games
a year 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...
a year ago
39
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 →
Maps Mania
AI Map Markers
a year ago
Maps Mania
GeoGuessr for Video Games
a year ago
Maps Mania
The World's Changing Climate Zones
a month ago
Maps Mania
AI Geo Guessing
a year ago
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...
2 months ago
33
2 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...
Maps Mania
The Future for Trees
9 months ago
Maps Mania
Real-Time Radiation Maps
4 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
45
a year ago
John Snow’s map of the 1854 London cholera outbreak was revolutionary in that it clearly drew a visual connection between deaths and the locations of well pumps. It helped contribute to the idea that cholera was a water-borne disease and effectively marks the creation of the...
Maps Mania
The D-Day Map Room
5 months ago
GeoCurrents
Wikipedia’s Visually Striking but Inaccurate Cartograms of U.S. Presidential Elections When preparing the illustrations for my current lecture course on the historical geography of U.S....
a month ago
4
a month ago
When preparing the illustrations for my current lecture course on the historical geography of U.S. presidential elections, I was thrilled to discover that Wikipedia’s articles on most of these elections are illustrated with visually striking cartograms of the results, mapped at...
Maps Mania
Santa Tracker Maps
12 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...
a year ago
48
a year ago
Cartographers will often exaggerate the natural scale of a mapped feature to help it communicate something of its nature. Some examples are vertical exaggeration of terrain or the very existence of point symbols (cities aren’t actually that big). We embellish for effect. Making a...
Maps Mania
Mapping the Census
6 months ago
Map of the Week
Mid 1900's Urban Planning in Philadelphia Here are a few urban planning items to close out Philadelphia month. Hope you have enjoyed the...
a year ago
45
a year ago
Here are a few urban planning items to close out Philadelphia month. Hope you have enjoyed the journey. Cathedral Road: There are many discontinued highways and roads to nowhere throughout the United States, including Woodhaven Road, a dead end expressway in Northeast...
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...
a year ago
53
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...
Maps Mania
2023 Spanish Election
a year ago
Maps Mania
World Level Zero
3 months ago
Maps Mania
A Year of Wildfire in Europe
a year ago
Maps Mania
Geolocating Visual Media in Conflict Zones
a month ago
Maps Mania
Your Perfect Weather Map
a year ago
Maps Mania
The True Size of Australia
11 months ago
Maps Mania
Street View Surveillance
10 months ago
Map of the Week
The Grand Paris Express I was recently in Harvard University's Graduate School of Design (GSD) when I came across this...
a year ago
21
a year ago
I was recently in Harvard University's Graduate School of Design (GSD) when I came across this fantastic exhibit on the Grand Paris Express. The GPE is a hugely ambitious project to add several metro ring lines connecting the suburbs of Paris to each other and to the central...
Maps Mania
Russia's Secret Nuclear Targets in China
4 months ago
Adventures In...
Make this 3D printed globe please Ah, it’s that time of year when we geographers pour ourselves a steaming mug of hot coffee and place...
a year ago
76
a year ago
Ah, it’s that time of year when we geographers pour ourselves a steaming mug of hot coffee and place a stroopwafel over it until the caramel is nice and gooey and take the hand of other nearby geographers and sing O Denneboom together. Say, what’s with all the Dutch references?...
Maps Mania
The Bike Map
11 months ago
Maps Mania
Where Your Food Comes
a year ago
Maps Mania
The Virtual Tour Maker
a year ago
Adventures In...
How to Make a Historical Animation with Landsat Here’s how to whip up a three decade animation of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest,...
9 months ago
58
9 months ago
Here’s how to whip up a three decade animation of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest, using Landsat Explorer. And it only takes a few minutes. … 0:00 Intro0:20 Assembling the animation1:47 Checking the result2:14 Saving an animation as an MP42:44 More animation examples3:33...
Adventures In...
North Arrow Necessity Can a map still be considered a map if it doesn’t have a north arrow? Yes. A north arrow is an...
4 months ago
38
4 months ago
Can a map still be considered a map if it doesn’t have a north arrow? Yes. A north arrow is an optional map accompaniment and you should think critically about your map to determine for yourself if it needs a north arrow or not. For what it’s worth, often a map should not have a...
somethingaboutmaps
Getting Local: A Map Disassembly Though it’s only been a couple of months since the last time I did a map breakdown, I feel like it’s...
a year ago
12
a year ago
Though it’s only been a couple of months since the last time I did a map breakdown, I feel like it’s time for another. While my own instincts are to avoid repetition, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my YouTube-watching habits, it’s that a creator can put out a regular...
Map of the Week
30 Day Map Challenge 2023 Days 3 9 Here’s what I’ve been working on for the past week’s 30 Day Map Challenges with the prompts...
a year ago
29
a year ago
Here’s what I’ve been working on for the past week’s 30 Day Map Challenges with the prompts listed. Day 3 - Polygons This is not exactly a hand made map, more having fun with cutting boards. My wife gave me the Pennsylvania board a few years ago and I used it in the 2021...
Adventures In...
Illumination Cartography Here are a few flavors of a technique, illumination cartography, that uses data to shed light on its...
8 months ago
81
8 months ago
Here are a few flavors of a technique, illumination cartography, that uses data to shed light on its underlying basemap. There’s something satisfying about presenting a phenomenon as revealing geography rather than obscuring it. Love, John
Maps Mania
Free Map Data Grabbers
a month ago
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...
2 months ago
20
2 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....
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...
4 months ago
50
4 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...
Map of the Week
Make the Desert Bloom Tomas Pueyo has an idea to help combat global warming and rising seas. His idea is to create new...
a year ago
21
a year ago
Tomas Pueyo has an idea to help combat global warming and rising seas. His idea is to create new seas by flooding several below sea level basins, such as the Dead Sea or Death Valley with seawater to create or enlarge inland seas. Here is an image from his Substack pages showing...
Maps Mania
Poetry Walks
a year ago
Maps Mania
2½ Half Weeks with Mrs Rauer
11 months ago
Maps Mania
FlightRadar's New GPS Jamming Map
9 months ago
Musings on Maps
“He Could Easily Destroy Us” Tucker Carlson's move to Twitter led him to celebrate it as the last preserve of free speech. But...
a year ago
99
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...
Maps Mania
30 Days of Crashes in New York City
5 months ago
Maps Mania
Real-Time 3D Mapping
11 months ago
Maps Mania
The Riskiest Places to Live in America
5 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...
a month ago
23
a month ago
This one map (via New York Times) tells you quite a bit about what happened in the U.S. Election on Tuesday. Aside from a few strange outliers (western Oklahoma, suburban Atlanta, northwest Michigan) The "red shift" happened across all regions and demographics. Hard to look at...
Maps Mania
Olympic Stadia Travel Times
a year ago
Map of the Week
Protein Survey Map While looking for unrelated items I came across this 1920's Protein Survey Map of Western...
a year ago
4
a year ago
While looking for unrelated items I came across this 1920's Protein Survey Map of Western Canada. Wondering what any of this means, I did some research and discovered that protein refers to the gluten content of wheat. In the early 1900's flour mills began classifying their...
Maps Mania
The Interactive Genocide Map
a month ago
Maps Mania
America is a Jigsaw
a year ago
Maps Mania
The Reemergence of Nuclear Power
a month ago
Map of the Week
Thirty Day Map Challenge 2023-Days 17-23 Another week of 30 Day Map Challenge Maps… Day 17 - Flow Probably the intention here was to have...
a year ago
23
a year ago
Another week of 30 Day Map Challenge Maps… Day 17 - Flow Probably the intention here was to have people make maps of the flow of surface water or air or traffic but I decided to make a flow chart instead. A vaguely interesting look at the trip home I had to make many times as...
Maps Mania
The Ring of Rain
a year ago
Map of the Week
Radical Atlas of Ferguson, USA Coming out this summer from Belt Publishing (publishers of the "50 Maps" book series on Cleveland,...
7 months ago
60
7 months ago
Coming out this summer from Belt Publishing (publishers of the "50 Maps" book series on Cleveland, Detroit and Buffalo) is the Radical Atlas of Ferguson, USA.   "Ferguson, Missouri, became the epicenter of America’s racial tensions after the 2014 murder of Michael Brown and the...
Map of the Week
The Climate Impact of Your Neighborhood This latest New York Times interactive map shows how people who live closer in to city centers have...
over a year ago
23
over a year ago
This latest New York Times interactive map shows how people who live closer in to city centers have a relatively small carbon footprint, while those who live further out have some of the largest footprints in the nation. While that may not be surprising by itself there are some...
Maps Mania
135,000 Years of Changing Sea Levels
a year ago
Map of the Week
Forest Fires All Over North America This has been a remarkably heavy year for forest fires and it's still very early in the season. The...
a year ago
28
a year ago
This has been a remarkably heavy year for forest fires and it's still very early in the season. The last few summers the West Coast has experienced many days of terrible air quality. This year the East Coast is experiencing it. Last week cities like New York, Philadelphia and...
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...
4 months ago
52
4 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...
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...
9 months ago
57
9 months ago
A few moments ago I was asked by a student about the “development of cartography over the next 10 years.” Here’s my somewhat off-the-cuff response, though my thoughts have been steeping in this for the past year or so. In the next 10 years artificial intelligence, and probably...
somethingaboutmaps
Conventional Cartographic Wisdom that I have Failed to Grasp When I teach cartography, I am deliberate about not presenting my students with any rules. I do not...
a year ago
64
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...
Maps Mania
Text Recognition Map Search
a year ago
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...
a year ago
46
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...
Map of the Week
30 Day Map Challenge-Admiring the Work of Others For the past several years November for me has meant working on the 30 Day Map Challenge. This year...
a month ago
23
a month ago
For the past several years November for me has meant working on the 30 Day Map Challenge. This year I’ve been too busy to participate - also I really needed a break from it. Not participating means I’ve been able to admire the work of other cartographers. Here are some highlights...
Maps Mania
Neighborhood Colors
a year ago
Maps Mania
Top Territory Trumps
11 months ago
Maps Mania
Tranquil Walking Directions
a month ago
Map of the Week
Innovation in Segregation Before the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) redlining maps encouraged segregation (documented...
a year ago
20
a year ago
Before the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) redlining maps encouraged segregation (documented extensively including on this blog), there was this 1934 map by property analyst J. M. Brewer. It showed real estate conditions in Philadelphia with a wary eye towards immigrants,...
Maps Mania
John Snow's
5 months ago
Maps Mania
Spikkin Scots
8 months ago
Maps Mania
These are the Safest Cities in the World
6 months ago
Maps Mania
Redesigning the World's Transit Maps
a year ago
Maps Mania
Four Free Alternatives to GeoGuessr
8 months ago
Maps Mania
Scrambled Hex Maps
a month ago
Maps Mania
The Classic Map Arcade
10 months ago
Maps Mania
Anime Pilgrimage Maps
3 months ago
Maps Mania
Open Places Map
2 months ago
Maps Mania
Draw Your Neighborhood
a week ago
Maps Mania
The A-Z Music Map
2 months ago
Map of the Week
Lenapehoking-The Delaware Watershed A more modern take on last week's Coaquannock map, Lenapehoking is a map of the Delaware Watershed's...
a year ago
12
a year ago
A more modern take on last week's Coaquannock map, Lenapehoking is a map of the Delaware Watershed's natural environment. The title means land of the Lenape people. The map was created by Illustrator Meg Lemieur and is available on Etsy. The map is beautifully illustrated with...
Maps Mania
The Islamic State Attack Map
8 months ago
Transit Maps
Submission – Fantasy Map: New York Regional Rail Concept by James G Submitted by James, who says: I created this map based on various concepts (mainly the work of Alon...
4 months ago
44
4 months ago
Submitted by James, who says: I created this map based on various concepts (mainly the work of Alon Levy) for through-running regional rail in the New York region. This network would integrate all of the current commuter rail networks, increasing frequencies to metro-like levels,...
Maps Mania
Mapping Tree Shadows
a year ago
Maps Mania
The 2024 European Election Map
5 months ago
Maps Mania
Tracking Satellites in 3D
2 months ago
Map of the Week
Tyne River Shipbuilders While researching something unrelated, I came across this series of maps showing ship builders and...
a year ago
12
a year ago
While researching something unrelated, I came across this series of maps showing ship builders and related industries on the River Tyne in and near Newcastle, UK.  The maps, from 1972, stretch from the mouth of the river (above) to the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, and westward...
Maps Mania
Can You Draw America?
7 months ago
Maps Mania
The Interactive Map of Ambridge
a month ago
Map of the Week
A Few Nice Eclipse Maps-Part 1 In a month a total eclipse will make its way across North America. On April 8th the path will travel...
9 months ago
37
9 months ago
In a month a total eclipse will make its way across North America. On April 8th the path will travel quickly, (under two hours) from Mazatlán on Mexico's Pacific coast to Newfoundland, Canada and then into the Atlantic Ocean. There are some really nice visualizations of the...
Map of the Week
Thirty Day Map Challenge 2023-Days 1 and 2 Yes it’s November and time for another 30 Day Map Challenge. As in previous years (see here for last...
a year ago
31
a year ago
Yes it’s November and time for another 30 Day Map Challenge. As in previous years (see here for last year) I began with no real goal of completing it or much idea beyond the first few days. Also as in previous years I’m getting sucked in again. Only two days of action to report...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: TRAM d’Alacant Fare Zones, 2023 Submitted by Roberto, who says: I would like to share the TRAM d’Alacant fare zone map. It describes...
a year ago
54
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....
Maps Mania
Mapping Oil Exports to North Korea
a year 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...
2 months ago
40
2 months ago
While I was at the British Library in May, I spent much time admiring and puzzling over this atlas. The Ferraris maps of the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium) were created by Count (and cartographer) Joseph de Ferraris in the 1770's. He was commissioned by Austrian empress...
Maps Mania
Weather or Not
7 months ago
Maps Mania
The Easter Bunny's Egg-cellent Adventure
8 months ago
GeoCurrents
The Historical Geography of Psychoactive Substances: GeoCurrents Lecture Series on YouTube GeoCurrents has been on a long summer hiatus as I have reconsidered my plans for the site. As I have...
3 months ago
3
3 months ago
GeoCurrents has been on a long summer hiatus as I have reconsidered my plans for the site. As I have retired from academia, one of my main goals is to convert my old lecture courses into publicly accessible YouTube lecture series. To do so, I have revived an all-but-forgotten...
Map of the Week
The Incredible Shrinking Great Salt Lake(s) NOTE: due to accidental deletions on this platform I have lost some of the original attributions for...
a year ago
19
a year ago
NOTE: due to accidental deletions on this platform I have lost some of the original attributions for this post. Here is a map of the paleo-lakes of the Great Basin from the Pleistocene Era. The present day lakes are shown in lighter blue though even those have shrunk from the...
somethingaboutmaps
Automated Hachuring in QGIS I seem to have accidentally come up with a method for duplicating a centuries-old terrain...
5 months ago
74
5 months ago
I seem to have accidentally come up with a method for duplicating a centuries-old terrain representation technique. If you’ve looked at old maps, you’ve probably seen hachures: lines that run up and down along the slope of terrain features. There were a wide variety of approaches...
Maps Mania
The New Nuclear Arms Race
5 months ago
Maps Mania
The City Map Game
a year ago
Maps Mania
Who Speaks Your Language?
a year ago
somethingaboutmaps
2024 Freelance Rate Survey Results Thank you once again to everyone who participated in this year’s survey of freelance cartographer...
2 months ago
37
2 months ago
Thank you once again to everyone who participated in this year’s survey of freelance cartographer rates and business practices! Our apologies for the delay in posting the results; life has been busy for both Aly and myself. Before we get to the survey results, here are some handy...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Asia-Pacific, Part 4 (Japan: Exploring Tokyo) Sure, the tourists sites were great, but Twelve Mile Circle readers know I like to follow tangents...
a year ago
45
a year ago
Sure, the tourists sites were great, but Twelve Mile Circle readers know I like to follow tangents even when I do that. I’m always on the hunt for the unusual, or at least the unusual to me. I’m sure everything seemed perfectly normal to anyone from Japan. So I made sure I...
Maps Mania
The Interactive Murder Map
a week ago
Maps Mania
AI Your Home on Street View
10 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Mitten Accomplished I got a unique opportunity to visit counties in a corner of the Midwest I hadn’t touched much when...
over a year ago
40
over a year ago
I got a unique opportunity to visit counties in a corner of the Midwest I hadn’t touched much when my older kid decided to go to college in Michigan. But it didn’t offer a lot of time for my quest, just a four year window before graduation. Even so, I set what I thought was...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Southern Heat, Part 5 (Mississippi Gulf) Next we returned to familiar territory. I’ve mentioned the Mississippi Gulf Coast many times on...
a year ago
25
a year ago
Next we returned to familiar territory. I’ve mentioned the Mississippi Gulf Coast many times on Twelve Mile Circle because I go there fairly regularly and I have a lot of family there. However, my last trip was way back in 2019 and only for a long weekend. Somehow I never figured...
Maps Mania
Mapping the Causes of Haze
a year ago
Maps Mania
No Local News
a month 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
46
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...
Maps Mania
Which Airports are also Filetypes?
2 months ago
somethingaboutmaps
Kickstarter 3: The Return For the past several years, I’ve enjoyed the process of cyanotype printing, and have released a...
a month ago
25
a month 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...
Maps Mania
A Nightmare on View Street
2 months ago
Maps Mania
The World is Getting Hotter
a year ago
Maps Mania
The Treats of San Francisco
6 months ago
Maps Mania
The History of New York
a month ago
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
37
a year ago
Submitted by Elliot, who says: I’ve come across this blog a couple of months ago, and have been lurking ever since. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at designing a trasit diagram, and having gotten some free time, I decided to redesign the S-Train diagram for Brussels. So here...
Adventures In...
Historical Topo Map Explorer (beta) The USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer is getting an update, and you can try out this new beta...
a year ago
59
a year ago
The USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer is getting an update, and you can try out this new beta version, here: LivingAtlas.ArcGIS.com/TopoMapExplorer The United States Geological Survey has a rich history of creating exquisite topographic quadrangle maps. These topo maps are...
Maps Mania
The Rising Risks of Wildfire
a year ago
Maps Mania
The Stunning Beauty of Air Traffic Data
8 months ago
Maps Mania
2024 Fall Foliage Map
3 months ago
Maps Mania
Alien Arrivals Nosedive in 2023!
10 months ago
Maps Mania
Have You Earned Your Air Pollution Stripes?
4 months ago
Maps Mania
Adding URL Parameters to an Interactive Map
10 months ago
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 days ago
13
6 days 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
A Year of Wildfires
a year ago
Maps Mania
The 10 Day Fall Color Forecast
a year ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Mackinac’s Orbit, Part 11 (What’s Brewing?) Twelve Mile Circle readers don’t really care about my brewery visits. I get it. You won’t offend me...
over a year ago
45
over a year ago
Twelve Mile Circle readers don’t really care about my brewery visits. I get it. You won’t offend me if you skip this article or scroll through the pictures without reading anything. I really do this more for myself to create a record of my visits that extend beyond the simplicity...
Map of the Week
The Auschwitz Exhibition This past weekend I saw a traveling exhibition in Boston about the Auschwitz concentration camp. It...
3 months ago
40
3 months ago
This past weekend I saw a traveling exhibition in Boston about the Auschwitz concentration camp. It contains over 700 objects from shoes to gas masks to implements of torture and experimentation. The exhibit was co-produced by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and has been in...
Maps Mania
Explore the World in 3D
a year ago
Map of the Week
Emancipation National Historic Trail It took over two years for the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Galveston, Texas. Specifically...
6 months ago
79
6 months ago
It took over two years for the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Galveston, Texas. Specifically June 19, 1965 hence the Juneteenth holiday. Galveston was the largest slave market west of New Orleans. The newly emancipated fled Galveston to Freedmen's Town and other parts of...
Maps Mania
Map of the Best Restaurants
a year ago
Maps Mania
Racial Covenants in Santa Clara Properties
2 months ago
Maps Mania
A New Google Map of the Brain
a year ago
Maps Mania
The AI Satlas
a year ago
Maps Mania
Finding Your Coordinate Twins
2 months ago
Maps Mania
The Indigenous Treaty Map
a month ago
Maps Mania
Car Commutes are Getting Longer
10 months ago
Adventures In...
Make this AI-inspired topo landscape please Many weeks ago I saw an achingly beautiful bit of AI-generated terrain art shared by Esri’s glorious...
a year ago
67
a year ago
Many weeks ago I saw an achingly beautiful bit of AI-generated terrain art shared by Esri’s glorious instagram account. Initially I was a bit intimidated by the robots; it was so charming and tactile and wondrous and dreamlike and sinuous. But also…inspiring. I wondered if I...
Maps Mania
Reconstructing a Plane Crash
11 months ago
Maps Mania
Mapping Conflicts Around the World
11 months ago
Map of the Week
The Alphabet Railway Radio personality Bill Barry was fascinated with the place names of his native Saskatchewan. So much...
a year ago
31
a year ago
Radio personality Bill Barry was fascinated with the place names of his native Saskatchewan. So much so that he wrote a Dictionary of Saskatchewan Place Names, I'm sure you've probably read it already but an interesting item about this toponymy is how many of the towns were...
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...
a month ago
33
a month 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...
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
25
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...
Maps Mania
A Map of the World's Deadliest Epidemics
a year 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
47
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
The Heartbeat of the Internet
a year ago
Maps Mania
Geolocating General Surovikin
a year ago
Maps Mania
Mapping Aboriginal Melbourne
a year ago
Musings on Maps
“They’re Eating Dogs” “If exotic non-human animals inhabited the edges of the inhabited world in medieval cosmologies,...
3 months ago
49
3 months ago
“If exotic non-human animals inhabited the edges of the inhabited world in medieval cosmologies, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the MAGA candidate who has done much to resurrect the contours of theocratic Neo-medieval maps of the world is perpetuating stories of … Continue...
Map of the Week
Maps GPT I've been seeing a few interesting uses for ChatGPT-type artificial intelligence lately. Of course...
a year ago
22
a year ago
I've been seeing a few interesting uses for ChatGPT-type artificial intelligence lately. Of course there has to be a map generator. MapsGPT is powered by Proxi, an alternative to Google's MyMaps. I started out looking at their map suggestions, such as worst places to take a nap...
Maps Mania
The Same Size As
a year ago
Maps Mania
The EJAtlas: A Map for Environmental Justice
3 months ago
Map of the Week
Huge Lego Model of the Lake District Artist Jon Tordoff has made a 100 square foot, 200,000 piece (so far) Lego model of England's Lake...
a year ago
17
a year ago
Artist Jon Tordoff has made a 100 square foot, 200,000 piece (so far) Lego model of England's Lake District. via Getty Images  The model began as a pandemic recreation map of Buttermere, his favorite spot.  "Now I've come over the Honister Pass, up Borrowdale and I've got...
Adventures In...
Tolkien Style Maps in a GIS: part 1, Forests “Most of the trees are just trees, of course; but many are half awake.” In this 4-part series we’ll...
10 months ago
56
10 months ago
“Most of the trees are just trees, of course; but many are half awake.” 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...
Maps Mania
What is Your Climate Risk?
a month ago
Maps Mania
Four Seasons in One Map
10 months ago
Maps Mania
North America's Shrinking Railways
2 weeks ago
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
13
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...
Maps Mania
Out of Africa - The Story of Human Migration
6 months ago
Maps Mania
Segregation in the U.S.
7 months ago
Maps Mania
Destroying People's Homes in Gaza
a year ago
Maps Mania
Explore the World with Shadows
a year ago
Maps Mania
⅓ of Rafah’s Buildings Destroyed
8 months ago
Maps Mania
Assassination Simulation
a year ago
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...
a year ago
52
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...
Maps Mania
The Best Price Comparison Maps
10 months ago
Maps Mania
The Most Popular Music in Your Town
a year ago
Maps Mania
The Royal Parks of London
a year ago
Maps Mania
Today's Global Heating Forecast
6 months ago
Maps Mania
Where Your County Got its Name
a year ago
Maps Mania
You Are HERE
2 months ago
Maps Mania
Bat Virus Jump Zones
a year ago
Maps Mania
AI Satellite Search
5 months ago
Maps Mania
Inside the Tombs & Pyramids of Egypt
a year ago
Map of the Week
Buffalo in 50 Maps New from Belt Publishing - the third book of their "50 Maps" series, Buffalo in 50 Maps is now out....
a year ago
34
a year ago
New from Belt Publishing - the third book of their "50 Maps" series, Buffalo in 50 Maps is now out. Previous books on Cleveland and Detroit have been briefly covered on previous blog posts. The author, cartographer Victoria Johnson-Dahl was kind enough to send me an advance copy...
Maps Mania
The Loss of the Great American Grasslands
6 months ago
Map of the Week
Stolen Native American Remains In 1990 the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was passed by the U.S. Congress...
a year ago
47
a year ago
In 1990 the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was passed by the U.S. Congress to gave indigenous peoples a way to reclaim their dead. 33 years later about half of the remains have yet to be returned. Pro Publica produced a piece with excellent interactive...
somethingaboutmaps
Projection Connections: A Very Nerdy Poster Friends, I’m excited to offer to you a new poster. Not a map this time around, but something...
over a year ago
58
over a year ago
Friends, I’m excited to offer to you a new poster. Not a map this time around, but something map-related. A 16 × 24-inch tangled web showing how 100+ different map projections are all related to each other: Projections are a niche topic even among cartographers, so I don’t...
Maps Mania
Kreuzberg, San Francisco
11 months ago
Adventures In...
Dashing Maps There are lots of reasons why cartographers use dashed lines in their maps. Sometimes there are a...
a month ago
30
a month ago
There are lots of reasons why cartographers use dashed lines in their maps. Sometimes there are a lot of different sorts of lines going around and it’s the best way to differentiate between different categories of things. Or we can embed meaning into them, like a dashed line...
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...
4 months ago
50
4 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...
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
47
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...
Maps Mania
Mapping Things
a year ago
Maps Mania
The Best Real-Time Subway Maps
a year ago
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...
a month ago
27
a month 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
Tracking American Spies in Germany
5 months ago
Maps Mania
Gaza is 42 Million Tonnes of Rubble
4 months ago
Maps Mania
MapLibre Adds WebGL2 Support
a year ago
Maps Mania
Not Everyone Commutes by Car
9 months ago
Maps Mania
Reconstructing the Ancient Trade Routes
11 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
46
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...
Adventures In...
Tolkien Style Maps in a GIS: part 4, Assembly “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” In this 4-part series...
10 months ago
53
10 months ago
“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” In this 4-part series we’ll walk through the reckoning of a Lord of the Rings style fantasy map, right in ArcGIS Pro. We map-makers get to breathe honest to goodness geographic life into the seminal...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Detour to Ashtabula About two and a half years ago I planned to capture three unvisited counties at the far northeastern...
6 months ago
73
6 months ago
About two and a half years ago I planned to capture three unvisited counties at the far northeastern corner of Ohio. Unfortunately it didn’t happen due to a snowstorm that dumped about a foot of snow on the target area. So instead I changed my plans and focused on Michigan’s...
Maps Mania
How the Blitz Changed London
a year ago
Map of the Week
The Possible Collapse of Oceanic Circulation This map, via Down to Earth shows the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The AMOC...
8 months ago
39
8 months ago
This map, via Down to Earth shows the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The AMOC is like a "heat conveyor belt". It moderates temperatures on the planet by moving warmer air to northern latitudes while returning cooler air to the tropics. It has already slowed...
Map of the Week
The Real World Costs of Bitcoin This is from April but at last week’s NACIS conference I saw Zach Levitt speak about making these...
a year ago
65
a year ago
This is from April but at last week’s NACIS conference I saw Zach Levitt speak about making these graphics for the New York Times. The story details how in the midst of a winter storm that left tens or thousands without power, bitcoin mines in the state kept running, until the...
Map of the Week
If Mars Were on Earth This image of the surface of Mars was released last Spring as part of the Atlas of Mars. Images were...
8 months ago
37
8 months ago
This image of the surface of Mars was released last Spring as part of the Atlas of Mars. Images were compiled from the Emirates Mars Mission "Hope", an approximately two year mission in that began orbiting the planet in 2021. via New York Times  Some remarkably detailed...
Maps Mania
Memorial Day Weekend Helicopter Flights
4 months ago
Maps Mania
How Well Do You Know New York's Subway?
a year 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...
4 months ago
46
4 months ago
Here’s how to stack up some tile layers and blend them up to concoct a basemap that wouldn’t look out of place in 1890. Except that you wouldn’t have anywhere to plug in your monitor so it would be hard to show it to people back then. Ok bring a small generator. Wait, all these …
Maps Mania
Using AI to Detect Oil Spills
10 months ago
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...
2 months ago
21
2 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...
Map of the Week
30 Day Map Challenge 2024-Part 2 Here is the second half of the 30 Day Map Challenge. The one where I don’t make anything but just...
2 weeks ago
10
2 weeks ago
Here is the second half of the 30 Day Map Challenge. The one where I don’t make anything but just sit back and enjoy the work of others. The first half of the month was reviewed here. I will start on Day 23 where the prompt was memory. There were quite a few good entries for this...
Maps Mania
Mapping Train Connections
4 months ago
Maps Mania
The Worldwide Breaking News Map
6 months ago
Maps Mania
The World Map of Podcasts
a year ago
Maps Mania
540 Million Years of Planet Earth
7 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...
a week ago
12
a week 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
The Working Class History Map
a year ago
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....
3 months ago
40
3 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
Electrical Japan
a year ago
Maps Mania
Where Immigrants are Settling
5 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Silver Line Extension The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority opened its eleven mile Silver Line extension on...
a year ago
28
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
30 Day Map Challenge-One Final Note In writing yesterday’s post I forgot about this awesome music video about the 30 Day Map Challenge....
2 weeks ago
10
2 weeks ago
In writing yesterday’s post I forgot about this awesome music video about the 30 Day Map Challenge. The lyrics are French with English subtitles and it’s fun to hear how musical words like choropleth and story map can sound in French. “Some people sell houses, chickens, bidets, I...
Adventures In...
Storybook Cartography ArcGIS Pro is a serious tool for serious GIS analysis. Are you ready for some seriously charming...
a year ago
46
a year ago
ArcGIS Pro is a serious tool for serious GIS analysis. Are you ready for some seriously charming illustration style cartography? Ok! . . Children’s maps are a valuable thing. They are often the first impressions the world of geography has on every single one of us. What an...
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...
8 months ago
73
8 months 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...
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
25
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...
Maps Mania
Your Daily Map Trivia Game
4 months ago
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...
3 weeks ago
21
3 weeks 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
The US Heat Risk Map
7 months ago
Maps Mania
Finding History Nearby
a year ago
Maps Mania
The Retro Gamer's Map
5 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
England, Day 7 (Tankfest) Finally the single event that justified our entire trip to England arrived, the renowned Tankfest....
4 months ago
55
4 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...
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
10
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
Do You Live in 15 Minute City?
a week ago
Maps Mania
Documenting Russian Crimes in Ukraine
a year 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
19
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...
Maps Mania
The Book Banning Map of America
3 months ago
Map of the Week
Maps and Views at the British Library The British Library contains over 4.5 million maps, atlases, globes, and digital models dating back...
5 months ago
58
5 months ago
The British Library contains over 4.5 million maps, atlases, globes, and digital models dating back to medieval times. A small sample of these are displayed on the walls in a section called "Maps & Views". Here are some mediocre pictures I took with links (where I can find them)...
Transit Maps
Submission – Official Map: Rail and Bus Map of Southeast Queensland, Australia, 2024 Submitted by Lachlan, who says: Brisbane dropped a new transit map and it is EXTREMELY pretty. I’m a...
2 months ago
33
2 months ago
Submitted by Lachlan, who says: Brisbane dropped a new transit map and it is EXTREMELY pretty. I’m a big fan. Definitely the best-designed official transit map in Australia in my opinion. It even acknowledges the rapid bus routes and the G-Link light rail! I wish it could have...
Adventures In...
Make these ornaments please It’s that time of year when geographers the world over gather together in, let’s be honest, just...
2 weeks ago
12
2 weeks ago
It’s that time of year when geographers the world over gather together in, let’s be honest, just slightly awkward office holiday parties. We dedicate 82-86% of our mental capacities to socializing with our colleagues over deserts and drinks, while the remaining 14-16% remain...
Maps Mania
The Global Migration Explorer
a year ago
Maps Mania
Indian Election Maps
6 months ago
Maps Mania
The Ghosts of London
a month ago
Maps Mania
Tiny World Map
8 months ago
Map of the Week
America's First Subway Map The first subway in the United States was built in Boston. The tunnel ran along Tremont Street,  a...
a year ago
22
a year ago
The first subway in the United States was built in Boston. The tunnel ran along Tremont Street,  a chaotic mess of streetcars, horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians. The tunnel was built to route the streetcars underground to ease congestion. Here is a plan of the original subway...
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 5 (Venturing West) My second day of county counting focused west of Dayton, once again targeting five new counties....
8 months ago
78
8 months ago
My second day of county counting focused west of Dayton, once again targeting five new counties. This time I planned to capture Butler and Darke counties in Ohio; and Union, Fayette, and Randolph counties in Indiana. Hopefully this excursion would also take about three hours like...
Maps Mania
The Butterfly Superhighway
a month 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...
a year ago
51
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...
Adventures In...
How to make this map of a melting glacier I’ve been to Columbia Glacier, just west of Valdez, Alaska, three times. The first was as a...
a year ago
63
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
Project: My UTA Rail and BRT Design Exploration I teased this in yesterday’s review of the new official UTA diagram, so here’s my exploration of a...
a year ago
34
a year ago
I teased this in yesterday’s review of the new official UTA diagram, so here’s my exploration of a few design ideas for an alternative version. As always with this type of project, I look for ways to approach the design problems for the diagram that are intentionally different to...
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
10
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...
somethingaboutmaps
Simple Oblique Views in Blender While many people use my Blender shaded relief tutorial, and associate me with the software, I’m...
over a year ago
48
over a year ago
While many people use my Blender shaded relief tutorial, and associate me with the software, I’m really not much of a 3D cartographer. I make oblique-view maps only rarely, and when I do, it’s usually in a simplified, abstract style, rather than the detailed, naturalistic...
Maps Mania
Where Might I Live?
a year ago
Maps Mania
The WaterwayMap
6 days ago
Maps Mania
AI Amazon Mining Watch
11 months ago
Map of the Week
Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade In response to last week's Black Atlantic post, a reader directed me to the Atlas of the...
10 months ago
43
10 months ago
In response to last week's Black Atlantic post, a reader directed me to the Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The Atlas has a companion site,  Echoes: the SlaveVoyages Blog where you can browse through an impressive array of maps produced for the Atlas. Here are the major...
Maps Mania
The Journey of a Vampire
6 months ago
GeoCurrents
U.S. Presidential Election Lecture Series Completed The GeoCurrents lecture series on the historical geography of U.S. presidential elections has been...
a week ago
11
a week ago
The GeoCurrents lecture series on the historical geography of U.S. presidential elections has been completed. The series itself can be found here. The final lecture, which covers only the election of 2024, can be found here. The next GeoCurrents lecture series will be on global...
Maps Mania
Dutchify Your Street
a year ago
Maps Mania
Mapping 3D Game Worlds
a year ago
Maps Mania
The Unknown Pleasures of Population Density
a year ago
Adventures In...
The Geoholics Podcast I got to join The Geoholics podcast this week and had a fun conversation with Kent Groh, Ryan Kelly,...
a year ago
45
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...
GeoCurrents
Will the United States Recognize Somaliland as Somalia Continued to Devolve? Recent reports claim that the incoming Trump administration is considering giving diplomatic...
2 days ago
14
2 days ago
Recent reports claim that the incoming Trump administration is considering giving diplomatic recognition to Somaliland, a de facto independent state that broke away from the wreckage of Somalia in 1991. Republican representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania has already introduced...
Maps Mania
The Manhole Card Collectors Map
4 months ago
Adventures In...
Throwing Shade In Wild Color I once heard someone say that standard hillshade (one-direction light source) ignores half of the...
a year ago
48
a year ago
I once heard someone say that standard hillshade (one-direction light source) ignores half of the terrain. While this is an exaggeration, it makes a good point. Earth has an atmosphere and light diffuses, bounces, and wraps around a terrain in a manner that a single light...
Maps Mania
The Solar Eclipse Simulator
a year 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...
2 months ago
29
2 months ago
What should have been a ten day trip ended unexpectedly on the seventh day. The previous evening our kid who was watching the house called to tell us about our soaking wet basement carpet. Our ancient boiler was leaking. So we immediately contacted our insurance provider, a water...
Maps Mania
Active Video
7 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Osage Orange It seemed strange to fixate on a single tree for more than a decade but that’s exactly what...
3 weeks ago
18
3 weeks ago
It seemed strange to fixate on a single tree for more than a decade but that’s exactly what happened. I notice it a few weeks every autumn and then quickly forget about it for another year. That all started sometime around 2013 when I began to ride a stretch of the Capital...
Maps Mania
The World's Most Controversial Interactive Map
10 months ago
Map of the Week
Bad News For Local News Northwestern University’s Medill Local News Initiative released the latest State of Local News. It...
a month ago
30
a month 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...
Maps Mania
Local Explorer
11 months ago
Map of the Week
The Film Industry's Nine Dash Line Problem This summer's hit movie Barbie has been banned in Vietnam for its portrayal of the Nine Dash Line on...
a year ago
8
a year ago
This summer's hit movie Barbie has been banned in Vietnam for its portrayal of the Nine Dash Line on a world map. Note: I have not (yet) seen any of the movies or shows listed below. This line represents China's claims in the South China Sea. These claims have been rejected by...
Maps Mania
Find Your Future Climate Zone
6 months ago
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...
a week ago
17
a week 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
The US Road Fatality Map
4 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Costa Rica, Part 6 (Beyond the Beach) My flirtation with idleness ended. I simply couldn’t sit around Tamarindo another day doing nothing...
a year ago
10
a year ago
My flirtation with idleness ended. I simply couldn’t sit around Tamarindo another day doing nothing or I’d grow increasingly frustrated. So the relaxation was fine for awhile but now I needed to find something else to do. Surfing lessons didn’t seem like a thing for me but plenty...
Maps Mania
Vintage Street View Imagery
a month ago
Maps Mania
Mapping the Brussels Terrorist Attack
a year ago
Maps Mania
The 2024 GeoGuessr World Cup
3 months ago
Maps Mania
The Meteor Shower Map
a year ago
Adventures In...
Tolkien Style Maps in a GIS: part 2, Mountains “I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains. And then find somewhere where I can rest.” In...
10 months ago
75
10 months ago
“I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains. And then find somewhere where I can rest.” In this 4-part series we’ll walk through the reckoning of a Lord of the Rings style fantasy map, right in ArcGIS Pro. We map-makers get to breathe honest to goodness geographic life...
Maps Mania
The US Foreign Assistance Map
8 months ago
Maps Mania
Slim City
8 months ago
Twelve Mile Circle –...
Dayton, Ohio Part 6 (Breweries) It’s the eternal question. Should I lump all of the brewery visits into a single article or should I...
7 months ago
60
7 months ago
It’s the eternal question. Should I lump all of the brewery visits into a single article or should I spread them within the series? Well, as always, it depends. This time I decided to discuss them all at once because of a simple fact of geography. We visited eight breweries...
Maps Mania
Mapping Moving Borders in Real-Time
3 months ago
GeoCurrents
The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election Was No Landslide Donald Trump clearly enjoyed an unexpected and decisive victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential...
a month ago
4
a month ago
Donald Trump clearly enjoyed an unexpected and decisive victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Indeed, many journalists and pundits have described the results as nothing less than a “landslide.”  In truth, it came nowhere near that standing. Although the final vote count...
Maps Mania
The Sea Trade Monitor
9 months 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...
3 months ago
44
3 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...
Map of the Week
The Black Atlantic This map was created by Léopold Lambert to emphasize centrality of the Atlantic Ocean to the slave...
10 months ago
27
10 months ago
This map was created by Léopold Lambert to emphasize centrality of the Atlantic Ocean to the slave trade. The map was created for an article in the Funambulist and was recently featured as a “Map of the Week” (yes there are others) for the American Geographical...